A meditation on mediation
"As it [meditation] is the sister of reading, so it is the mother of prayer." -William Bridge
I have a book called Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney. It probably sounds very dry to many people. And actually I wouldn't really know either because until the other day I'd only read one chapter from it on fasting. That chapter has really changed the way I view fasting. I think it is something that our culture does not understand or appreciate because we can always have what we want immediately, but fasting gives complete control over the most basic necessities over to God.
But I decided to read the chapter on prayer yesterday. What I was so struck to the core by was it's tie to mediation. Another thing that our culture rarely discusses. Meditation is allowing something to fill our minds so much that it transforms our hearts. We often say that we "worship" other things besides God- which I know is true for me, but I realize that my worship starts with mediating and that deep mediation (even if we don't call it that), leads to worship (even if we don't call it that). So what am I meditating on? Too many things really. Sometimes all I can think about it school and before I realize it, I've placed spending time at school and working on lesson plans above spending time with my husband, spending time with community, or most importantly, spending time with God.
Meditation is one of those funny kinds of things that we have to hold in tension. God's grace and divine gifts impress scripture upon my heart without me doing anything, but he also desires that I, through practice and perseverance, develop the discipline of meditation and prayer to hid scripture in my heart.
When I meditate, I open up my heart and soul to the things I am mediating on. If it's not on truth, that can be so hurtful to my heart. But I am seeing that as I read the Bible and meditate on God's words, that meditation turns into prayer and praise. The words on the page come alive. And that part is God's doing. I can meditate on things all day, but to meditate on things that give life- that's where I want to be. I have to admit I sometimes things nuns and monks are a little crazy, but I think they're onto something with all their solitude and meditation.
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and Redeemer." -Psalm 19:14
I have a book called Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney. It probably sounds very dry to many people. And actually I wouldn't really know either because until the other day I'd only read one chapter from it on fasting. That chapter has really changed the way I view fasting. I think it is something that our culture does not understand or appreciate because we can always have what we want immediately, but fasting gives complete control over the most basic necessities over to God.
But I decided to read the chapter on prayer yesterday. What I was so struck to the core by was it's tie to mediation. Another thing that our culture rarely discusses. Meditation is allowing something to fill our minds so much that it transforms our hearts. We often say that we "worship" other things besides God- which I know is true for me, but I realize that my worship starts with mediating and that deep mediation (even if we don't call it that), leads to worship (even if we don't call it that). So what am I meditating on? Too many things really. Sometimes all I can think about it school and before I realize it, I've placed spending time at school and working on lesson plans above spending time with my husband, spending time with community, or most importantly, spending time with God.
Meditation is one of those funny kinds of things that we have to hold in tension. God's grace and divine gifts impress scripture upon my heart without me doing anything, but he also desires that I, through practice and perseverance, develop the discipline of meditation and prayer to hid scripture in my heart.
When I meditate, I open up my heart and soul to the things I am mediating on. If it's not on truth, that can be so hurtful to my heart. But I am seeing that as I read the Bible and meditate on God's words, that meditation turns into prayer and praise. The words on the page come alive. And that part is God's doing. I can meditate on things all day, but to meditate on things that give life- that's where I want to be. I have to admit I sometimes things nuns and monks are a little crazy, but I think they're onto something with all their solitude and meditation.
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and Redeemer." -Psalm 19:14
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