Life with Jesus in Worship

Meditating on Scripture

The Practices of Jesus

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

“What is more easy and sweet than Meditation?

Yet in this hath God commended his Love,

that by Meditation it is Enjoyed.”

Thomas Traherne (1637-1674)

“My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:8

INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATING ON SCRIPTURE

In Jesus’ most significant moments, the words of his Father pour from his heart onto his lips. In the desert, after fasting forty days and nights, the enemy tempts him, “command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Jesus refuses, responding, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:3-4

When he begins his ministry, he finds his calling in Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” Luke 4:18

On the cross, as he breathes his last, he cries, “into your hands I commit my spirit,” quoting Psalm 31:5.

And after his resurrection he admonishes his friends, saying, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the Prophets have spoken!” Luke 24:25

The words of God in the Scriptures connect Jesus to his Father, root him in love, anchor him in storms, feed him more tangibly than bread, nourish his identity, and give him unwavering clarity about his call.

This kind of deep communion with God through Scripture does not grow from simply reading the scriptures, or even studying them, but from the practice of meditating on Scripture. Jesus must have spent countless hours pondering, contemplating, and digesting the words of the Scriptures before he began his public ministry at age thirty.

Imagine him mulling a passage as he labors in his family’s stonemason shop, the words shaping him even as his hands shape the stone. Or see him reciting verses to himself as he walks the roads of Nazareth, year after year. Or picture him sitting quietly alone, his lips moving as the words roll through his mind and over his soul.

However it happened, Jesus melds the words of God with his thoughts, perspectives, emotions, and sense of purpose, and they are more to him than food.

To follow the way of Jesus, we too must learn to meditate upon the words of life. As Thomas Traherne writes, it is by meditation that the love of God is enjoyed.

Meditating on the scriptures, with the help of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth), we put our roots down into streams of living water (Psalms 1:3; John 4:13), ground and establish ourselves in a love that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:17-19), and anchor ourselves in the hope of God’s glory and his Kingdom (Colossians 1:27, Hebrews 6:19). asdf

THE PRACTICE
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The contemporary idea of meditation empties the mind. But the ancient understanding likens meditation to a cow chewing cud—the slow, repetitive process of metabolizing nutrition. Far from an emptying, biblical meditation intentionally fills our minds with the life-giving power of the Scriptures. Savoring is good contemporary word for this: in meditation, we slow down to savor the words of God.

We do this, anticipating that the truth and power in God’s words, animated by his Holy Spirit, will nourish, transform, and heal our souls from the inside out.

J.I. Packer describes it this way:

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. It is 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.

We can mediate on scripture in numerous ways, but they all involve “calling to mind, thinking over, dwelling on, and applying to oneself” the words of God with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Please experiment and find what works for you, but here are some suggestions to get you started.

To begin, pick a short passage: you will find some good ones below, or use this week’s sermon scripture, or choose something that has stood out to you recently. It may help to select a passage that seems tantalizing to you—something you long to believe but find too good to be true.

PRAYER WALK: Write the passage on a notecard and take it with you on a walk (with your phone silenced). Read it portion by portion as you walk, pondering each section, thanking God for what it says, talking to him about it, and applying your mind to believing and savoring its significance as you soak in God’s creation.
MAKE ART: If you like to doodle, make a drawing of your passage, pondering, praising, and delighting in the words as you create.
JOURNAL: Write the passage in a notebook. Note your observations, praises and thanksgivings in response to it. Record your wonderment. Reread your thoughts at various times throughout the week and add new ones.
CONTEMPLATION: Sit quietly with your passage for five or ten minutes. Savor each word, receive them as true, and imagine yourself in them. Because gratitude opens us to bonding and makes us receptive, thank and thank God for every gift in his words.
MEMORIZATION: Commit your passage to memory. Recall it often during the day—as you wait at a stoplight or stand in line or just before you fall to sleep. In other words, every moment when you would reach for your phone, put your mind on God’s words instead. 
BREATH PRAYER: Pick a phrase or short sentence from your passage that you can connect to your breathing—breathing in as you repeat one part in your mind and out as you repeat another. Focus your mind quietly on the words and on the presence of God. The words may not feel true, but that’s okay. You can use your mind to tell your soul the truth and eventually your feelings will be comforted. You can do this at various moments throughout the day. Or for five, ten, or fifteen minutes at a time. This is also a good practice if you wake up anxious in the night.

NOTE: As you meditate, if you notice resistance in yourself to believing the words, simply give it God and continue to meditate without dwelling on your unbelief. There are other places and times when it is appropriate to address the obstacles in our hearts, but in meditation, we simply acknowledge them and set them aside. In this practice, we are embracing the truth that where we put our minds shapes our souls.

Passages for Meditation:

Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Psalm 100 Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord
Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd
Matthew 5:9-13 The Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all who are Weary
John 16:16-17 For God so Loved the World
John 11:25-26 I am the Resurrection
Isaiah 46:4 To Gray Hairs I will Carry You
Isaiah 43:1-2 Fear Not

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HELPFUL VERSES

“My mouth will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night, for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:5-8

“On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.” Psalm 145:5

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the seat of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.” Psalm 1:1-3

“Keep this Book of the Law (the Scriptures) always on your lips; meditate on it day and night.” Joshua 1:8.

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

“Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.” Ezekiel 3:3

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INTERESTING QUOTES

“What is more easy and sweet than Meditation? Yet in this hath God commended his Love, that by Meditation it is Enjoyed.” – Thomas Traherne (1637-1674)

“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. It is 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.” – J.I. Packer

“Meditating on Scripture shapes thoughts, perspectives, actions, habits. It molds us in invisible ways far beneath the surface. . . it is the most complete form of internalizing God’s word.” – Tommy Thompson

“Only to sit and think of God, Oh what a joy it is! To think the thought, to breathe the Name; Earth has no higher bliss.” – A.W. Tozer

“The love that God most high has for our soul is so great that it surpasses understanding. No created being can comprehend how much, how sweetly, and how tenderly our maker loves us. By his Grace and help therefore let us in spirit stand in awe and gaze, eternally marveling at the supreme, surpassing, single-minded, incalculable love that God, who is all goodness, has for us.” – Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

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SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Before you try this practice:

Over the years, which Scriptures have been most meaningful to you?
How have you experienced meditating on Scripture?
Which method suggested above appeals to you the most?
What do you think you might find difficult about this practice?
How may we pray for you as you attempt to meditate on scripture more intentionally?

After you have tried this practice:

Which passage did you choose to meditate on? Why did you choose this one?
Which method did you choose? What made you choose that one?
What was your experience of meditating on this passage?
What did you enjoy about this practice?
What was difficult about it?
How do you think the Lord might be prompting you to continue to lean in o this practice?

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