This is probably the most important thing to do to live happily and joyfully as a Christian. Though it sounds simple, it is demanding. Meditation is a lost art today. We want to do everything today like the social media but meditation, because there seems to be a spiritual warfare every time we pick up a bible to read. If we don’t meditate on God’s word on our own spending time alone with God, no matter how good the sermons are from the pulpit we will head to dryness in our spiritual walk with the Lord, and discouragement. We don’t get the rhema, the quickened word of God, if we don’t meditate on God’s Word. Christians suffer grievously from their ignorance of the practice.

1. The goal is to apply to yourself the works, ways and purposes and promises of God to yourself

JI Packer writes, “Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God.” [1]

The goal of meditation of God’s word is simply to apply God’s words unto yourself. Apply God’s promises to self, God’s purposes for you, God’s ways for yourself, and God’s works. Now we know , for example, “God’s purpose is higher than my purpose” Pslams, so meditation is a time of thinking over the scriptures, and dwelling on it, to adjust our attitude to God’s ways, God’s purposes. There will be a lot of confession coming out of us as we meditate over them, and there will be a time of struggle to adjust and realign ourselves to God’s views etc. This is all good, because, it’s in those moments of struggle, silence and thinking and dwelling over the word of God, one feels the presence of God and allows God to work through in our lives, in our souls. A very good book to meditate on daily is Psalms from the Old testament. My wife and I started to meditate on a chapter of psalms every night (almost) and thereafter we pray together. I am amazed how much it has enriched my prayers as I begin to flow into the ways of psalmist prayers, asking’s, confessions, and struggle. I need to get out of the “requests prayers” all the time to God, but also into a time of worship, awe, confession, which is so important. Look at the Lord’s prayers which starts as “Our Father who’s in heaven, holy is your Name..” first is worship.

2. An activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God [2]

The goal is to commune with God, to have communion with God. It simply means to spend time in the presence of God and talk with God, and listen to God, especially from reading the scriptures. That’s what meditation is all about, to hear from God as we mediate, dwell over, think over the scriptures in the Bible. Our thoughts are channeled to God at those time of meditation over God’s word. We begin to detach ourselves from our daily life activities for that period of time, like morning devotion I always set aside for God. Those times are holy, like Moses was told he was standing on holy ground as God appeared to him over the burning bush. Presence of God is the song of worship for every Pentecostal charismatic or evangelical Christian.

3. A matter of arguing with oneself, reasoning oneself out of the moods of doubt and unbelief into a clear apprehension of God’s power and grace [3]

Give time and think over the scriptures and let God’s truth make its full and proper impact on one’s mind and heart. It’s a matter of talking to yourself about God and yourself. Digest it and dwell over it, until it makes an impact on yourself. Move yourself from doubt and unbelief to God’s power and grace. That’s so important and powerful, somehow we will have to let God’s word make its way into our hearts, our conviction, our souls, and take root, and catches fire. It may not happen every time we meditate on his word, but don’t feel discouraged, they come in waves, some big, some small. Regardless, we are blessed and impacted, that’s the key.

4. To contemplate on God’s greatness and glory and our own littleness and sinfulness[4]

Nothing blows us away more than reading psalms of praise and worship that takes me into a moment of adoration and I usually pause and dwell on it and enjoy the moment in the presence of God. It’s not self-generated, but its the anointing of God’s word that generates it. And that glory is revealed when we contemplate on the unsearchable riches of divine mercy displayed in the Lord Jesus.[5]

First of all, we need to grasp the good old puritans reformed theology that shows how broken, depraved and little we are and the love, glory and beauty of God in contrast. I can testify to that without such theology, we think of ourselves as pretty good by default except we needed to confess for sins to be forgiven. The idea of self will and ability does block our ability to see God’s fullness of glory. The teaching of reformed that teaches we are so far from God and by default hostile to God’s ways as in Romans, will set us free into exploring more into the richness of the divine glory in Jesus. Without that I can foresee we will be handicapped for sure, not that we won’t see God’s glory, but we will be handicapped.

The unsearchable riches of divine mercy, like Paul writes, Romans 11:33 (ESV) 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

A beautiful prayer:

Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV) 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Enjoy your meditation on God’s word. Blessings!

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[1] JI Packer, Knowing God, p. 23 Intervarsity Press 1973

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid