An Introduction to Christian Meditation and Memorization

In my last post, we finished looking at some practical tips for how to get started meditating on God’s Word. In this post, I want to answer the question of what’s in it for me?  What are the benefits of Christian meditation and memorization?

True Christian Meditation should come from the heart and with a desire to please God; not with an attitude of what’s in it for me.  The Bible, through Joshua, commands us to meditate and obey God’s Word which always benefits our life (see Joshua 1:8). David tells us:

“How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! Their delight is in Adonai’s Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams – they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds.” ~ Psalm 1:1-3 (emphasis added)

Christian meditation is based on the Word of God. Meditating daily helps reveal God and causes us to be blessed as we spend time with Him. Meditation allows us to tap into the very life of God.As noted in earlier posts, we were created for a purpose. While meditating on God’s Word, we may be able to discern the plan that He has prepared us to do. Jeremiah writes: “For I know what plans I have in mind for you,’ says Adonai, ‘plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future” ~ Jeremiah 29:11.

Rabbi Sha’ul instructs the Believers in Ephesus, “In union with Him we were given an inheritance, we who were picked in advance according to the purpose of the One who effects everything in keeping with the decision of his will.” ~ Ephesians 1:11
If you want to know God’s will for your life, than you need to read His will. Kefa writes, “He has given us valuable and superlatively great promises, so that through them you might come to share in God’s nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world.” ~ 2 Peter 1:4

Selwyn Hughes has stated that Christian meditation of the Scriptures provides “the spiritual nourishment that God has put within them.” He goes on to say that “God has gone into His Word, and God has to come out of it. Meditation is the way.” [1]

In meditating on God’s Word, our goal should not be to learn about God by seeking to enlarge our acquaintance with His nature, but with the Living God whose characteristics they are.

“O God, help me never to approach the Bible content to know only the written Word. Give me a passion that never remains satisfied until, through the written Word, I discover more of the living Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen” [2]

In closing, I came across the following devotion just this week. Since my favorite English word for meditation is ruminate, the title captured my eye.

Spiritual Digestion [3]

“How I love Your instruction! It is my meditation all day long…. I have more insight than all my teachers because Your decrees are my meditation.” ~ Psalm 119:97, 99

One of the highest priorities in order to stay spiritually fresh is to cultivate the art of Scripture meditation.

For some reason, Bible meditation has become a lost art in our day. A survey conducted among Christians in the United States showed that only one in ten thousand knew how to meditate on the Scriptures.

What, then, is the art of Scripture meditation? Is it reading parts of the Bible as slowly as possible so that every word sinks in? No. Is it studying a passage with the aid of a commentary so that one understands exactly what the Scripture is saying? No. Is it memorizing certain texts and recalling them to mind whenever one has a spare moment? No. You can do all of these things and still not know how to meditate.

Andrew Murray describes it as “holding the word of God in your heart and mind until it has affected every area of your life.” My own definition is this: meditation is the process by which we place the Word of God into the digestive system of the soul, where it is transformed into faith and spiritual energy.

Psalm 1:2-3 paints a picture of amazing freshness and vitality…What is the secret of this amazing freshness? It is simple—meditation. To draw from Scripture the inspiration and power we need to stay spiritually fresh, we must do more than read it, study it, or even memorize it—we must meditate on it.

Prayer

O Father, I want so much to learn the art of meditation. Quicken my desire to hide Your Word in my heart so that it becomes the hidden springs of action and determines my character and my conduct. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In my next post, we will explore how meditating on God’s Word leads to Biblical affirmations.

Click here for PDF version.

[1] Every Day with Jesus Daily Bible by Selwyn Hughes, February 9. I have been using this great devotional since the first of the year to assist me in reading through the Bible this year. For more information on Selwyn Hughes, click here.

[2] Ibid., October 12^th

[3] Ibid., November 2^nd