How do we
meditate on the Word of God? The Bible instructs Christians to meditate
on the Word but how are we supposed to meditate on the Word of God and
what does it mean to meditate?
A Secular Definition of Meditation
When you look in the dictionary and see
what the word meditate means, you can get dozens of differing
definitions. I will try to give a general definition based upon what
most people think meditation is and then what God means by His command
to have us meditate on the Word of God. Most dictionaries define
meditation as: Intentional contemplation on the author’s work with the
express purpose of reflecting upon it, contemplative thinking, the
revolving of a subject in the mind or a self-directed practice of
calming the mind and body.
Other definitions are a clearing of the
mind, an emptying of thoughts, having a mind that is open. The thing
that I don’t like about this kind of meditation is that a clear, open
mind is one that is subject to spiritual attack or evil influence from
demons or wicked spirits. The problem with an open mind is that it
often needs to be closed down for repairs! What is called
Transcendental Meditation for example is a technique that is derived
from Hindu traditions that promote deep relaxation through the use of a
mantra. However a mantra’s different for differing belief systems like
Buddhism, Hinduism, and New Age ideas and so its definition depends upon
the group’s beliefs and is dependent upon the context of it. Some of
this is practiced even in the work place, at Yoga classes, and in many
Eastern religions. This is not what the Bible means by meditating on the Word of God.
Meditating on the Word
Our church elder said that meditating on
the Word of God is a lost art in the church today. He is absolutely
right. We lose out on so much when we simply read over the Word and
don’t meditate on it. Part of what the Psalmist says where we are to
“hide your Word” in our heart is simply meditating on it. Yes, memorizing Scripture
may be part of this hiding the Word, but There is so much power even
in one verse…in one word…that we don’t tap that power when we read right
past it. The Scriptures often tell us to do this both day and night
and so you can never meditate on it if you are not reading it…both day
and night.
Benefits of Meditating on the Word
Here are a few verses that tell us that
we should meditate on the Word of God, why we should meditate on it and
what the benefits are:
“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 good success.” Joshua 1:8
If we meditate on God’s Law, and I don’t mean the Mosaic Law, then we will “be careful to do all that is written in it.” You can’t obey what you do not know. And God promises to “make your way prosperous” and you’ll have “good success”
if you meditate on it. Meditating and memorizing Scripture is like
“hiding His Word” in your heart. When you are tempted, you can more
easily resist sinning because you already know the precepts, statues,
and Laws of God.
“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
We will love the law of God only if we
meditate on its meaning. It is not so much “don’t do this” but “do this
and suffer” and “don’t do this and prosper.” God doesn’t want us to
hurt ourselves or others and that is why we must love His law and
meditate on it. God loves His own law so much that the biggest chapter
in the Bible is dedicated to the law in Psalm 119; it must be of high
importance to God. If it is that important to God (and it is) then it
must be for us as well.
“May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.” Psalm 104:34
God is well pleased when we meditate on
His divine Word. The Psalmist wrote that rejoicing in the Lord is tied
to meditating on His Word. Imagine you get a letter from your loved
one. You have been separated from him or her for a long time. You love
re-reading it…reflecting on the words, and so you will rejoice in this
letter and your loved one and you will meditate on certain lines, would
you not? The same applies to God’s Word. It is the greatest love letter ever written!
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Psalm 119:15
I love this verse. Here the writer is
fixing his eyes on God’s ways. He is meditating on the precepts of God
for they are always true, faithful, and good. To “fix” your eyes is to
meditate on specific things and these things (like precepts) are in the
written Word of God. Try fixing your eyes on one verse today. You’ll
be amazed at how the Holy Spirit will enlighten your mind to it.
“My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.” Psalm 49:
Here is a cause and effect verse. Our
mouth can speak wisdom only because the meditation of our hearts on His
Word gives us understanding. This is not a subjective, human wisdom but
the wisdom of God Himself because when our hearts mediate on His
truth (which is objective), what we say will be wise because it is the
wisdom of God. By the way, the seat of the intellect in the Jewish
idiom is the “heart” and so when you read the word heart, you can
understand that it is talking about the mind.
“Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there
is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about
these things.” Philippians 4:8
Although Paul didn’t use the word “meditate”, the intent is the same thing when he said to “think about these things.” When we think on “these things” we are pondering them, we are reflecting on them, and we are contemplating (meditating) on them.
“My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.” Psalm 119:148
Many of the strongest Christians have
the most worn out Bibles and you have probably heard that a Christian
whose Bible is coming apart has it most together. This verse speaks of
meditating on the Word before “the watches of the night” or late
at night, perhaps before bedtime. They are meditating on God’s promises
and that helps to keep a believer’s hope strong. His promises are all
revealed in Scripture and what better thing to meditate on than those
promises which are sure, true, and can not be broken.
“Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.” Psalm 119:24
The writer here ties together our
ability to not be discouraged or fearful even while our enemies are
plotting against us. How many times have we laid awake at night, unable
to sleep or “turn it off“, worrying about our problems (even if they
are people)? We can sleep in peace by meditating on the Word before we
go to bed. I have known fewer solutions to my sleeplessness than to
open the Bible and read His Word for I realize that even that bad things
will work out for my best (Romans 8:28). That is another of God’s
promises.
Conclusion
We have read from Scripture that there
is so much good that can come from meditating on the Word of God. The
shortest verse in the Bible is “Jesus wept”
(John 11:35). I tried to meditate on this shortest of verses and found
it to be one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible. I
thought of why Jesus wept, what He was weeping for, who He was weeping over, and how
He showed such depth of emotion in His love. By asking who, what, why,
where, when, and how over a single verse, the Holy Spirit can speak to
us through the written Word because the Holy Spirit is the Author
of the Word (2 Peter 1:21). I thought of His humanity, the suffering
that He saw, the lost sheep of Israel who would have nothing to do with
Him, the depravity of mankind, the compassion that He had. What must
Jesus have been thinking (meditating) on when He wept?
It must grieve the heart of God to know
that many will be called but few will be chosen. Many have heard of
Jesus but few will trust in Him. The path to destruction is broad but
the way of life is narrow and winding and few are they that find it.
That makes me want to weep too. For all those who refuse to believe,
those who will not come to saving faith, I meditate on their eternal,
future fate. That makes me want to share the gospel all the more. I
want to be about my Father’s business in rescuing the perishing. The
Bible is full of God’s desire that no one will perish (2 Peter 3:9, 1
Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 18:23). Meditate on what breaks God’s heart and
your heart will be broken too. Meditate on the Word of God and you will
hide it in your heart (memorize it). Then you will have the Word in
you to be able to resist when temptation comes. You can meditate on
God’s desire to save those who are headed for the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 21).
This week, choose one verse to meditate
on. I choose John 11:35 (“Jesus wept“). I wanted to align my heart
with Jesus’ heart. Take one line from the Word of God and memorize it,
think about it, ponder it, reflect upon it, and then God “will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success”
(Joshua 1:8). That is a promise from God. There is nothing more
certain in all the universe than a promise of God. Just meditate on
that for a while.
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