Spiritual Disciplines - Meditation
June 27, 2021
Have you ever had something happen in life where at that very moment you were unable to think rationally? Sometimes, it’s those little things, little decisions, and you just feel paralyzed about what to do.
And there are also those monumental moments when we can’t think. We’re caught off guard and our minds seem to shut off. Our hearts are racing, our spirits are in over-drive, our bodies feel it, but our minds have turned off. Sometimes that’s self preservation and protection.
We receive news that is not good. Maybe it’s from a doctor, or a family member, or maybe it’s job related. Whatever it is, it’s not good. We feel it in our bodies, but our minds seem to go numb. Even with good news, our minds can go blank.
Ever happen to you?!
When these moments occur, and they do in all of our lives . . . we need to learn how to slow down and process what’s happening. Too often in our lives, we don’t take the time to process. After all, we’re busy. We have life to live, work and school and family and we think . . . “I’ll get to it later!” But the more we put some things off, the harder it is on us and those around us.
Honestly, this sounds like a self help talk, yet, this is really going to be about the spiritual discipline of Biblical Meditation.
Too many of us don’t know how to slow down. So, how do we cope when life is spinning out of control, and all we think we can do is hang on, and what we hang onto is the very thing we should be letting go of? Oh, we do hold onto God, we hang on like a cat clawing its way up a screen.
You see, God didn’t create us to simply endure, instead, we’re to enjoy and celebrate life. We take passages like John 10:10 as fact and believe this is what God wants for us . . . to live the exceedingly abundant life. Are you living that life? Are you living the EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANT life? Because you and I were created for so much more than we can ever imagine. Or are you living the first part of that verse! Jesus said --
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10
You see, satan wants to destroy you. He wants you to have no coping abilities. He wants to destroy your hope, your heart, your spirit. He wants you to pull away from God - - when you should be drawing nearer to God. But Jesus came to give us abundant life. And honestly, not many Christ followers feel that. We struggle to make it another day. So, what can we do? Meditate?
Yup . . . yet, most Christians are very suspicious of . . . meditation.
When we think of meditation we think of Buddhists and others sitting with their legs crossed in some position which I can’t get into, and we chant or simply say “Ummmmmmm.” That is our view of meditation. Most Christians don’t meditate and have no desire to it and no clue what it is.
On 58 different occasions in the O.T. we’re told to meditate. Psalm 1 tells us --
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. - Psalm 119:97
4 I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. - Psalm 63:4-7
Genesis 24 simply mentions the fact that -
63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. - Genesis 24:63
The point of meditation is to connect with God, so that we can listen to God’s plan and desire for us in life.
It’s almost that simple, yet there is something about meditation that can be scary. It is not concrete. It’s not like reading the Bible, where you can hold the book in your hands. Meditation is about you and God . . . and maybe that in and of itself is the scariest part. We come face to face with God . . . alone. Just you and God, and for many people that can be scary. Yet, isn’t that what we do in prayer, we call upon God as we make our requests known.
Richard Foster said “meditation boldly calls us to enter into the living presence of God for ourselves. It tells us that God is speaking in the continuous present and wants to address us. God speaking to us. . . isn’t that what we long for?
In meditation we create a space which allows Christ to build an inner sanctuary in our hearts. In that powerful passage from Revelation 3:20, Jesus tells us - -
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
I love this passage because there’s so much intimacy. Jesus is knocking, wanting us to come and be with Him. It’s really so powerful in the way He says this. It’s not just ‘we’ll eat together.’ It’s the fact that Jesus wants you to eat with Him and He wants to eat with you. It’s a call for us to enter in and be with Him.
In a sense, “meditation opens the door and the aim is to bring this living reality into all of life. It is a portable sanctuary that is brought into all we are and do.”
So, what does all of this mean? It means we create an intentional space so we can experience God on a real and regular basis. Because we experience Christ on a more regular basis, we now gain a greater entrance to knowing and understanding what He wants for us. And that’s one of our issues in life, we just don’t know what God’s plan is for our lives. This opens that door to the holy.
So, let’s step back for a moment . . . How is this different from what we call New Age or Buddhist meditation? It is totally different. The goal of eastern meditation is to empty our minds. I can make lots of jokes about emptying our minds. Eastern meditation seeks to detach one from the world - - to be freed from the burdens and pains of life. Which all sounds good on the surface. There’s no God we can attach to, because the goal of Eastern meditation is detachment.
In Christian meditation the real goal is attachment with God. You see, we try to detach ourselves from all our worries and concerns so we can attach ourselves to God. Once we attach ourselves to God in meditation, there is a new openness to experience God and have a growing life in Christ.
Christian meditation is simply the ability to hear God’s voice and obey His Word. It is no more complicated than that simple definition. It requires no secret knowledge, no mysteries, no mantras, and no mental gymnastics, but it does require one thing… practice.
