Are You Practicing Scripture Meditation?

Many of us have access to a smorgasbord of Christian activities, Bible studies, and church services. These opportunities can be a real blessing, and many lives are changed because of them. If we wanted to, we could just go from one banqueting table to another, because God’s Word is available to us from so many places.

But if we aren’t careful, we can become too dependent on this spoon-feeding. It’s possible to become so spiritually “fat” that we’re useless for anything productive in God’s Kingdom.

As believers, we can’t just passively wait to be fed Scriptural truths by teachers and preachers. We must learn to feed ourselves from God’s Word.

Just hearing a message and agreeing with it doesn’t mean we actually learned it. We can admire what was said and even accept it as God’s truth, but until we act upon it, we haven’t allowed His truth to become a reality in our lives.

We need to stop, meditate on what we’ve heard, and begin applying it to our lives before moving on to the next lesson God has in store for us.

Don’t Get Lost Moving Too Quickly

Believers who don’t slow down to practice Scripture meditation are losing much of the benefit they could be gaining from what they read in the Bible or hear preached.

The Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:19 describes this condition: “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.”

According to this verse, when Scripture doesn’t become an integral part of our life, the enemy comes and immediately steals it from us. His goal is to rob us of the most important source of our spiritual growth: God’s Word.

Meditation’s Special Role

Keep in mind that transcendental meditation (a form of Eastern religion) is very different from Biblical meditation.

While transcendental meditation is a humanistic mental process involving chanting and incantation, Biblical meditation focuses solely on the Lord and His Word:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8).

Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all (1 Timothy 4:15).

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things (Philippians 4:8).

I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways (Psalm 119:15).

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works (Psalm 145:5).

With so many references in the Bible to meditation, isn’t it amazing we don’t hear more about it in the Church today? Yet this is an important tool as we pursue greater intimacy with the Lord and greater application of His Word in our lives.

A Special Time and Place

Although it may not be easy to find time for meditation, it’s worth the fight to find it so you can keep growing in your relationship with the Lord!

God can be so real to you when you’re alone with Him. You can cry or laugh, and you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone! You can clear away all the cobwebs from your heart and mind, and then truly experience and hear from the Lord as you meditate on His Word.

Know this: Absolutely none of the time you spend with the Lord and His Word will be wasted. You always will come away renewed and refreshed!