A Holistic Approach to Biblical Meditation
Worry is a form of meditation.
The chapter was only beginning, but as soon as my eyes darted to the end of the sentence, I put the book down and spoke this prayer:
Lord, forgive me.
What was I asking God to forgive me for? My worrying, lack of proper meditation, filling my mind with anything but his truth? At that moment, it was all of the above and much more.
While meditation carries a spiritual connotation, it actually has to do, in the more general sense, with what our minds dwell on. But like the psalmist in Psalm 19, shouldn’t we want our meditations to be pleasing in the sight of our redeemer? After all, he is the one who redeemed us to have spirit-led thoughts.
In this blog post, I’ll show you how to practically meditate on God’s Word, fully engaging with all it has to offer.
“Meditation was not, as the word has come to imply today, an interior reflection on the meaning of certain words. It was first and foremost the utterance, or exclamation of words, which were gradually digested and interiorized,” writes Douglas Burton-Christie, author of The Word in the Desert
Burton-Christie must have been on to something because if we look up the meaning of ha.gah, the original Hebrew word for meditate, we stumble upon imagery like growling, moaning, and muttering.
If we growl, we can’t be quiet. We must roar and do so loudly.
When we read the Word, we receive God’s truth. But when we meditate on the Word, we engage all of our senses to savor this truth and let it permeate and change our entire beings.
After reading a passage in Scripture, I like to write down a verse that stood out to me, keep it at eye level, and refer to it throughout the day. I usually meditate on one verse per day, but if you are starting with meditation, a word or a phrase will work great too. The aim is not meditating on as many words as possible but allowing the Spirit to mold you through the intentional practice of meditation.
When I refer back to the verse, I speak it, sing it, or even turn it into a prayer. Studies have shown that your comprehension improves when you read out loud rather than in your head. So, as I meditate externally, I internalize that truth and sharpen my understanding of God’s truth.
As it is when we read Scripture, connecting our eyes with our mouths when we meditate revitalizes the active words of our Lord.
But don’t stop at the mouth! Walk, dance, and kneel as you ruminate on the truth of God’s love for you. Then, take it a step further and meditate in the context of a community where you can bounce insights off each other and edify the body of Christ.
After all, isn’t that what Paul tells the Ephesians to do as an expression of a new life in the Spirit?
“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:19, NKJV)
In the book Discovering Lectio Divina, authors James Wilhoit and Evan Howard write that Scripture “was written to be understood by the whole person—heart, mind, soul, and strength—so it is good to meditate with the whole person.”
Christ gave his all at the cross. It is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1) to give our all when we ponder the words of our Savior.
Finally, while our mediation should be external, it should flow from an internal understanding of what we are reading. Here are some questions to mull over after you choose your word, phrase, or verse:
What attribute of God do I see?
How can I praise God based on what I read?
What can I receive from this passage (command, promise, warning)?
What should I change based on this passage?
What sin should I confess?
What should I pray for?
Who should I reach out to (family, friends, etc.)?
Intentional meditation happens when we have a plan. So, I pray that as you follow these guidelines to meditate on the Word, you will allow God to transform your automatic thoughts of worrying into pleasing, noble thoughts that engage your heart, mind, and soul.
After praying for God to forgive me for my worrisome meditations, I also asked him to mold my mind into his own. My meditation has never been the same since.