by Joey Carroll
If you spend very much time reading Christian articles or posts, you have probably come across a discussion of Christian meditation or a “how-to” article on the practice of such meditation. But the word “meditation” hopefully raises an eyebrow. It is a term that is often used by those who practice Eastern religions or are involved in the blending of religion and exercise like traditional yoga. I want to spend a little of your time helping you understand the necessary practice of “meditating biblically” and some of the things, both physical and spiritual, that keep us from meditating biblically in our lives.
First off, let’s start by talking about what meditation is. Meditation, a word I don’t like to use because of the things it has become, is the practice of thinking, considering, contemplating or pondering on God, His works, and His Word.
All of us understand how important it is to spend time thinking; unfortunately, we do not give enough time to something that seems to have been a regular practice of those a generation or two ago. And there is a way to glorify God in our thinking. David prays in Psalm 19:14, “Let… the mediation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord…” (NASB). So there is a particular way of pondering and particular things on which the Christian must ponder. We find three primary things in Scripture that we should spend time in deep thought and reflection on. We will start with the first two that we find in Psalm 19.
Number one and foremost is the Word of God. David ponders or meditates on the magnificence of the Word of God in Psalm 19:7-11. He begins by saying “the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul” (verse 7, NASB). This is a wonderful truth written as a praise, a prayer, and a meditation of David’s own heart about the Word of God. Primarily, the Word of God should be the very thing that consumes most of our time in thought.
The book of Psalms begins with a meditation on the Word of God in Psalm 1. Verses 1-2 of Psalm 1 read: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night” (NASB).
Notice that it is not only the Word of God the “blessed man” meditates on, but he does so day and night, or as often as he possibly can. Likewise, the longest Psalm, Psalm 119, is a meditation on the Word of God. There the writer says in verse 97, “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (NASB).
The Lord Himself instructed Joshua when He took the leadership role over the nation of Israel in Joshua 1:8 that “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 your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (NASB). In this passage, not only do we hear the command, but we also see the reason for it: that we will walk in the way of the wisdom of God and, thereby, the will of God to the glory of God. This is an important truth to understand. The reason we meditate on the Law is not to have an “experience;” it is not so we will be “enlightened” and gain some secret knowledge; but it is simply in order that we might walk in the wisdom of God and thereby glorify Him.
Something else we are instructed to meditate on is the works of God. When a biblical writer reflects on the works of God he will most often consider Creation. Look back at Psalm 19 where David says “Let… the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight” (verse 14, NASB). While the second half is a meditation on the Word of God, the first half of the Psalm is a mediation on the works of God, namely Creation. Psalms 19:1-6, in my opinion, is one of the most worshipful expressions of praise to God for His glory revealed in His Creation. As David ponders the glory of God, he does so by describing how Creation itself praises God endlessly. It is a glorious praise, a wonderful hand written mediation for all to read. Psalm 8 is also an awesome meditation of David’s on Creation; “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained…” (verse 3, NASB).
There are more of God’s works that we are encouraged to think about. The work of deliverance from our enemies provokes meditation by the psalmist in Psalm 143:5 “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I muse on the work of Your hands” (NASB). Here, David longs for the deliverance of God and encourages himself by meditating on all the ways God has delivered him in the past. Psalm 77 is another Psalm that encourages us to meditate on the work of God. The writer also meditates on the past deeds of God for deliverance, but it is more so of how God redeems His people. It is a meditation that looks forward to redemption. Psalm 77:11-15 says,
“I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph.” (NASB)
One other primary meditations of Scripture is the necessary practice of meditating on the person of God. Psalm 107:43 says “Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD” (NASB). In other words, the Psalmist says, “Give this some thought… the lovingkindness of the Lord.” When I personally ponder the lovingkindness of God, it doesn’t take very long before tears stream down my face and my hands are lifted in private worship at the lovingkindness of the Lord that I have experienced. The lovingkindness of God toward rebellious sinners is beyond my ability to comprehend, yet I find myself often in deep thought at how glorious His lovingkindness toward me has been and continues to be.
