Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. – Joshua 1:8
Meditation is a prayerful reflection where we ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our understanding of God’s word as Jesus did with the disciples on the Emmaus Road (They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us? – Luke 24:32). Meditation includes picturing, speaking, feeling and study, it is where the Holy Spirit use the abilities of our hearts and minds to know more about God.
The word of God is inexhaustible, no matter how many times you read it, study it, there will always be something new revealed in it. This revelation you receive as a result of prayerfully meditating on Scripture, will allow you to see the light. With your eyes fixed on Jesus, He grows within you and you become more like him.
When we meditate on the word of God, it is pleasing to Him and speaking from experience, it changes the dynamics of our lives. Just think about how you feel when you take the time each day to read and delve into the meaning of the scripture. It changes what was a mundane day to one filled with promise.
Some of my favorite scriptures deal with mediating on God’s words:
- Psalm 104:33-34. 33I will sing to the Lordall my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.
- Isaiah 26:3 – 3You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
- Psalm 119:11 – 11I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
A person who spends time in God’s word or memorizes God’s word will be thinking about parts of the bible daytime and nighttime. The Hebrew for meditate means “to ponder”. When you are thinking about things such as “there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving”, you could ask yourself how do I know this is true? Is it really true that when I freely give from my heart it is more enjoyable than receiving gifts from people? The bible gives you everything you need to understand what is and is not the truth. Spend as much time as you need to gain a basic understanding of the words, then bookmark the verse for later; you’ll need to refer to it continually throughout your meditation. After you read through the passage, try reading through it again.
A simple application of this theory is to read the passage just before you go to sleep. Take time to scan through the passage and ask God to give you a thought that will help you live for Him the next day. Take this thought with you to bed.
Your subconscious mind will work on the thought while you sleep, and you will probably have the same thought in your mind the next morning. The writer of the Proverbs may be referring to this when he writes, “When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you” – Proverbs 6:22, NAS.
Take the time this new year to mediate on the word of God, there is only good that can come your efforts. Delving into the word of God is pleasing to Him, it builds your relationship and helps you with problems that may arise in your lifetime.
