Let your
body posture reflect your mental and spiritual attitude as you meet God in your
meditation. It’s best to have a humble heart, an attentive soul, and a quiet spirit.
June’s Awakening, Day 7
Those who draw water from the
wellspring of meditation know that God dwells close to their hearts.
—Toyohiko Kagawa
If by meditation, thou does not find
an increase in all thy graces, and do not grow beyond the stature of common
Christians, and art not made more serviceable in thy place, and more precious
in the eyes of all discerning persons; if thy soul enjoys not more communion
with God, and thy life be not fuller of comfort, and hast it not readier by
thee at a dying hour; then cast away these directions, and exclaim against me
forever as a deceiver.
—Richard Baxter
I
will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I
live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord. Psalm
104:33–34 NIV
Meditation, like worship,
incorporates our physical being as well as our soul and spirit. Just as we lift
our hands and sing in praise, we quiet ourselves in humble submission in
meditation. In fact, meditation could incorporate worship, prayer, and fasting
all together as part of the spiritual process. Furthermore, it can be helpful
to physically position and prepare our body language in a physical attitude to
more easily enable the mental and spiritual attitude to ensue. With that said,
here I offer a technique that has been used by Quakers and other Christian
groups to help set your meditation attitude.
This technique is simply called
“centering down,” as a means to let your body reflect what your heart and mind
desire. You are centering your entire essence to focus and be attentive to the
Holy Spirit, and you are laying all your sin and burdens down, in eager
anticipation to receive renewal, restoration, and direction from God.
Sometimes, this technique is called “palms down/palms up,” and is a good way to
start your meditation.
Begin by sitting quiet and
comfortably and place your hands out in front of you palms down. Pray, and as
you are symbolically dropping, releasing, surrendering, and turning over every
sin and concern to God, pray that it be so. You may even want to end that part
by saying, “Palms down, Lord, I release it all to you.” After a few moments,
then turn your palms up as a symbol to receive, replace, and restore your
connection and commitment to God and pray for your needs and listen intently to
His reply and direction. Again, you may want to audibly say, “Palms up, Lord, I
receive it all from you.” Be still and silent for a few moments to listen
intently to His Divine Whisper speaking, and be obedient to all you hear or
impressions that you spiritually sense. Then methodically read your daily
devotion or Scripture verse to meditate on and complete your time with prayer
and a bit of worship with a heartfelt thank you.
Obviously, there are any number of
ways to accomplish a great session of meditation. I personally like crossing my
arms over my heart in release and surrender and then holding my arms outward
with palms up to receive. The physical symbolism helps to keep the mind and
spirit in close touch with Him—and that’s the whole point of the exercise. Do
what works best for you.
Author Web Page Link
No comments:
Post a Comment