What Is Biblical Meditation?
Simply defined, biblical meditation is listening to what God has said (in His word), in order to hear what He is saying (to me today).
Meditation involves reading God’s Word and then sitting in it. Dwelling upon it. Abiding in it. This generally involves focusing-in on just a verse or two, maybe a paragraph. It can also be as simple as focusing on just a few words. This is different than “study.” Studying God’s Word is aimed at learning. Meditating is aimed at abiding. As you do this, enjoy His presence; OR, admit the feeling of His absence and ask for His mercy and help.
Using Helps
Meditative “helps” are tools to use in the practice of meditation. Think of the following list as options to use when meditating; clues to help you center-in on something particular in a passage or verse to meditate on; or simply windows by which you can enter into the room of meditation. In some cases, you might combine helps or even come up with more of your own. The goal, remember, is listening to what God has said (in His Word), in order to hear what He is saying (in the here and now).
Ask: What does this teach me about…
God and His character?
Human nature, character, and behavior?
Christ and salvation?
The church, or life of the people of God?
Look for:
Personal examples to emulate or avoid
Commands to obey (also known as imperatives)
Truths to believe or identity statements (also known as indicatives)
Promises to cling to
Warnings to heed
Emphasis:
Slowly read and re-read the verse or passage with particular emphasis on every word and the necessity and importance of each word.
Apply A.C.T.S.:
Reflect on or be led to pray in terms of:
Adoration - What in this verse or passage causes me to “adore” God?
Confession - What in this verse or passage stirs me to “confess” to God?
Thanksgiving - What in this verse or passage stirs me give “thanks” to God?
Supplication - What or who might I need to pray for (“supplicate”) in light of this verse or passage?
Consider:
What counter-truths (lies) to this truth am I tempted to believe?
What wrong thoughts result in me when this truth is forgotten?
Prayerfully linger over the passage asking: why might God be showing me this today? How does this relate to immediate concerns of my life (financial, relational, vocational, physical, etc)?
Paraphrase:
Reflectively put into your own words the verse or passage
Memorize:
Repeatedly, say the verse or passage out loud or in your head, committing it to memory.
Engage your senses and “enter” the text:
Seek to live the experience… Smell the sea. Hear the lap of water along the shore. See the crowd. Feel the sun on your head and the hunger in your stomach. Taste the salt in the air. Touch the hem of his garment.
Enter the story not as a passive observer but as an active participant.
Artistically express:
Use word-art to uniquely and beautifully express the truth.
Paint or draw what comes to mind while turning the text over and over in your head and heart.
Try “meditative mapping” similar to “mind mapping”.
How To Do It
The big idea of “how” to meditate is to make sure you’re moving from reading > meditating > praying. The easiest way I know how to do this is to pick something to read, and then pick something out of what you read to mediate on. Then, as you meditate on it, allow your meditation to lead you into prayer.
For me, I follow a Bible reading plan. You can find a thousand of them online, the one I’m currently using right now is called the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan. It has me reading in four different places in the Bible each day (today had me in 2 Chronicles, Luke, 1 Thessalonians, and Psalms). So I read in accordance to my Bible reading plan, and then I pick something from what I read to meditate on.
If you’re not using a Bible reading plan, just start in the Gospel of John and read a chapter a day. While you’re reading, look for something—anything, really—that strikes you, or provokes you, or tastes even just a little bit sweet to you. It might be a verse, it might be a few words. Take it, use one of the helps above, meditate upon it (dwell upon it; abide in it), and then allow it to move you to prayer keeping in mind, that you are listening to what God has said (in His word), in order to hear what He is saying (to you today).