Meditation

Meditation is word that is popular in our culture among non-Christians who claim to be “spiritual.” This is unfortunate because the Bible uses this word repeatedly to refer to what Christians do in their walk with Christ. The Bible teaches that believers are to meditate on the glory of God and His Word. When believers look at the creation they see God’s invisible attributes and eternal power (Romans 1:20). The heavens themselves declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). Christian meditation is the act of filling one’s mind with God’s awesome splendor and infinite wisdom in creating the natural laws and vastness of the universe. Psalm 145:5, On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. Psalm 77:12, I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds. It should be a Christian’s desire to think about the works of God in the Bible and in their lives, and then to tell others about them.

The Word of God is the source of a Christian’s meditation. This means they spend time reading the Bible and spending time in prayers to God as informed by the Bible. Joshua 1:8, This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. Joshua instructs believers to use their mental energy on the contents of the Bible. The result of biblical meditation is greater obedience and a closer walk with God. By studying the Bible, believers are informed on how they should live their lives and are compelled to action. Psalm 119:15-16, 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. When believers absorb the truth of the Word of God they will be happy to follow its instructions. The words of Scripture will be engrained in their hearts so that they will not soon forget them. Psalms 119:97, O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Meditation involves placing our affections on the goodness of God’s Law as the moral standard for humanity. Colossians 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly. To meditate deeply on what Christ did in His life and let that settle in our souls. To think on Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross and allow that truth to elevate our gratitude. To contemplate the doctrines of Christ as the greatest truth known to man, and let those doctrines give us assurance. Meditation ought to be a daily endeavor Christians engage in.

It is important to distinguish biblical meditation from other types of meditation, even if they claim to be Christian. Biblical meditation has nothing to do with dangerous practices such as eastern mysticism, yoga, transcendental meditation, visualization, lectio divina, astral projection and many forms of what is called contemplative prayer. These are unbiblical practices associated with Hinduism, Buddhism, the Occult and The New Age Movement. A Christian is to trust in God alone, not in occult practices to manipulate the mind’s chemistry. There is no room in a Christian’s life for altering their  state of consciousness in order to commune with God. Psalms 19:14, 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.