The Discipline of Meditation

[I will be posting my church newsletter articles here this year. This is the January 2008 article.]

“Psalm 42:7 reads ‘Deep calls to deep.’ Perhaps somewhere in the subterranean chambers of your life you have heard the call to deeper, fuller living. You have become weary of frothy experiences and shallow teaching. Every now and then you have caught glimpses, hint of something more than you have known. Inwardly you long to launch out into the deep.” (Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster)

Does that paragraph describe you? If you’ve ever felt that way, or desire to feel that way, join me to explore spiritual disciplines this year. No, not discipline like in the Army, or the kind disbursed in the principal’s office, but the kind that deepen, strengthen, and enhance our relationship with God. These are practices reserved for spiritual giants or contemplatives in secluded monasteries. A deep and thorough knowledge of theology isn’t required. All that is required is a longing after God, and the attitude of your heart matters more than the mechanics of the discipline. Ready? Let’s go!

This month, let’s talk about meditation. Christian meditation differs distinctly from its Eastern and secular counterparts. Eastern meditation attempts to empty the mind and detach from the world; Christian meditation attempts to fill the mind and attach ourselves to God. The concept is thoroughly biblical, mentioned more than 58 times in the Bible. The stress is upon changed behavior as a result of our encounter with the living God. It is, simply put, hearing God’s voice and obeying what we hear. Most often, what we hear isn’t earth-shaking or dramatically prophetic, but is mundane and remarkably practical. Meditation is related to both study and prayer, but is distinct from both.

Too often, our time with God consists of reading His word (which certainly we ought to do) and praying (which certainly we ought to do). If God wishes to tell us something, he must interrupt us! At some point, to truly grow with God, we must learn to LISTEN. Jesus says his sheep know his voice and will follow him (John 10:27). We must train our ears to recognize his voice. We must press the ‘mute’ button of the world. To do this requires that we give some part of each day to meditation.

There’s no way to completely cover the topic here. I recommend the following books: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster [on which these articles are based], and From Mind to Heart: Christian Meditation Today by Peter Toon [which is apparently out of print. How very grateful I am to the person who gave me my copy now. So, try The Art of Meditating on Scripture by Peter Toon instead.] There are many others, I’m sure.

I will share an exercise here, to get you started. I will be sharing others in Sunday evening Bible study.

Exercise.
Let’s use the parable of the grain of wheat, John 12:24-26. Take your Bible and find a comfortable seat, where you can put both feet on the floor. Read those verses several times, slowly. Consider what Jesus was saying. Focus on the grain of wheat. It represents you. Then sit your Bible aside, and put your hands on your knees, palms up. Have you fallen to yourself? If not, what in you need to die so that Christ can live through you? Are you bearing much fruit for Christ? What would that look like? What prevents you from bearing fruit? Maybe you don’t even want to die to yourself at this point. You’re scared of what you might be asked to give up for God. So tell God that. Then wait . . . and listen . . . for just five little minutes. Set a timer if you need, but stay in that place, and see what God says. End with a simple prayer, such as “Lord, let me be your wheat, sown for your harvest. Give me fresh hope and joy in serving you all the days of my life.”

May Christian meditation invigorate your spiritual life in this New Year!