The Benefits of Christian Meditation

The benefits of Christian Meditation are rich in soul-healing grace. Meditation is an ancient practice that is also a Christian Spiritual Discipline. It is a life-changing practice that leads to peace. I must admit that in the American Church, meditation has gone out of fashion and is hard to find even in a strong Bible-believing church.

I believe one of the underlying factors contributing to the demise of meditation as a Christian discipline is a rise in the practice of Eastern Meditation. The confusion between the two practices has frightened people away from the transformational power of Christian Meditation. We as believers need to remember that it is not an optional discipline but rather a beautiful necessity. God’s Word is filled with examples of how and when our forefathers meditated.

What To Meditate On

SCRIPTURE, that is chocked full of God’s unfailing love, His precepts, His law, His decrees, God’s wonderful deeds, and the redemptive work of Christ to name just a few things. Simply put, meditate on every single verse in the Bible.

Unlike Eastern Meditation which empties the mind, Christian Meditation renews and refreshes the mind with the very Word of God. When we are engaged in Christian Meditation we seep in the love of our Savior Jesus. Take a look at just a few of the key verses on meditation in the Bible.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8

Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Psalm 48:9

My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. Psalm 49:3

I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees. Psalm

119:48

I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. Psalm 119:99

How To Meditate

The form that I use to meditate on God’s Word is called “Lectio Divina”, a Latin term that means “divine reading” and describes a way of reading Scripture whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. We invite the Holy Spirit to open our hearts so that we may understand and hear what God is saying in His word.

Start with the READING of the Scripture. Read it once or twice.

Next is MEDITATION and REFLECTION where we ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and help us think about the text we have chosen so that we take from it what God wants to give us. Meditative prayer is simply listening to God. The spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude are helpful as we pursue meditation, they go hand in hand if you will. As we practice listening to the voice of God through the Holy Spirit the silence will become easier, in fact, as you grow in this area you will find yourself longing for it!

RESPONSE is the next step where we lay our personal opinions and agendas aside and simply let our hearts speak to God in prayer. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God.

REST, now, this is the really hard one for me! We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks to us and as we listen, we are gradually transformed from within. This step allows God to transform us and will have a profound effect on the way we actually live. We must take what we read in the Word of God and with God’s divine intervention apply it to our daily lives.