WHY SHOULD I MEDITATE?
"An unschooled man who knows how to meditate upon the Lord has learned far more than the man with the highest education who does not know how to meditate." - Charles Stanley
Meditation in the Bible
Meditation in one form or another is mentioned over 58 times in the Bible.
Examples include:
- Genesis 24:63
- Joshua 1:8
- Psalms 1:2
- Psalms 4:4
- Psalms 145:5
Benefits of Meditation
Transformed Thinking
- The world's thinking is not God's thinking (Isaiah 55:8)
- We become what we think (Proverbs 23:7)
- Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2)
- Renewing literally means "to make new"
- Meditation frees us from the futile thinking of this world
Ability to hear God's voice and obey it - Richard Foster
"What happens in meditation is that we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart." - Richard Foster
Why People Do Not Meditate
- For the most part, it simply is not taught in church
- People are so caught up in the business of life that they simply do not set aside any time for meditation.
- General misunderstanding of what Christian meditation really is
Meditation is NOT
Psychological Manipulation
Middle Eastern Meditation
- Involves
- Detaching from the world
- Emptying one's mind
Meditation Is
"Biblical meditation involves becoming detached from the controlling and hindering influences of the world and attached to the living God through Christ," - J. Hampton Keathley, III
Subject Oriented
Meditation is the act of focusing our thoughts on a single truth. We are to:
- Ponder
- Think On
- Muse
- Reflect On
- Contemplate
- Ruminate
- Think Deeply About
Possible Subjects of Meditation Include:
- God
- Scripture
- Events
- Personal
- Community
- World
- Nature
- God's Works
Mediation is like Chewing Gum. We chew on a single truth until we have abstracted its entire flavor.