Another way of describing meditation is to call it contemplative prayer. It’s a calming of our minds and hearts so that God’s voice can be clearly heard. God is alive and is constantly seeking us. Meditation calms us so that we can do just that, have a relationship with God.
Another way of describing meditation is inward fellowship. It’s this kind of inward fellowship that will transform who you are and your personality to be more Christlike. It is connecting with the Holy Spirit which took up residence in you on the day you said, “I believe Jesus is the Christ!”
Meditation allows us to connect ourselves to God with our minds (what we’re thinking about), our hearts (what we’re feeling), and our souls (what we’re concerned about). Meditation is connecting to God with our whole self and holding nothing back.
I know there will be some people who look at Christian meditation and think this is a big bunch of touchy-feely fooey. But it is not. It is a way to bring ourselves closer to Christ, to experience His presence, even in the midst of our most difficult times in life. It’s not difficult to learn, we just need to give it a chance.
When we meditate we seek to discover Christ’s presence in our lives. We want to hear a word from Him, we want to be like others we’ve read about, who say, “when the Lord spoke to me . . .” and we’re in awe of their ability hear God. You don’t need an advanced degree to be able to meditate. You just need your own willingness to be open and receptive to God.
Meditation may reduce your blood pressure and help relieve tension, you may even fall asleep. But that’s not the purpose of it. Because when you walk away from time with God, I would think the tensions in life would melt away.
So, how do we enter in to mediate. A wonderful Biblical example comes from Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4, Paul tells Timothy ~
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
The word meditate means to consider something, to remember, to muse, to rehearse something in your mind. I like that last one best. Paul is calling Timothy to rehearse in his mind all these things which God has given him. Paul says, “meditate on these things.” What things? Meditate on --- the gifts already given by God to Timothy.
Timothy is to meditate on what it means to hold onto the word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, purity, reading, exhortation, and to doctrine
How does Timothy meditate on these things? He talks to God about them . . . and he listens to God’s response. I love what John Ortberg said about this. “Why is it that when we speak to God we are said to be praying; but when God speaks to us we are said to be schizophrenic?”
Good point by Ortberg. If someone said, ‘I heard from God this morning . . .’ or if they said, ‘God told me I needed to do something . . .” we look at those people as a little different. Yet, this is exactly what God wants for us. Because for us to become more like Christ and to be transformed more and more into His image, we need to know God even better and be able to recognize and listen to His voice.
Since meditation is pretty foreign to most of us, I want to spend the last part of this message talking about meditation in more practical terms.
There’s really 3 important aspects when it comes to meditation.
TIME
PLACE
POSTURE
Maybe the most difficult part of meditation is to find the time! We’re stretched and pushed and pulled in so many directions that it becomes difficult to set a time. But if you don’t set a time, nothing else will work.
So, look at your schedule and block it out. Set aside an appointment for you and God. Make it a priority. Make it an essential appointment in your day or week.
It could be any time during the day. Although I would not necessarily recommend doing it when your lying in bed about to go to sleep, although, that may help you to sleep. Determine what’s best in your schedule. We’re all wired differently.
Now find the right place. Again, make sure it’s a comfortable place. Whether it’s a chair, sofa, the floor, it really doesn’t matter. It should be free from interruptions. Can you turn your phone off? Did I really say that? Put it on vibrate, put it in another room. No television, no social media, no phones. Post a metaphorical DO NOT DISTURB sign in your heart, spirit, mind and body.
Enter into a sacred space. This is your time with God.
Get in whatever position feels comfortable. Find that sacred, good spot in your home, in nature, or wherever. You can come to church and sit in the sanctuary. The most important aspect is to get comfortable. It may sound silly to some, but check in with your body . . . how does it feel? Are you relaxed, expectant, or are you tense and on edge?
If you’re filled with anxiety and concern, intentionally pick a position which signifies peace and relaxation. Regardless of how you meditate, the aim is to center the attention of your body, mind, emotions and spirit upon God’s glory.
You can simply talk to God, as in prayer, but then spend time trying to fill your being with His presence. Stop talking and allow God to talk to you. That’s really the hard part. Quieting ourselves so that we can listen to God. Even if you don’t hear from God, it’s maybe finding peace in your heart and spirit.
Maybe it’s focusing on scripture that you read and talking to God about it and what it means for you.
Maybe it’s singing a song you have in your head. Singing it and praising God as you worship Him in your spirit, heart and mind. Maybe you lift your hands when you normally don’t. Maybe it’s doing something a little different, but safe.
Maybe it’s sitting in nature and giving thanks to God for the blessings you are feeling.
Maybe it’s laying your burdens at His feet and seeking God’s help and wisdom in difficult moments of life.
Maybe you need to make a decision on something and you are not sure what to do, so you spend that quiet time with God and talk to God about what’s happening.
This is very similar to prayer, but so important for us as we seek to connect with God on a very intimate level. Again, Jesus is knocking on our hearts. He wants to enter in and be with us . . . take the time to experience His power and presence and draw nearer to God as you experience His power and presence.
