Meditation
Read Psalm 119:12-16, 23-24, 33-34, 58
“Meditation” is another word people often use about prayer. But Christian meditation must not be confused with yoga, Eastern meditation or transcendental meditation. Christian meditation has nothing to do with emptying our minds. Christian meditation engages every part of us- our minds our emotions, our imagination, our creativity and, supremely, our will.
In Luke 4, Jesus is tempted by Satan. Christ is able to defend the Devil because the word of God has become part of his inner being. Scripture can, similarly, become part if our make-up if we meditate on it.
Try a creative form of meditation based on scriptural story telling. Choose a familiar scriptural story in which there are a number of characters, such as one of the healings Jesus did. When you meditate, imagine you are one or more of the roles in order to experience meditation more fully
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Consider writing as a form of meditation, or an extension of the prayer experience of meditation. After choosing a subject or a text, devote yourself to a time of prayerful meditation. After this, capture the content of your meditation in written form.
According to Richard Foster, “If we are constantly being swept off our feet with frantic activity, we will be unable to be attentive at the moment of inward silence. A mind that is harassed and fragmented by external affairs is hardly prepared for meditation.”
Foster suggests finding a place that is quiet and free from interruption. He also suggests studying and meditating in the same place everyday.
Where and when can you go to study and meditate free from “external affairs?” Make an effort to schedule that time.
Meditate over the following passages:
Romans 8:19; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:16; Colossians 2:6-7;
Colossians 3:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19
Close your time in prayer