Timothy tells us: “the Holy Scriptures…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15-17). See also Hebrews 4:12.
Biblical meditation is not to be confused with various New Age Eastern transcendental meditation practices that originated in Hinduism and Buddhism and became popular in the 1970s. Rather than trying to empty the mind in a trance-like state, biblical meditation aims to fill the mind through focused thinking about how to build a personal relationship with God.
Biblical meditation is desiring the mind of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5) and “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Bible is the Word of truth (John 17:17) and one of God’s convicting agents. The other is the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth” which will “guide you into all truth…and tell you things to come” (John 16:13). Meditation involves concentrating our thoughts on God’s Word (Psalm 119:99) to seek understanding, or to overcome sinful behavior and weakness. Picturing making the right choices and taking the proper actions is reinforcing.
The Psalms contain the most instruction about meditation. Psalm 19:7-14, penned by David, testifies to the value of the law, testimony, statutes, commandments and judgments (verses 7-9). “Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults…[and] presumptuous sins” (verses 11-13). David concluded, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
Psalm 119 has 176 verses—many about meditation—extolling God’s law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments and judgments. Verse 11 states: “Your word I have hidden in my heart.” If we take the time to memorise verses of the Bible this will enable us to meditate on spiritual precepts even when we don’t have a Bible handy. In the future Christians may face challenging times when we will be thankful for any verses we have memorized.
Any time during our busy schedule is a good time to meditate on God and His way of life. Psalm 119:97 exclaims: “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day,” while Psalm 63:6 states: “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.” Meditation helps us to “connect all the dots” so we see how scriptures relate to each other and more deeply comprehend the beauty of God’s plan for humanity.
Effective meditation will help Jesus find us “so doing” (Matthew 24:46) at Christ’s return: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