That is “what” we are to mediate on, but “how” do we go about meditation or meditating on God, His works, and His Word? Well, it is really much simpler and more practical than most make it out to be. That is why I shy away from the word mediate. Personally, I like the word “ponder.” I ponder or think on God, His works, and His Word often. In fact, much of my time is spent upstairs in my study, in the quiet, sitting in a chair gazing off into the distance (with eyes open so I won’t fall asleep): reading Scripture, understanding it, praying that God may open my eyes to it; saying it out loud, preaching it, considering how best to communicate it; and, by all means, seeking to apply it to my own life. And all of that requires focused, prayerful meditative thought. It is the most glorious time but, practically speaking, there is really nothing to it.
Now, I would never suggest that there is not a spiritual side to meditation.
1 Corinthians 2:11-14 makes it plain that understanding comes through the work of the Holy Spirit. Meditation has a spiritual side. However, I would never suggest that understanding that comes through meditation is void of any hard work on your part. In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the sower, and in verse 9 Scripture says, “His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant” (NASB). We see the followers of Christ questioning the Lord for explanation. Likewise, in Matthew 24:32, Jesus says to the disciples “Now learn the parable from the fig tree” (NASB). In other words: get to work. You yourselves “learn.” Understanding God, His works, and His Word has a spiritual element as well as a physical element. There is the work of the Spirit, and then there is a work that the Spirt leads us in that requires diligent study.
The reason I bring that up is because of one of the ways we have been misled regarding biblical meditation. Many use “unbiblical meditation” to gain some deeper or hidden meaning to a particular text. It would be akin to learning a foreign language through the means of closing your eyes, clearing your mind, controlling your breathing, and allowing the Spirit to speak to you in order that you can learn a new language… that’s just weird. If I were required to learn a new language for the sake of glorifying God and preaching the gospel to the nations, I would prayerfully seek the help of the Lord, but I would also not be lazy and physically work to the point of exhaustion.
The technical term for what I call “unbiblical meditation” is Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is a latin term meaning “Divine reading.” It is a practice of some in Roman Catholicism and has sadly crept into the practice of some evangelical Christians. To see it in all of it’s weirdness here are two short youtube videos for you to watch.
(To save yourself some time and a headache, set it to 2x* speed and watch the beginning, and then in the first video fast forward to 4:05, and then in the second video fast forward to 1:15.)
*Editor’s note: I (Audrey) often find that Dad’s YouTube-watching method of speeding things up x2 only gives me a headache. Readers be ware.
This really frustrates me because several years ago I went to an SBC meeting in Portland, and a NAMB missionary led us in this. I had never been exposed to anything like it. I went home introduced it to my family and practiced it for a week or so. I then began to study more about it and was disappointed to find its source in religious cults.
But it is not hard to figure out how bizarre this really is. You read aloud Ephesians 6:1: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” And then pray, “Oh Lord, teach us what this means,” and then sit in silence. My response to that…
Again, without question, there is a spiritual side to these things. Satan works diligently to control our thoughts and keep us from understanding the eternal truths of God (Ephesians 4:17-24). And Satan has worked hard to corrupt biblical mediation with unbiblical, mystical, magical practices. But much of our problem with the lack of “biblical meditation” that goes on in our lives is plain ole laziness. We simply don’t take the time. And speaking of time, that is another thing that hinders our pondering on God: busyness. Modern conveniences have allowed us to accomplish things in a short period of time which has led us to try and accomplish more and more. Modern entertainment has introduced us to endless ways to watch something on our TV, computer, or phones. Social media has occupied every single waking moment that does not demand our attention. In short, there is no longer any time left for contemplating Scripture… so you will have to make time.
I could go on and on about other passages of Scripture and particular spiritual and physical battles but you need to understand that meditating biblically on God–His person, His works, and His Word–is necessary for your spiritual growth.
Corinth Baptist Church 