Meditate On…
Meditation is “in style” in today’s world. Many companies provide time and places for meditation for their employees. The media, psychology and education promotes meditation as a relaxing and calming methodology in combating the high stress levels of modern and, especially, city life. Varying techniques have been borrowed from Oriental religions, where meditation has been used for centuries as a way of achieving self-awareness and a state of spiritual bliss. In today’s globalization of religions, meditation is seen as the common factor in the development of a tolerant and ever growing syncretistic society.
Christian meditation, as taught in the Bible, is quite different from its Eastern religious counterparts. Whereas Eastern meditation focusses on the inner self, Christian meditation focusses on God and His Word. Instead of the repeating of “mantras” or engaging in breathing exercises to empty and pacify the mind, the Christian meditates on the Word of God and enters into communion with God. Instead of trying to reach a state of being, one aims at heightening a personal relationship with the Lord.
Christian meditation is distinct in that it is a process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts of God and His Word. The word meditation comes from the Latin, meditari, and means to concentrate. As Paul writes to the Colossians, (3:2), one is to, “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” It is to contemplate, gaze upon, think over, consider and appreciate all that God is, all that He has done and all that He says. The key difference is in the preposition “on”. We meditate on the Word of God.
There are definite benefits to biblical meditation for all areas of our life, (spirit, soul and body), but is not an end in itself. In Joshua 1:8 we read, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make our way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” By meditation, one places the Word of God in his heart, but then there must be application and expression through one’s life style for the benefits to be experienced.
We are encouraged to make meditation on the Word of God a daily, discipline in our lives. As we enter into our secret place of communion with Father God, our lives are transformed by His presence and Word. We then can live as His ambassadors, representing His nature and Kingdom to all we meet.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Psalms 1:2; 48:9; 63:6; 77:12; 119:15; Joshua 1:8; Rom. 12:1-2