“The more you read the Bible; and the more you meditate on it, the more you will be astonished with it.” — Charles Spurgeon

Many Christ followers don’t understand what “meditation” actually means. God invented it and asked us to meditate on His word in many ways in scripture.  Meditation is actually the filling of the mind, heart and body with His word, NOT the voiding of the mind that the devil has perverted it to be.  Read these verses for more about meditating on His Word and filling your life with it. (Psalm 1:2, Philippians 4:8, Psalm 63:6, I Timothy 4:15, Psalm 119:23, Romans 12:2, John 15:7, Psalm 104:34, Matthew 6:6, Proverbs 4:20-22, Psalm 119:97-99, Hebrews 4:12, John 8:32) 

When we meditate on something we are simply focusing our thoughts. To understand what it means to meditate on God’s Word, let’s read Pastor Rick Warren’s description. He says, “Surprisingly, if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate on the Word of God. Worry is when you take a negative thought and think on it over and over and over. When you take a passage of Scripture and think on it over and over and over, that’s called meditation.”

The Bible mentions meditation over twenty times and calls us to meditate on God’s Word. There are countless other verses, some listed above, that call us to ponder, focus on, think on and many other verbs.  Meditation and the repetition to learn is a beneficial practice to incorporate into our daily time with God as it provides a mental and emotional rest for us as well as spiritual growth.  Memorizing His word should also be an activity we engage in to that His word is with us always.  Today, we can have the entire Bible on our phones in the YouVersion Bible app, yes, but there’s power in having His word written on your heart.  This comes from meditation on His word and spending time with Him.  Just like the words of your father or a scholar you feel close to, the words of these people influence us, we memorize them over time as we are familiar with how they consistently speak.  They don’t’ contradict themselves, they keep backing up what they say in different ways and in different words, or sometimes repeating a catch phrase over and over.

As we spend time reading the Bible each day, we can look deeply into the passages and begin a conversation with God. In order to grasp how to meditate on a verse or two, let’s dissect Ephesians 4:31-32 which says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Let's read Ephesians 4:31-32 again and ask God:

 Do I have bitterness?

Am I an angry person?

Are my words believable or do lies flow out easily?

Is my heart tender?

Am I a person of my word?

Do I forgive others freely?

Do I make amends and turn from my mistakes?

Do I listen or talk more?

When we listen and wait for the powerful, yet gentle voice of God. It will rarely be audible but we will know what He is saying to us. Why?  We have meditated on His Word and we are familiar with His voice, just like that of a father or mentor.  We can allow these scriptural meditations flow with us throughout our day making us aware of any bitterness, anger, lying, hard-heartedness, deviant behavior or unforgiveness that is attempting to hijack our thoughts.

This is what meditating on God’s Word is.  Having it as our filter for our daily lives.  It guides our decisions and is our North Star.  The Holy Spirit that is within all believes in Jesus Christ also guides us. 

The truths from Scripture sink deep into our souls when we meditate on God’s Word. Meditation provides us a new level of rest for us because we are spending our mental energy thinking about God’s Word and not drowning our minds with the worries of the world or what culture is trying to jam down our throats as acceptable. Not only that, but we have the power to apply these life-changing words from God to our lives. We can’t help but become all that God wants us to be when we put this kind of effort in and meditate on His promises.

I want you to go back and read the scriptures I put into the beginning of this blog post.  Did you just skim over them and not read them?  Please take time to read and meditate on one or more of those verses. 

Choose a scripture, or find another of your choice, and meditate on it. As you read through it, ask God to show you where you are obeying Him and where you need to make changes for spiritual growth. Allow this new discovery to permeate your thoughts throughout your day.  Let it marinade in your spirit and transform your mind!

Then, write down any revelation that God speaks to you through your Bible reading or from this blog post.