3/29/2024
God Speaks through Meditation
God Speaks
May God reveal his heart for us to meditate as a central discipline of our faith. And may he empower us to make room for his presence in a meaningful way today.
Introduction
In today’s devotional, we’re going to look at the role of meditation in hearing from God. Meditation for many reasons, seems to have found its way out of our Christian context. But the reality is that meditation has been central to our faith throughout its history. And the Bible is chocked full of encouragement to meditate on who God is, on his word, allowing space for God to fill in our daily lives.
May God reveal his heart for us to meditate as a central discipline of our faith. And may he empower us to make room for his presence in a meaningful way today.
Scripture
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”
Psalm 119:15 ESV
Devotional
The spiritual discipline of meditation does for the heart of a Christian what nutrients and good soil do for the seed of a plant. Through meditation the seed of God’s word takes root and produces life-giving, abundant fruit. Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline wrote, “The purpose of meditation is to enable us to hear God more clearly. Meditation is listening, sensing, heeding the life and light of Christ. This comes right to the heart of our faith. The life that pleases God is not a set of religious duties; it is to hear His voice and obey His word. Meditation opens the door to this way of living.”
The Christian practice of meditation is, at its core, ruminating on the word of God. Meditation creates space for the Spirit to speak directly to our hearts and apply God’s word to our lives. When we ruminate on a passage of Scripture like Lamentations 3:22, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end,” we give God space to reveal all the ways in which his mercy and steadfast love are available to us. Meditation creates a pathway for Scripture to go past our minds and affect change within our hearts.
Another powerful aspect of Christian meditation is mulling over the character of God. Sometimes when I feel hopeless I will take a few passages of Scripture about the hope God provides and meditate on them. And in the process of meditating on God’s perfect character my thoughts, perspectives, and emotions come in line with the unchanging nature of my heavenly Father. Meditating on who God is powerfully affects the way we view the world. It’s for this reason Psalm 1:1-3 declares,
Take time to meditate on Scripture today. Make space to listen to God and apply the seed of his word. Ruminate on his unchanging, perfect character. May your day be filled with abundant life as you bear the fruit of meditation.
Prayer
1. Choose a verse or aspect of God’s character to meditate on.
2. Make space to hear from God as you meditate on his word or character. Allow the Spirit to apply God’s word to your life as you meditate. Allow God’s character to lay a foundation for your emotions.
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Psalm 119:15
3. Now take note of how the verse or phrase seems to have made an impact in the way you think, feel, or desire to act. Rejoice in the power of God’s word to transform lives and hearts.
Worship
Go
Meditation should be a daily practice for Christians. God’s word was never meant to just be understood but to be alive and active in his children. Scripture is meant to direct us into becoming more like Jesus both internally and externally in our actions. Meditating is one of the best tools God has given us in taking the Bible from words on a page to a living and active lifestyle. May engaging in meditation transform your spiritual life into one filled with joy, power and fruit of the Spirit.
Extended Reading: Psalm 1 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.
May engaging in meditation transform your spiritual life into one filled with joy, power and fruit of the Spirit.
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