Recovering Christian Meditation

Recovering Christian Meditation
Photo by Warren / Unsplash

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night."
Psalm 1:2

What is Meditation?

Virtually every self-help guru and health expert recommends practicing meditation, sometimes citing scientific literature to prove its effectiveness against stress and brain fog.

People rightly think of meditation as an ancient practice, but we often don't think of meditation as an ancient Christian practice. Instead, we usually imagine an Eastern monk, robed and sitting in a lotus position.

Many modern practices of meditation involve narrowing your attention to your breath and silencing any other intruding thoughts. Some practices also include systematically focusing on each part of your body and being conscious of all sensations.

Meditation in Scripture

Although the prevailing voices on meditation are non-Christian, we must let our approach be shaped by the Word. Throughout the Scriptures, we see three primary focuses of the meditations of the saints.

Law/Scriptures

"O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day."
Ps 119:97

"I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation."
Ps 119:99

God's Works/Faithfulness

"I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds."
Ps 77:12

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
Ps 143:5

God Himself

"When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,"
Ps 63:6

The Goal of Meditation

In Scripture, we see the purpose of meditation as well as its focus. For example, Joshua 1:8 says,

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it..."

Meditating on God's commandments should result in further obedience and love towards the commandments.

A clarifying New Testament example of meditative practice is found near the end of Philippians. Paul writes,

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."
Php 4:6–9.

As we pray to and dwell on our God, our meditations should result in incomprehensible peace in God and a desire to practice obedience like the great cloud of witnesses.

Meditating Like a Christian

Many well-meaning believers have attempted to bring back the ancient tradition of Christian meditation, creating protocols such as transcendent meditation, contemplative prayer, and lectio divina. However, if you look into these methods, you will find that they are more focused on receiving fresh revelation than they are about meditating on Scripture, God's works, or God Himself. Additionally, it is questionable whether these practices truly match the ancient Christian forms they claim to be based on.

What these forms do get right is their emphasis on repetition and focus. The Hebrew word commonly translated as "meditate" denotes the idea of muttering or murmuring. It is the idea of quietly dwelling on truth and talking to yourself and to God about Scripture, God's works, or God's character. This is as specific as we should get in prescribing an exact protocol for Christian meditation.

Instead of drawing attention to each body part and its sensations, we draw attention to each word of a Scripture passage, each detail of one of God's works, and each wonder of God Himself. Instead of emptying our minds, we fill them with spiritual truth. Instead of detaching ourselves from this world and our sufferings, we consider how Christ entered this world to suffer and how we can imitate His example. Instead of "allowing" the Spirit to bring us fresh revelation, we plead with God to ingrain in us what He has already revealed in His Word and works.

Practicing Christian Meditation

Memorize Scripture

If the average Old Testament Jew told us how much Scripture he had memorized, we would probably think he was exaggerating. It is likely that Old Testament saints had every Psalm memorized as well as significant portions of other books. Only a century ago it was a basic requirement of ministers to have every Psalm memorized.

Having Scripture sealed away in our minds allows us to recall it at any time in order to meditate. As you lie in bed in the pitch black, you can meditate on the Scripture you have memorized. Throughout the day, you can meditate at any time and any place.

Reflect on How God has been Faithful

You can recall the works of God by meditating on some of the great things recorded in Scripture such as the moments of creation, the parting of the Red Sea, the wonders at Mount Sinai, the conquest of Canaan, and the miracles and sacrifice of Christ.

Additionally, you can meditate on how God has been faithful in your life. Think about good provisions, answered prayers, refining trials, miraculous healings–however you have seen God work in your life.

Meditate on God

Meditating on what we know about God's character can be especially formative in how we think about our relationship with God and how we seek to imitate Him on earth. As the Psalmist writes,

"Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will meditate on Your wonders."
Ps 119:27

Conclusion

We must recover the practice of Christian meditation by using our quiet moments to intentionally fill our minds with truth about God, focusing on it, and uttering it to ourselves.

And as Psalm 1 says of the person who makes a practice of meditating day and night:

"He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers."
Ps 1:3.