Lately, a lot of people have been asking me to teach them meditation. While there are breathing techniques and postures that make meditation easier or deeper, meditation is't about the outward or physical body. It's all about absorbing the Word of God through repetition.
When you're having your quiet time with Jesus, choose a passage of Scripture to read, and read it over and over again. As you do so, look for a word or phrase (your Logos Prayer) that stands out to you. For example, in Matthew 5 (NIV), Jesus says:
For me, the Logos that emerges from this passage is "Blessed." This scripture makes it obvious that Jesus wasn't against the use of repetition, as some allege. Jesus uses the word "blessed" like a mantra, driving that word home to his listeners. When you meditate on the word "blessed," you make yourself part of Jesus' audience, hearing Him repeat the word over and over. Nine times in as many verses, Jesus repeats this word "blessed." So, after repeated readings of Matthew 5.1-11, and selecting the word "blessed" as my Logos, I meditated on that word alone.
Like everybody else, my mind wanders during meditation and contemplation. Even though my mind is focused on one word, this glorious brain that God has given me knows how to multitask. So, whenever my mind wandered, I went back to the whole passage of scripture. Using it to re-focus, I then returned to my meditation on the one word, "blessed."
Now, repeating the Logos as a meditation means that I'm allowing God to speak to me through that one word. I'm receiving the Lord's gift of blessing in my life. I'm listening to what the Spirit may say to me about blessing. This meditation becomes a prayer as well if I allow that one word to become my cry to God, asking these beatitudes to take effect in my life. Think of it this way: prayer is talking to God, while meditation is listening to God. Worship is giving to God, while contemplation is receiving from Him.
After a time of reading and finding the Logos, and then meditation on the Logos, praying the Logos, and then resting in contemplation, often I find that God will give me an insight into the passage of scripture that I didn't have before. In today's case, with Matthew 5, I was simply reminded of something that God showed me during a previous meditation on this scripture. I'll share it with you here. It's simply a reworking of the Beatitudes:
Last year, I challenged my church members to read the Bible through in a year. While the discipline of regular reading is good, and while the overview of reading the whole Bible quickly can be enlightening, I believe it's better to go deep with a short passage of scripture than to cast a wide net and get a shallower understanding. Meditation helps you go deeper with a passage of scripture. It allows you to truly process it. By repeatedly ruminating on God's Word, you find that you're bountifully blessed.
When you're having your quiet time with Jesus, choose a passage of Scripture to read, and read it over and over again. As you do so, look for a word or phrase (your Logos Prayer) that stands out to you. For example, in Matthew 5 (NIV), Jesus says:
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
For me, the Logos that emerges from this passage is "Blessed." This scripture makes it obvious that Jesus wasn't against the use of repetition, as some allege. Jesus uses the word "blessed" like a mantra, driving that word home to his listeners. When you meditate on the word "blessed," you make yourself part of Jesus' audience, hearing Him repeat the word over and over. Nine times in as many verses, Jesus repeats this word "blessed." So, after repeated readings of Matthew 5.1-11, and selecting the word "blessed" as my Logos, I meditated on that word alone.
Like everybody else, my mind wanders during meditation and contemplation. Even though my mind is focused on one word, this glorious brain that God has given me knows how to multitask. So, whenever my mind wandered, I went back to the whole passage of scripture. Using it to re-focus, I then returned to my meditation on the one word, "blessed."
Now, repeating the Logos as a meditation means that I'm allowing God to speak to me through that one word. I'm receiving the Lord's gift of blessing in my life. I'm listening to what the Spirit may say to me about blessing. This meditation becomes a prayer as well if I allow that one word to become my cry to God, asking these beatitudes to take effect in my life. Think of it this way: prayer is talking to God, while meditation is listening to God. Worship is giving to God, while contemplation is receiving from Him.
After a time of reading and finding the Logos, and then meditation on the Logos, praying the Logos, and then resting in contemplation, often I find that God will give me an insight into the passage of scripture that I didn't have before. In today's case, with Matthew 5, I was simply reminded of something that God showed me during a previous meditation on this scripture. I'll share it with you here. It's simply a reworking of the Beatitudes:
You're blessed if you realize your poverty before God.
You're blessed if your spiritual poverty causes you to repent and mourn over your sin.
You're blessed if an attitude of repentance brings meekness into your life.
You're blessed if your meekness leads to a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
You're blessed if your desire for righteousness draws mercy from your soul.
You're blessed if the practice of mercy purifies your heart.
You're blessed if your pure heart causes you to make peace with, and for, others.
You're blessed if the world makes an enemy of you, because the kind of spirit you've developed is fundamentally at odds with the world's spirit. You're not alone in this--you've become like the prophets who came before you, who were also treated as enemies by the cruel world.
Last year, I challenged my church members to read the Bible through in a year. While the discipline of regular reading is good, and while the overview of reading the whole Bible quickly can be enlightening, I believe it's better to go deep with a short passage of scripture than to cast a wide net and get a shallower understanding. Meditation helps you go deeper with a passage of scripture. It allows you to truly process it. By repeatedly ruminating on God's Word, you find that you're bountifully blessed.
