Spiritual Disciplines | Meditation
When people think of meditation, usually, we conjure and image of eastern style meditation with someone sitting cross legged while saying one continual syllable. This is far from the type of Christian meditation that is beneficial for the Christian. Because of this stereotype, Christians often shy away from the concept of meditation, but only to our detriment. In truth, everyone meditates on something. With the constant stream of noise through constant access to information and entertainment as we beam an unending stream of things into our brain, we are in a constant state of cluttered meditation. Culturally, we have an aversion to silence, fearing out own thoughts and what we might find.
For Christian meditation, the goal is not to approach a place of complete emptiness but rather to fully fill ourselves with God. Christian meditation seeks to shape our mind to the thoughts of God and to hear clearly what he is speaking to us. God wants to reveal himself to us and speak to us. The Father sent the Son to take on the form of mankind. The Son sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. Everything speaks to God’s desire to know and speak to His people. God earnest desires for His people to know His mind and know His will for their lives. God is good and we can earnest chew on His word day and night, in all places, and at all times. Meditation is a way of silencing our flesh to hear from God.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord , and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1:1-6, ESV
Posturing For Meditation
To some extent, most Christians are somewhat familiar with this concept. We have devotional times where we spend time in scripture, looking to hear from God. We download devotional plans and set up times of hearing from God. Yet, for all our understanding, we miss opportunities to hear from God. We can position and posture ourselves to hear from the Lord. Below are some suggestions but not requirements. Remember, the goal is to remove distractions and fill our mind with the thought of God.
- Remove Distractions While we may enjoy music, even worship music, it still remains a distraction to the process. Put the phone in another room, turn the music off, find a quiet or remote place. With the goal of meditation being to fill our mind with the thoughts of God, we must remove the other thoughts that seek to disrupt our focus on God. Silence may be off putting at first, but in the end, the silence will allow us to concentrate on the thoughts from God.
- Focus on A Little Scripture This does not mean focus on scripture for a little bit, but instead to take the time to mull over one part of scripture over and over. Read it. Read it again. Continue to slowly read it and considered everything that God is speaking. Bible reading plans are great but often times simply result in people checking off the list without any real consideration to what is
- Don’t Fear Silence Most of our prayer life involves us listing off our needs, wants, concerns, and praises to God. None of this is inherently bad. But do we take the time to listen to what God is speaking? Our brains are so trained to swirl with thoughts and information that hearing from God becomes difficult. Silence can be a form of meditation where we bring our prayers to God but allow ample time for Him to speak. We can consider the beauty of creation, the nature of God’s love for us, and simply sit in the presence of God. Silence is a tool not an enemy.
As you first engage in meditation (or any of the Spiritual Disciplines) you may not receive the windfall of overwhelming presence ofGod. Disciplines build over time and shape a person. Yet, do not forget that, even if you spend hours in silence meditating on the word of God, you still receive a gift of peace. We all could use a time of peace where we rest in the presence of God. His presence is more than enough to sustain us. It is the ultimate gift that we will one day rest in the presence of God for all eternity. Until then, we can seek the mind of Christ to replace our own and become more like Him in our day to day.
