The Discipline of Meditation

The word “meditate” carries a connotation of sitting in the woods with you legs folded and chanting some meaningless word over and over. Meditation merely means to think. When you practice meditating, you are setting aside time to think about God’s will for your life, and how you will live for Him.


Ideas for Meditating:

1. Bible Memorization
When I was a junior in college, I was challenged to read less scripture, and instead memorize some particular passages. I started with Isaiah 40:28-31, and then memorized Proverbs 3:5-6. After a few weeks of reciting these passages, I added Micah 6:6-8, and then Psalm 121. I was amazed at how these passages started to pop up in my thoughts as I faced decisions and spent time in prayer. The act of memorizing forces you to think about Bible passages.

2. Word of the Year
For the last two years, my wife and I have chosen a word that we would focus on throughout the year. In 2006, my word was “discernment,” and in 2007, my word is “contentment.” We have found that focusing on one word for the year has helped our individual prayer lives, and it has been good for discussions in our marriage. My word for the year has become a recurring prayer request, and I am discovering that God teaches me about the significance of that word as I focus on it. If you want to pick a word for the year, I suggest starting with one of the fruit of the Spirit that are mentioned in Galatians 5.

3. Pointed Questions
After spending some time in prayer, resolve to sit quietly for a few moment in order to think about some important matters in your life. In the silence, continue to pray and ask God some questions about your life. You may want to ask about your integrity, your faithfulness, your relationship with family members, your witness to family members or co-workers, your walk with God, or the calling God has for you (to name a few). After you ask these questions, take time to think about the answer to that question, and ask God to guide your thoughts. When I have practiced this as a spiritual discipline, I have had frequent times when I have sat silently without any earthshaking revelations. However, there have also been numerous times when I have gained previously undiscovered insights. I believe that many of those insights were God’s voice calling me to live for Him.