Let me understand the
teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. (Psalm 119:27)
Transformation
through Meditation
Sometimes as Christians we can be very good at 'playing Church.' But God is not impressed with what we appear to be. No, God is most interested in what we are like
on the inside. He wishes to change us –
transform us - from the inside out. His
goal is to make us clean on the inside so that we would naturally be clean on
the outside. The application of God’s principles is not in surface obedience but in
understanding of His ways. One way
He assures us we can be transformed is through meditation on His word.
Perhaps meditation is one of the most neglected disciplines in the
Christian life these days. Very few Christians have been taught how important
it is to pay close attention to what they think about and how they think about
it. Some people are hung up on the
middle-eastern aspect of meditation and only see it as wrong. But the term meditate simply means to
spend time in quiet thought for religious purposes or relaxation, to engage in contemplation or reflection, to
focus one’s thoughts on: reflect on or ponder over. That translates to think about it, dwell on it, be mindful of it always.
Our God is a jealous God. He
wants our full devotion – Body, Soul, and Spirit. Knowing the Word of God is Knowing God and
Christ as the Word. Meditation is relationship building with God.
What
is Christian meditation?
Meditation is the deliberate practice of turning our hearts and our
minds to the full time task of bringing the Word of God to life in the daily
activities of our lives. As I said
earlier, God wants to change us from the inside out. He wants to renew our minds and hearts so they
will become more like his own. However,
it is *only* by God's grace and power that this could ever happen. We *cannot* change ourselves. God uses a number of things to accomplish this
but the primary tool He uses is His own word recorded in the Bible. For the word of God is living and effective and sharper
than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints,
and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart. (Hebrews
4:12). If we ignore it, He cannot work in us. If we use it and put it to use, He will be
able to enter into our lives and form us into what He wants us to be.
Meditation on the Word of God allows its transforming power to renew our minds
and change our hearts. Only meditation
can alter the core and fill that part of us that can change us because it goes
to the heart.
Meditation
is food for the soul/spirit
The practice of Eastern meditation and some forms of yoga begin with the
emptying of the mind to seek a place of relaxation. Christian Meditation is not the emptying of
the mind but the filling of the mind with God’s Word. It is the flushing of our mind as God’s Word
pushes out the thoughts which destroy or inhibit us. An open mind is an EMPTY mind and not what God
desires. We need to learn to apply the
practice of meditation in order to “digest” the Word of God into our
lives. Meditation breaks down general
truth to specific truths – it digests it. When I meditate, I move the rational thought
from my left brain to my right and create a concept, a picture or a vision
which can be easily understood.
Reasoning makes decisions based on the moment. Meditation connects our environment, heart,
and mind to tell us where we are and who we are. Meditation is a way God gives strength and
power, sustenance, just like food for our bodies. Meditation is “getting it.” Then it begins to guide us.
Sometimes, because of our busy schedules, we don’t give God the time and
attention He deserves. It hurts Him, but
it hurts us worse. We need to take time
to meditate; to be still and know He is
God, and listen for His voice. Make
it a priority today to find time to meditate on God’s word and allow your life
to be transformed.
Scripture
to Claim:
Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. Psalm 119:27
Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. Psalm 119:27
