Psalm 1 describes the man who will be blessed. He is the man who delights in the law of the LORD, and in His law meditates day and night. Like a tree, he soaks up the water of the Word of God. He is planted by the river – the source of the water – so that he can absorb it on a continual basis.
It is easy to read or hear God’s Word, and for it to go “in one ear and out the other.” Meditation is bringing it back to mind and letting it linger – it’s allowing the water to slowly seep into the soil instead of rushing across the surface of hard ground.
Today the connotation of meditation is to empty your mind, but true Biblical meditation is about God’s Word FILLING your mind – letting God’s Word ABIDE in you, and mulling over it continually.
I have “treasured up” your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
As much as we would like to recall and meditate what we have read in our “daily readings,” or what we might have heard in a Bible class or exhortation – meditation does not happen naturally. Meditation is a discipline – it generally isn’t going to happen without making a conscious effort to make it happen.
Bringing into Captivity Every Thought
Ruminating on natural thoughts comes easily. Absorbing and allowing God’s Word to abide in your mind is not as easy. Paul describes our mind as a battlefield, where we must take captive our thoughts! We must consciously choose to treasure up God’s word – hide it in our heart so that we can delight in lingering over it day and night.
Memorize!
Create a plan of verses that you would like to treasure in your heart, so that you can recall them while you are driving, or in line at the grocery store, or wherever you go.
Music
One of the best ways to remember God’s Word is through the use of music. Having the Psalms set to music would aide in it’s memorization. Hymns, verses to put to music (such as these: https://www.magnifyhimtogether.com/2018/06/06/sing-the-word-review/ ), and spiritual songs can all help God’s word to abide in your thoughts.
Read Repetitively
Choose a passage of Scripture (a book or several chapters) to read again and again over the course of a week or month. Likely you will notice different things each time you read the passage, and the passage will become more familiar and easier to recall.
Write It
The kings of Israel were required to write out all of God’s law. Writing passages of Scripture can make you slow down and think about and remember the message in a way that might not have happened with a quick read.
A couple ideas for writing God’s Word:
- Follow a verse writing plan like this: https://www.magnifyhimtogether.com/2018/12/31/god-is-verse-writing-plan-for-january/
- Create a journal of a book of the Bible like this: https://www.magnifyhimtogether.com/2018/10/31/journibles-series-book-review/
Draw Visual Reminders
Drawing a verse is another way to spend some time to visualize and notice details of the verse, and pictorially remember God’s Word.
Have a Plan
Make a list of verses to think about as you are falling asleep at night.
How are you going to pursue meditation this month? What is your meditation goal? Use this template to jot down your Meditation Objective and keep track on what is working for you this month.
Monthly Discipline Journal Page March
Use this template to reflect and refine your goal at the end of the month: https://www.magnifyhimtogether.com/2019/01/30/end-of-month-reflections-journal-page/.