October 10. Matthew ch 12-14
CHRISTIAN MEDITATION
“I went by the field of the sluggard, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, The face thereof was covered with nettles, And the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I beheld, and considered well; I saw, and received instruction:” Proverbs 24:30–32 ASV
“When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.” Proverbs 24:32 NASB1995
GOOD DAY: There are various ways people discuss and do meditation. Some are very tedious because they tell you to empty your mind and stop thinking entirely. I honestly find this very difficult so I looked for how the bible instructs on meditation. Joshua 1:8 you remember instructs us to meditate on the book of the Law of God. This will be the foundation for the christian.
Today’s scripture for consideration however gives an example of how a person can pick an object or subject for meditation. He was passing by the field of a lazy man. He looked and saw the field overgrown and the walls broken down. He considered well; reflected on what he saw. A synonym for reflect is meditate; so he meditated on what he saw and he was instructed on the probable end of the owner of the field.
Likewise, if you want to meditate, you can take a verse or precept from scripture and think deeply on it. Mull over it. When your attention and thought is distracted from it, bring your thought back to it. To think deeply requires total attention to what you are thinking about. Each one knows what distracts him. Generally, things we see, hear or smell distract us from the outside so you need a place that is quiet and fairly secluded where nothing can distract you.
The outer distraction is easier to deal with but the distraction from inside of you is much more trickish. Thoughts wander to other things that you have to do or to people who are dear to you or something you are experiencing. What I do is to thank God for whatever is distracting me inwardly and take my thought back to the scripture I choose to meditate on. When this happens for some time, my thought becomes steady on my theme of meditation.
The goal is to connect with God through that verse. When this happens, you have a deep understanding of the scripture, or an instruction concerning what you want from God or a picture of the relevance of the scripture or a deep joy and peace that you cannot explain. Whichever way God chooses to relate with you, you will know that you connected with Him. It may even just be the warmth of His presence. You need to have time for meditation for you to enjoy it.
PRAY: Dear Lord, I want to relate with you in meditation, please draw me closer to Yourself.