by Leigh Ann Dilley on August 11, 2021
How often do you meditate on scripture? I’d love to tell you I practice meditation regularly but honestly meditation is hard for me. Sadly, I mostly try it while I am lying awake at night. If we want the Holy Spirit to speak to us, and to create something new in us by renewing our minds, meditation is necessary. Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline says “Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his words.” Our creator desires fellowship with us.
This was demonstrated in the Garden of Eden when God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. The Bible says God spoke to Moses “face to face” as a man speaks to a friend. King David and the prophets are other great examples; but God still wants to speak to us today.
The purpose of meditation is to become more familiar with God and His character and to hear from Him. In this way, He molds and teaches us. Christian meditation differs from Eastern meditation in that we do not empty our minds to detach from the world; but rather, we empty our minds to detach from the world and from ourselves, so that we may attach ourselves to Christ.
There are several ways to meditate.
One way is to meditate on scripture. The idea here is to internalize and personalize God’s word. Read and reread a small part of scripture. Don’t be tempted to speed through the reading superficially. Put yourself in the story. Engage all your senses.
Another form is a “palms down, palms up”. Palms down meaning release your concerns to God. After several moments, turn your palms up and receive what the Lord may have for you.
Other forms of meditation include focusing on seeing God in creation, the smaller things, or the opposite of that is to meditate upon significant events of our time and seek to gain prophetic perspective. Be on guard though because our enemy does not want us to meditate. He will thwart it in any way possible, but the rewards of meditation like wisdom, discernment, insight, and heightened obedience suggest we should prioritize it. (Psalm 119: 97-100)
Give meditation a try this week.
In Pastor Jeff Lucas’s book, "Standing on My Knees", he says most of us do not really believe the love God has for us. Let’s focus on that this week.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. We hear this passage most often at weddings, but it is truly an example of God’s perfect love for you!
I encourage you to read and reread this scripture this week; slowly. Don’t forget to personalize it and put yourself in the words using all your senses. Touch, taste, smell, hear and vision. Allow God to meet you there and share a word with you.
