Thoughts on Meditation, Part One

A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed to share some of my heart about meditation. It was an honor to initiate conversation about the spiritual disciplines at our three-day retreat in Davis, Oklahoma. I'm hoping that these next few posts help someone else. There's a lot to chew here. I just want to open the dialogue. Blessings.

When you think of the word “exercise”, what comes to mind? Words like, “working”, “sweaty”, and “drudgery” all come to the forefront, don’t they? Yet, we also know that exercise produces benefits to our bodies. The Mayo Clinic gave some benefits that included: Improved mood; improved sleep; combating chronic disease; and weight control. One of the final things they talked about with exercise is that it can be fun! We all know there are benefits to sweating. Hard work can produce some incredible results. Does anyone watch the Biggest Loser? Look at their results. We can apply this physically, but we also need to learn to apply this to our spiritual lives as well.

First, let’s get our definition of a spiritual discipline. Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, defines a spiritual discipline as, “An intentionally directed action by which we do what we can do in order to receive from God the ability (or power) to do what we cannot do by direct effort.” What does that mean? What part does God play? What part do we play?

Second, we have to understand that these disciplines are not merely for behavior modification. However, as we grow in Christ, our behavior will change. As Dallas Willard stated, “The aim of disciplines in the spiritual life—and, specifically, in the following of Christ—is the transformation of the total state of the soul. It is the renewal of the whole person from the inside, involving differences in thought, feeling, and character that may never be manifest in outward behavior at all. This is what Paul has in mind when he speaks of putting off the “old man” and putting on the new, “renewed to resemble in knowledge the one who created us”. (Colossians 3:10)

How does all of this work? Exercise. Discipline. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

The first way we do this is by renewing our minds by meditating on scripture. Paul writes in Romans 12:1, 2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Here’s how we are going to lay out our time. I want to walk through with you what meditation looks like, how to approach it. Finally, if we all want to dialogue here, let's work on the application together.