Study to
learn. Meditate to change. It’s all about applying God’s Word and principles to
your life.
June’s Awakening, Day 6
May
these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your
sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NIV
Meditation/Reflection.
It is important for us to first understand that Christian meditation is not
like any Eastern religion meditation. We are not putting ourselves into a
trance or chanting or following a mantra order or citing incantations, nor are
we trying to lose our individuality, escape this world and become one with
nature or the universe or a higher order being. Christian meditation has one
purpose—to quiet ourselves to meet God, usually within the Scriptures. It
should be as if Jesus is right there saying, “I wrote these words just for you.
Here is where you are. Here is where you need to change. Here is where I want
you to be.” Superficially, some of the outward aspects of the meditation
process look similar, but the goal is always to meet God and bring about
positive transformation in yourself to become more like Jesus.
The disciplines of meditation and
study somewhat overlap, as both are focusing intently on the Scriptures.
However, in study, you are being analytical—reading for information and
knowledge. In meditation, you are being devotional—reading for personal
application and transformation, by devoting, dedicating, and consecrating
yourself to God. Through meditation, you are reading or listening intently to
God’s Word, reflecting on God’s works, rehearsing God’s deeds, and ruminating
on God’s law. A repentant and obedient heart are essentials in the meditation
process. The goal is to wash yourself clean and fresh with the artesian well of
God’s Word to flush and remove as much of the world and as much of yourself as
you can and replace it with the living water of Christ.
For best results, preparation for
meditation is key. You need a quiet time, a quiet place, and position yourself
in a comfortable posture with your Bible and favorite devotional to help bring
you into God’s presence. You may also want to have a journal handy to write
things down as God speaks to you. Pray before you start that God would indeed
meet you and speak clearly to you, and have an eager expectation that He will.
In meditation, you are centering the attention of your entire essence—body,
soul, and spirit—focusing all that you are on the glory of God and the face of
Jesus. Begin by reading a selected passage of Scripture or devotion for the
day, with an open mind and heart, a surrendered will, and make the words
personally applicable to you. Concentrate on and absorb the words and let them
resonate in your heart. This is not about how much you read, it’s about how it
affects you—the goal is not to get through the Scriptures, but to get the
Scriptures in you.
Finally, take at least one thought
or one verse of Scripture or a gold nugget that the Holy Spirit revealed to
you, throughout the day or into the next day, and contemplate on it. Sustained
attention is crucial. Likewise, when reading Scripture, you may discover that
reading it out loud is helpful for full assimilation by allowing both visual
and auditory inputs to receive it. Repetition means retention. Make it a part
of your memory. Memorization is powerful because the neural pathways are
ingrained and easily accessed and retrieved. As a final note, I would encourage
you to memorize key Scriptures, and I would certainly do so using the New King
James Version of the Bible. The reason is that this version is most conducive
to memorization because of its melodious tempo and memorable word usage. The
other versions are excellent for study but not so easy to remember word for
word.
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