Meditation--How to Approach It

There's not a set way to approach meditation. However, it does seem that meditation has some general components to it that I think are helpful. The scripture to review here would be 1 Kings 19:10-18. This is where Elijah is in a cave at Mount Horeb. Remember that Elijah looks for God in an earthquake, in the wind, and in a fire. But, scripture tells us that God is not in any of these things. Yet, when Elijah is finally focused, he hears the still small voice of God. Amazing, no?

There are three points here that help me to understand how to approach meditation. I want to show that if we STOP what we're doing, LOOK into God's word, and LISTEN to what God is saying, we'll be on the right track. Let's get a closer look at these steps:

Stop What You're Doing

Elijah got to Mount Horeb and spent the night. He had traveled for 40 days and nights as God had directed him to do. God got him to a place where he could be still. Just as God declares in Psalm 46:10, we need to be still and know who our God is. So many times we get caught up in the hurry and speed of life. Yet, "God works for those who wait for him". (Isaiah 64:4)

This lesson has not been easy for me. But, I have had to learn that being still and waiting for God is an active process. I watched the new Karate Kid movie last week, and there was a profound thought that being still does not mean that you do nothing. It's the same principle in meditation, going to a quiet place may mean slowing to be with God, but we do not check out of the process. Christian meditation, as Foster puts it, is not an emptying of ourselves. Rather, it's a filling up as we slow down to be with the God of the universe.

Look Into God's Word

While on the mountain, God asked him what he was doing there. Elijah complains and keeps the focus on himself. Then, he looked for God in big things. We do that sometimes, too, don't we? Yet, Elijah learned a lesson here -- keep on looking because God is not always in the big things. He learned focus.

We gain focus and perspective when we open God's word. Sometimes we do get the profound answer. However, I have found that I may not understand what I'm learning from a particular scripture until I've chewed on it for a few days and experienced it. The Psalmist understood this in Psalm 119:6, 15, and 18. My favorite part of that passage is verse 18, where the Psalmist says, "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."

Giving God's word concentrated attention means that we may read the same passage continually for a time. We definitely need to work on memorizing passages. Involving ourselves in God's word is a blessing that far too many miss because we're too busy with "life". Paul tells us to set our mind on things above in Colossians 3:2. When we set our minds and look intentionally into God's word, we are able to hear that still small voice that helps us to, "lean not to our own understanding," and see that when we acknowledge him, "he will direct our paths."

Listen to What God Is Saying

Finally, once we've stopped, once we've looked intentionally in God's Word, and we are ready to listen.

Elijah attempted to find God in the big ticket items--the earthquake, the fire, and the windstorm. But, as scripture tells us, God was not in any of those things. Instead, it was in the still small voice.

I love that scripture is full of references to God speaking to people. We see that he met Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He met Moses in the burning bush and on top of the mountain. He met Elijah on Mount Horeb. He spoke to Samuel as a child. He uses his word and his messengers throughout scripture. My favorite scripture though, is found in Amos 4:13, "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth-- the LORD God of hosts is his name!" Psalm 33 tells us that God who spoke and the earth was created, the God who breathed and the stars fell into place. This is same God who wants an intimate relationship with us. We just have to be available!

Well, there you have it. Stop, Look, and Listen. Pretty easy, right? Not really. We have to be intentional about our pursuit of him. May God bless you as you diligently chase after him. I hope this helps.

Meditation: What It Looks Like

As Richard Foster says, meditation is the ability to hear God's voice and obey God's word. How does this happen? We do this through prayerful rumination upon God, his Word, and his world by, “making the words of the bible personal by memorizing them and repeating them, with deep and simple concentration, 'from the heart'". Let's unpack these elements, so that we can gain a greater understanding of how this all looks.

First, let us discuss the hearing and obeying. 1 Samuel 3 details for us the ability of Eli to know when God was speaking and to hear the voice of God. Also, someone look at 1 Kings 19, where Elijah gets to the place where he can hear the still small voice of God. The great thing is that we serve a God who is still in the business of speaking to his people.

Second, let us park on the word “ruminate”. Merriam-Webster defines it two ways. First, it says, “to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly; secondly, to chew repeatedly for an extended period.” Read Joshua 1:7, 8. What do you understand here? We see that God commands that book of law is to be on their lips. In essence, they are supposed to be able to chew on God's word and regurgitate it to their children. Look also at Psalm 34:8. The bible tells us to taste and see that the Lord is good. As we chew on the Word, we get to experience the different "flavors" of God. Does that help in our definition of meditation? Have I made this too insurmountable? Stay with me, please.

Lastly, how do we make the word personal? Read Psalm 119:11. The writer says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." We hide in the innermost place--our heart. It needs to invade our lives in all aspects.

I hope this helps. I don't know if I have given you stuff for discussion. I thank you for letting me start the conversation. I want to hear your thoughts. Stay tuned for the next installment -- how to approach meditation.

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.

If I have any readers, would like to read some thoughts on meditation? I just taught on it at our church retreat.