Meditation

                                                                     Ps 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

This sigh from David, uttered roughly a thousand years before Jesus was born, speaks of meditation on the living God and all His attributes and precepts.

It is only in latter years that the Eastern way of meditation started gaining ground in the Western world. This method of meditating requires you to empty your mind of everything, sit quietly and start repeating a mantra at regular intervals, all the while also taking note of your breathing pattern to help focus your mind on what is going on inside you. Unfortunately, the emptying of your mind removes the godly barriers Holy Spirit provides and opens it up to demonic influences, making this type of meditation very dangerous indeed.  Paul warns us in Rom 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, an active strategy on our part to change the way we think - not to empty our minds and thereby invite demons to plant thoughts therein.

In the above Psalm, David points out two things, namely words of his mouth (speaking) and meditation of his heart (thinking). One word for meditation in Hebrew is hagah, which means uttering beneath your breath, whispering, mulling over. This means that throughout the day and night, whenever you are meditating, you softly repeat the words of the verse or concept on which you are focussing. The meditation of your heart is an active concentration on the things you are meditating on, the thoughts that Holy Spirit brings to your attention as you are intently and consciously engaged in this process.

Let’s try a practical example, and meditate on Ps 23:1:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want

The LORD:  This is Yahweh; the only living God; the Creator of everything that exists; the Supreme Ruler of the Universe; the King of kings; the everlasting ever-living one true God.

is: This is present tense; He is NOW my Shepherd; right now, in this moment; no matter what I am facing at present; no matter what I may be feeling or not feeling about it; no matter what I have done or not done in the past. And this will always be the case.

my: Not just for my pastor; or for that perfect Christian that I know of; or for my worship leader; but I also can lay claim to the fact that He is my shepherd.

Shepherd: What does a shepherd do for his sheep – he provides grazing and water; he defends against predators; he takes care of their physical bodies; he goes looking for any lost ones; He provides a safe place to sleep. All this my Shepherd also does for me, and more.

I shall not want: I will never lack anything that I need; it may be that I want things that are not really in my best interest to have, and in this the Holy Spirit will have to guide me.

Points to ponder: Start meditating on Scripture today and make it a habit for the future!

May my meditations be acceptable to You