Meditation

Introduction
In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things; noise, hurry, crowds. If he can
keep us engage in ‘muchnes’ and ‘manyness’ he will rest satisfied. Psychiatrist Carl Jung once remarked,
“Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil.” If we hope to move beyond the superficialities of our culture,
including our religious culture, we must be willing to go down into the recreating silences of
contemplation.

Many Christians misunderstand, neglect, and even fear meditation. We do not understand all
the reasons for such reactions, but the word has acquired a questionable if not negative connotation for
large number of believers in Christ. Unfortunately, many such individuals lose a vital path of connection
with God and accept a narrowed view of prayer. Satan is overjoyed if people become enamored over
false ways of meditation, but he rejoices just as much if people reject the concept altogether. The result
of both wrong paths is tragic. Christianity, especially its Protestant stream, needs a renewal of true
meditation to revitalize its spiritual life and practice. A major step toward recovery of the vital practice is
to realize that the Bible not only discusses and teaches meditation, but also calls – yes, even commands
– us to meditate.

The Old Testament and Meditation

More than 15 times the classic King James Version translates forms of the two Hebrew words
‘chagah’ and ‘siyach’ as “meditate.” Interestingly enough, chagah occurs more than 30 times in the KJV.
The most widely known passage containing chagah is God’s command to Joshua to “meditate on it (the
Book of the Law) day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it” (Joshua 1:8).
What amazes many people is to find that chagah literally means to “mutter, moan, or ponder (by talking
to yourself) or reading in an undertone.” We meditate on God’s Word by quietly repeating or mulling it
over and over, as one would a catchy tune. In this way it has a continual influence and presence in our
consciousness and life.

The other Hebrew word, siyach, comes closer to our common understanding of meditation with
its meaning of “to be concerned with” or “occupation with one’s thoughts” or “attention with
something.” Another Hebrew word never translated into English as “meditate” but that in some
contexts clearly implies a form of meditative practice is zakar (to remember). In some context
“remember” refers to the prayerful activity before God of recalling what he has revealed to and done
for Israel, with the aim of considering the implications for the present (Psalm 63:6; 137:6).

Scripture considers such practices not only as special Sabbath activities (Deuteronomy 5:15) but
as something done on a daily basis (Deuteronomy 11:18-21). These words tell us several things about
meditation in the Old Testament. First, the biblical definition of meditate is a broad one. It
encompasses quiet or silent thought as well as verbal expression of God’s Word during the activities of
everyday life. As a result, it seems that the Bible regards a wide variety of things as forms of meditation.
Second, God definitely calls His people to practice meditation, as we clearly see in the Old Testament
times. It is not simply a Christian practice. Jewish writer Aryeh Kaplan claims in his book Jewish
Meditation that there exists ample evidence that meditation practices were widespread among Jews
from the biblical to the premodern era. He claims further that in the biblical world a large proportion of
Israelites participated in such practices. Third, the primary subjects of meditation were God’s acts, law,
and Word. The main biblical book for meditation was clearly the Psalms. A combination of prayer,
music, and meditation based on the Psalter furnished Israelites with a rich variety of ways to experience
an ongoing sense of God’s presence.

The New Testament and Meditation

Although the New Testament has no specific word usually translated into English as “meditate,”
we have evidence to support its practice by early Christians. The most basic reason is simply that Jesus,
His 12 apostles, and Paul were all Jews, steeped in the beliefs, traditions, and practices of their people.
Realizing that the classic portrayal of a Jewish religious life included meditation on God and His teaching
made it an expected practice. For them prayer in its fullest sense included what we would call both
prayer and meditation. Beyond that, careful examination of the New Testament evidence implies that
believers practiced meditation. One example is the Gospel account of the preparatory experience in
Jesus’ life that we often label the three temptations (see Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1-13).
The passages specifically mention only one spiritual practice, and that is “fasting” (Matthew 4:2; Luke
4:2). Fasting most often accompanied prayer and meditation. (see for example, Matthew 17:21). The
whole story makes it clear that what is at issue is the nature of Jesus’ identity and call. In this pivotal
incident at the outset of His ministry He must know clearly who He is, what He is to do, and how He is to
do it. Jesus finds His answer to all three questions in God’s Word. Jesus had no scrolls with Him, yet all of
His answers to Satan came from the Scripture and were prefaced by “It is written.” What seems clear is
that, like many Jews of His day, Jesus had memorized much Scripture, and in those 40 days of test, trial,
and crucial consideration of His ministry. He meditated deeply and profoundly on Scripture. The result
was a biblical response to Satan’s temptation, which itself included a false scriptural interpretation. In
other words, Jesus’ prolonged and intense meditation on Scripture produced not only a deep
understanding of its meaning but also a personal appropriation of its teaching, which applied its truth to
His life and ministry. It is a clear example of what true meditation can do for believers who follow the
same practice.

