Great depth

In everyday usage the word “meditation” is the activity of thinking about something in great depth. The British are becoming more and more open to spiritual and health based uses of meditation, unfortunately these seem not to include Christian meditation. In fact Christian meditation is rarely spoken of even amongst Christians yet it is evident in the Bible and throughout Christian history it has enriched the lives of those who have practiced it.

When people think about meditation it is most likely that thoughts of sitting cross-legged on the floor come to mind. These are images we see regularly on TV and in other visual media. Yet the floor is not the starting place for Christian meditation.

A biblical starting point

Let’s look at some things we can learn about meditation from the Bible. Most of what we see of meditation in Scripture is in the Psalms.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight.” Psalms ch 19 v14.

First of all we can notice that meditation is separate from speaking. We see that it is an internal activity which is linked to “heart”. I have said that meditation is the activity of thinking about something in great depth. We know that thinking actually takes place in our heads but the heart is representative of our inner being—our deepest most precious and personal self. Our meditations should touch us in a heartfelt, rather than simply knowing, manner.

What should we think about?

So what should we be thinking about? Psalm 119, the longest of all the Psalms and indeed the longest of all the chapters of the Bible, says much about meditation. Primarily, but not exclusively, Christian meditation begins with scripture. We meditate on God’s laws and instructions (eg Psalm 119 v15 & 23), on Gods promises (Psalm 119 v148), and on God’s works in the past (Psalm 143 v5). All these we find in The Bible. We may venture away from scripture (although it is our starting point) when we think upon what God has done in history since the Bible was written or what God has done in our own lives. We may look to the writings of great Christians of the past who may help us understand Christian truths. We may muse upon Gods creation and the ways that it points us to His glory.