Meditation

Psalm 19:14

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

Admit it - the image of a monk sitting in the lotus position with eyes closed and middle fingers pressed to thumbs chanting, “Ooohhmmmmm...” just flashed through your mind.  This stereotypical scene is not what I’m referring to.  (Although I won’t deny the possibility of tailoring it to meditate upon God.)  I am referring more to centering my thoughts upon God and His Word, tied in a bit with memorization.

God has been prodding me a little in this area.  There are several places where meditation is mentioned in God’s Word.  I, too, think of the stereotypical monk when I think of meditation, and often dismiss it as a result.  I think of meditation more as trying to achieve “alpha” state, where you are aware, but not focused on any one thing.  However, the meditation that God talks about in the Bible is centered on something in particular - like His Word, or His attributes.  It’s more like what your thought life is focused on.

God has shown me that this is something that I need to practice and be aware of in my everyday life.  As with all things, practice makes “perfect.”  If I use some of my quiet time to practice meditating upon God and His Word - to focus my thoughts on a single idea - then I will be better at meditating while I’m not able to focus solely on it.  While I’m at work, for instance, or doing chores.  If I memorize a verse, I can recall it at any time to think on it and what God is trying to tell me through it - which can change as we go through various stages of life.  I am seeing meditation as a handy tool in being able to live in the constant knowledge of God’s presence.  And in His presence is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:10)

I am thankful for the useful tool of meditation.  It is a very simple thing, which makes it easy to do.  (We all know that we’re more likely to do something if it’s easy.)  It also gives me a way to add variety to my quiet time.  If I do the same thing every time, it gets harder for my mind not to wander.

What have you been centered on lately?