What
is meditation? J.I. Packer in Knowing God described
it this way:
“Meditation is a lost art today, and Christian
people suffer grievously from their ignorance of the
practice. Meditation is the activity of calling to
mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and
applying to oneself, the various things that one
knows about the words and ways and purposes and
promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought,
consciously performed in the presence of God, under
the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of
communion with God.”
Note several Bible passages on the importance of
meditation:
1. Joshua 1:8 –“This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to
do according to all that is written therein: for
then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then
thou shalt have good success.”
2. Psalm 104:34 –“My meditation of him shall be
sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.”
3. Psalm 119:97-99 says, “O how love I thy law! it
is my meditation all the day.Thou through thy
commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:
for they are ever with me. I have more understanding
than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my
meditation.”
The Bible in these verses guarantees success,
gladness, and wisdom to the individual who will
learn to meditate. Are you interested in obtaining
and maintaining these benefits as well as a host of
others? If so you must desire to master meditation.
Someone rightly lamented that “the lost art of the
twentieth century is meditation.” Packer observed
that “little meditation also makes lean Christians,
of little faith, little strength, little growth, and
of little usefulness to others.”
There are two specific focal points that demand
continual meditation: the Savior and the Scriptures.
Brother Lawrence wrote the well-loved book
Practicing the Presence of God. In his book he said,
“Think often on God, by day, by night, in your
business, and even in your diversions. He is always
near you and with you; leave him not alone. You
would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came
to visit you; why, then, must God be neglected?”
We should meditate on His Person. He is eternal, He
is immutable, He is omniscient, omnipresent, and
omnipotent. He is recognized by His love, rich in
His mercy, and royal in His nature. He is King of
Kings and Lord of Lords!
We should meditate also on His Power. Because He is
omnipotent, there is no problem too daunting or no
person too difficult for Him to handle. The question
was posed in Jeremiah 32, “Is there anything too
hard {for the Lord}?” I’m glad that the answer is a
resounding “No!”
Finally, we should meditate on His Promises. He
promised to supply our needs, to stick with us until
the end, to snatch away His children from this
wicked world one day, and so many other precious
things.
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May our desire be that of the Apostle Paul, “That I may know Him.”
Meditation is the key to unlock that door.
To enjoy a blessed life as a believer, not only must you meditate on
the Savior, but you also should meditate on the Scriptures.
Most teens understand the importance of reading God’s Word, but
really struggle with this discipline. Teens often lament that they
just are not getting much from their Bible reading.
Thomas Watson gives some insight concerning this dilemma: “The
reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is because we do
not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.”
A Puritan writer stated, “It is not reading much that makes the
knowing Christian, but meditating on what is read: reading without
meditation is like swallowing meat without due chewing: that makes a
lean man, so this makes a lean mind.”
The blessed man of Psalm 1 is in that blissful state not only
because of what he avoids (Psalm 1:1), but also because of what he
absorbs (Psalm 1:2). He delights in the Word of God and meditates on
the truths of Scriptures throughout the day.
The successful man of Joshua 1:8 owes his success to meditation on
the Law of God. Jesus told us in Matthew 4:4 that our sustenance for
spiritual life and vitality is not physical bread, but spiritual
Bread from the Bible.
Each day decide to get at least one truth or precious promise from
your devotional reading and chew on it throughout the day. You will
be amazed at the growth that will begin to take place in your life
as you
meditate on God’s Word.
I close with this thought from an unknown writer, “It is a law of
life that if a man thinks of something often enough and long enough,
he will come to the stage when he cannot stop thinking about it. His
thoughts will be quite literally in a groove out of which he cannot
jerk them.”
[Tony
Bazen, Park Meadows Baptist] |
