How to Meditate on God's Word
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
-Author Unknown
We have all heard the expression, "you are what you eat", but is also true to say "you are (and are becoming) what you think." What things do you spend your time thinking about?
Meditate: to engage in contemplation or reflection, to focus one's thoughts on: reflect or ponder over. to plan or project in the mind
We have all heard the expression, "you are what you eat", but is also true to say "you are (and are becoming) what you think." What things do you spend your time thinking about?
Meditate: to engage in contemplation or reflection, to focus one's thoughts on: reflect or ponder over. to plan or project in the mind
Meditation is a function of the mind and the heart. It is what we think about in our hearts and it is something we each do every day. Whether we realize it or not, we all spend a large portion of our time in some form of meditation. The thing is, what we meditate on may or may not be worth while. In fact, what we habitually think about is frequently unhealthy for our growth as Christians. Often it is simply sinful.
First, we must become consciously aware of what we spend our time meditating on now. When you catch yourself meditating on something undesirable, renounce it and cast it away. Imagine yourself throwing it to the ground and stepping on it to kill it. Then immediately choose to replace the thought with a good one, such as a prayer, a memorized scripture or song. Do not be discouraged if you find yourself thinking about that same thing only a minute or two later. Simply recognize sin as sin, renounce it again and choose to replace the thought with something worthwhile.
Whether your realize it or not, your character is being formed and solidified with each passing day. This is true whether you plan through what you want to be or if you just let life happen. Some of the most powerful influences on the development of your character come from the following sources:
What you read
What you look at
What you listen to
The people you associate with
What you think about
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:1-3)
Meditation as a lifestyle (How do I meditate on God's word?)
Meditation on the things of God yields wisdom and purity. It yields spiritual maturity and communion with God. Here are a few of the things we can meditate on.
The things God has done for me and others I know.
The holiness and perfection of God.
The Beauty of Christ
Our meeting with God after our life here is complete
Our eternal fellowship which we will have with Him
The meaning/application of any specific passage of scripture.
Anything God has just taught us or made us aware of
Questions regarding the will of God.
The salvation he has given us
The life he has freed us from
Other ideas?????????
You see, much of this is reflection on the relationship we have with God, it is thinking about His love and influence in your life, it is wondering about His awesome power and mighty deeds. It is joyfully giving thanks to Him for all he has done. It is sitting in awe and appreciation of his works. It is using all your energy to understand and obey his word. Just as your digestive system processes the food you eat so it can be of use to your body, so also meditation digests all things concerning God and makes them a power which can renew your heart.
All of the above comes from www.memoryverses.org
Please leave a comment with your thoughts and experiences about meditating…..
posted by Wade at 10/05/2005 08:53:00 PM
3 Comments:
With meditation--I think one thing we overlook a lot is that idea of what we look at. I have heard it said that an image will stay with a person forever. I know, because I have done it, that often we think that we can overlook something we watch (movie, TV, magazine, etc) and not let it in. But that is very hard. I have been thinking about this, with the idea of meditation, because that stuff does sit there, occupying part of the mind. We all hear about the impact of the media, and I know I've scoffed at this in the past, but there is something to be said about what we see, and perceive. I'm not saying we should void it all out, because I think that would be almost impossible; but we should be conscious about what we are looking at, watching. Because whether we really know it or not, we meditate on it. I know right now, I'm still thinking about some of the good football games from the weekend, can see some of the big plays, etc, if I just think about it for a sec. And this is meditation in a form. So how can we make these images Godly, and not evil, fleshly, lustful, violent, greedy, etc.?? Think about it.
Pretty interesting thoughts and very valid observations, I would say. It makes me think about these verses:
3 I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.
4 Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.
Psalms 101:3-4 (NIV)
The application is always the challenging part. Anyone have any good ideas for applications?
I agree! This also goes with things we HEAR...I think anything we sense we can "meditate" on. I think we can medidate on God's Word to help "heal" the evil meditations in our thoughts. I also believe that we can meditate on creation (just observing and looking at the beauty in creation) as a way to "heal" our evil thoughts. At least its a way of filling out thoughts with good images. I think when God rested on the 7th day, he spent alot of that time "meditating" or looking at what he created and enjoying it because the Scripture says after each day that he "saw" it was good. Like a painter who steps back from his painting and observes I think we can "meditate" on the beauty in creation with the Creator in mind. So my solution...more hikes!
Post a Comment
<< Home