Not only did Jesus practice meditation – He called for in His teachings such actions that, if
followed, would include the practice of meditation. Jesus summoned people to do at least five specific
things that, if heeded, would actually either directly involve the process of meditation or produce its
work in one’s life.

First, Jesus called people to “consider.” “Look at the birds of the air” (Matthew 6:26), He
declares, and “consider the lilies of the field” (verse 28, KJV). Jesus then draws lessons that deal with life
and faith. Such insights can come only from thoughtful meditation or contemplation, something that has
gone beyond just casual notice of nature.
 Second, Jesus often called His audience to “hear.” He clearly speaks at the end of the Sermon
on the Mount of everyone who, He says, “hears these words of mine and does them” (Matthew 7:24,
RSV). Such people Jesus describes as “wise.” Hearing obviously means more than just listening or even
just cognitive understanding. To hear means to have thought over, digested, and applied His words to
one’s life. In other words, to have meditated *having “heard” means having meditated+ on the words to
the point that one now practices and follows them.

Third, Jesus called people to “obey.” Time and again in the Gospels He gives commands to
others, especially to His disciples. Obedience can be an automatic conditioned response that comes with
little or no thought. But the obedience that Jesus spoke about is different. When Jesus commanded
people such as Simon and Andrew to “follow me” (see Mark 1:17), we must assume that it included
prior knowledge and thought. Jesus had already been preaching and had become known. The potential
disciples had already considered various issues involving Him. They had pondered and meditated many
things. Any time an adult faces a radical life change, we must expect that it has been contemplated and
meditated on.

Fourth, Jesus called people to “see and understand.” He told many parables in His ministry,
including them to give insight into the nature and purpose of His ministry and the kingdom of God. By
their very nature of not being direct teaching, parables demanded meditation to truly discover their
implications. Discerning the “secret of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11) that the parables revealed
required careful thought and extensive insight. The lack of understanding of the disciples at the end of
Jesus’ ministry shows that they had not done the required meditation on His parables and teaching, and
that their “sseing” and “understanding” was still faulty.

Fifth, Jesus called people to “remember.” Both Old and New Testaments testify to the
importance of remembering the major festivals of Israel, which memorialized God’s mighty acts on the
nation’s behalf. Thus it is only natural that when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, His command of the
event and a pondering of its significance as well as a renewal of it meaning – all responses part and
parcel of meditation. Reliving and re-experiencing the presence and life of Jesus through meditation and
ritual act revitalize our religious life and prepare us to serve.

In summary, what we can say is that Jesus did not propose any specific type of meditation.
Perhaps He assumed that His hearers had already known and practiced such methods in their Jewish
context. What He did instead was teach, preach, and act in such a way that meditation became
necessary to understand and follow Him and His message. The obvious conclusion is that meditation is
not only a biblical teaching but that God expects it of believers and that it becomes necessary if we are
to understand and apply His Word and will at a deeper level.

What is Meditation?
Peter Toon’s definition of Christian meditation is “moving with the mind into the heart.” Toon
enlarges on the concept to say that “meditation is thus a particular way of receiving the revealed and
dynamic Word of God into the heart from the mind so as to direct the will in the way of God’s guidance.
It is related to, but not identical with, intellectual Bible study and prayer.” Biblical admonitions to
“consider the lilies” and other parables from nature seem to suggest that not only is God’s Word, the
Bible, the subject of meditation, but also that God’s created world Of nature, while secondary, is a
proper focus of meditation.

Meditation methods can be very diverse. As prayer can take place individually or in groups, so
can meditation. Meditation can mean repeating silently or in an undertone a Bible text as you go
through your everyday life. It can involve taking special time to sit quietly in your study or in the woods
to ponder silently and deeply God’s word and His acts. All these and many more practices can be
meditation. You can even develop your own methods.

Purpose and Benefits of Meditation

Meditation is a key part of study and application of the Word of God. The proper sequence of
serious Bible study must include meditation. Many only read Scripture. But to understand deeply,
reading is only one step. Memory is step two, followed by meditation as step three. Remembering which
Scripture always depicts as something active with characteristics very close to obedience, is step four.
Altogether it is a process by which we become, as Bible says, “doers of the Word, and not hearers only”
(James 1:22, RSV; see also Romans 2:13). Meditation is a key part of the process by which words read on
page or heard in a church become a molding, life-changing experience in our daily lives.

Meditation is vital component to prayer. By showing us our needs in the light of Scripture and
by giving us subjects for personal prayer, meditation can lead us into prayer. It can open the way to
intercessory prayer by laying on our hearts the needs of others. As we rest in God’s promises after we
have sought His blessings, it consummates prayer. And finally, it allows us to relax quietly in God’s
presence when we have no words to say. In all these ways and more meditation goes hand in hand with
prayer as a necessary partner.

Meditation is a key way of practicing the presence of God. For many, devotion is the quick
reading of an inspirational book and a hasty prayer that makes their needs and desires known. But
meditation slows that hasty, often superficial pace, and lets us begin really listening to God and sensing
His will and His presence. Whatever its forms, meditation slows us down and focuses our attention on
spiritual things. In meditation we “tune out” distraction and “tune in” to God. We shut out things that
would lead us away from a sense of God’s presence and at the same time beam our consciousness into
God’s “channel.” As a result we can wait on the Lord and enter His presence in a way not possible with
hasty, superficial approaches.

Meditation gives life and health to body, mind, and heart in a stressful world. Most of us live
pushed and hurried lives, and meditation slows us down. It becomes an oasis of calm, quiet, and rest in
God in the midst of a hectic existence. Such a pause not only refreshes the spiritual life but is a boon to
mental and physical health. In summary, one can say that meditation is a key part in Christian devotion
growth. All of the above benefits of meditation comprise elements of the overall path to Christian
maturity. God does not desire us to meditate just because He has decided that we should. The practice
of meditation is His gift to help us commune with Him so that we may grow in spiritualty and in ability to
minster to others.

The purpose of meditation is to enable us to hear God’s voice more clearly. Meditation is
listening, sensing, and heeding the life and light of Christ. This comes right to the heart of faith. The life
that pleases God is not a set of religious duties; it is to hear His voice and obey His Word. How do we
receive the desire to hear his voice? The desire to turn is a gift of grace. Anyone who imagines he can
simply begin meditating without praying for the desire and the grace to do so, will soon give up. But the
desire to meditate, and the grace to begin meditating, should be taken as an implicit promise of further
graces. Seeking and receiving that ‘gift of grace’ is the only thing that will keep us moving forward on the
inward journey. As Albert the Greta says, ‘The contemplation of the saints is fired by the love of the One
contemplated; that is God.’

Distinctions between Eastern/New Age Meditation and True Christian Meditation

Eastern/New Age Meditation Christian Meditation

 Presupposes impersonal pantheistic Presupposes personal God

cosmic consciousness

 Aims to escape thought Begins with thought

 Desires to find self and cosmic Wants to meet God in personal relationship
consciousness inside

 No Bible Bible central

 Attempt to empty the mind Attempt to fill the mind

The “How To” of Meditation

1. Lectio divina or sacred/divine reading. Pick an appropriate Bible passage. Particularly at the
beginning, as an introduction to meditation, the passage should be short. That means a phrase
or partial verse is fine, do not go longer than one verse. Simple, familiar passages are “I am the
light of the world” (John 8:12), “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son”
(John 3:16), or “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1).
2. Pay attention to place and posture. It is best to have a location with minimal interruptions. We
may need to close doors or windows and deal with noise factors. During periods of silence any
 interruptions will seem greatly amplified. Assume a comfortable position that decreases the
need to move or shift position. For most, that is sitting upright with back straight and both feet
flat on the floor, hands comfortably placed on lap or thighs.
3. Begin with a brief prayer for God’s presence, guidance, and protection from any evil influence.
When we become quiet and open to God, we simply want to make sure that anything that
happens is under Jesus’ leadership. The prayer itself helps to achieve silence and create the
setting for meaningful meditation.
4. Begin to focus on the present situation in preparation to hear God’s Word. This seeks to
minimize distraction and let people concentrate as much as they can on God’s Word. Be
reminded that God delights when invited and His Word cherished. Savor the presence of God.
5. Repeatedly read, meditate on, and respond to God’s Word. Questions to ask includes: “What is
God saying in this passage?” – It encourages meditation on the context of the passage. “How
does this verse touch my life?” – Personal application. “What command or invitation for
personal action do you find in this verse?” – Active response. The responses to these questions
can be amazing as the Spirit works to apply Scripture to the heart and life.
6. In conclusion, thank God in prayer for His Word and His guidance. This is a nice way to climax
the experience and bring a sense of closure.