Meditations on Meditation

"...when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;" (Psalm 63:6)

Meditation does not always mean sitting in a "lotus" position, burning incense, and saying "Ohm, Ohm..." over and over again. Scripture tells us to meditate on God's perfect Word. Meditation is an essential ingredient to a mature Christian walk with Christ. The Christian who is not meditating(spending significant time reflecting on) on God's word regularly cannot be walking in a manner consistent with maturity in the faith. And as we all are called to grow up in the faith, meditation needs to be present in us to do so.

All Christians should be meditating on the Word of God, and God and His attributes. It is not a matter of "if" but "when" we meditate. Remove from your mind any idea that you, as a believer in Jesus Christ, should not be meditating on God.

There are no formulas to follow. There are no set times we are to meditate. We are called to do this all the time.

Let's turn to Scripture for direction:

"Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." (Psalm 119:97)

If you are not in the habit of meditating, then pray that the Lord would instill in you the heart to utilize this godly practice. It is the declaration of God that His people meditate day and night on Him. (Psalm 1:2)

So what exactly does this mean? Biblical meditation, or Christian meditation is the remembrance of, the contemplation of, the pondering of, the questioning of and the wonderment over God, His nature and His works. It is not the emptying of the mind, which many other forms of meditation require, but rather the filling of the mind with something specific. As we meditate as Christians, we fill our minds with something specific about our Lord. It is the concerted focusing on an aspect or a Word of the Lord and spending time on it.

What should we meditate upon?

Generally, there are three things we should meditate upon as Christians. We should meditate on God's nature, God's works and God's word. Who is God? What has God done? What has God said (or commanded)?

We should think about the nature of God, His characteristics and attributes.

"I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands." (Psalm 143:5)

We should meditate upon the works of God.

"I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds." (Psalm 77:12)

We should meditate on God's words (including His commandments).

"I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation." (Psalm 119:99)

Now, meditating regularly on these three will keep us busy enough, but there are two more things to remember when meditating on God.

Our meditations should be focused. In other words, be disciplined in your meditation of God. Pick an aspect and focus on that one aspect. Consider one attribute, one work or one law of God and stay fixed on it for a while. Think about it. What does it mean? What are its implications? What impact should it have on your life? Ask God to give you knowledge and wisdom from it. Pray over it.

A friend of mine told me this story once: If you are in a class and you are struggling, and it's time to pick a study partner, you always want to pick the best student in the class. Because, by spending time with the person that knows the subject best, you will perform better. So it is with the Lord. We are the subject, and no one knows us better that God. It only stands to reason that the more time spent with Him, the better our life will be.