The Introduction From — Reclaiming the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation: Find True Peace in Jesus

By Robert J. Morgan

Reclaiming the Lost Art of Biblical Meditation: Find True Peace in Jesus: Morgan, Robert J.

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

— Psalm 119:148

Meditation is not new, and it is not new age. God, not the gurus, devised it, and it’s based on the Bible, not Buddha. Biblical meditation is an antidote to the unprecedented stress of our age. In a world where everyone is overwhelmed and undervalued, our survival, sanity, and saintliness depend on reclaiming the lost art of Biblical meditation. This habit can dramatically lessen your anxiety in life, reduce your stress, bring new success to your days, and leave you with ocean depths of inner peace.

There are many references to meditation, pondering, and thinking in the Bible, encouraging us to engage our thoughts with His Word. In fact, the words meditate and meditation occur 21 times in the Bible; the words think, thinking, and thoughts, 252 times. Mind is mentioned 163 times, and the word ponder is found 9 times. (1)

God’s approach to mindfulness is to have a mind full of His Word. That’s why the Bible says:

• “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16 NKJV).
• “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 NKJV).
• “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight” (Psalm 19:14 NKJV).

If you’re a bit allergic to meditation, well…get over it. Bible lovers needn’t apologize for advocating meditation, for some of the greatest heroes of the faith modeled it for us:

• In the age of the patriarchs, Isaac went out at dusk to meditate in the fields (Genesis 24:63).
• The Lord told Joshua about the Law of God: “Meditate on it day and night…Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).
• The Psalmist pictured those who meditate day and night as fruitful trees by rivers of water (Psalm 1:2-3).
• Jeremiah said, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight” (Jeremiah 15:16).
• The Virgin Mary treasured God’s words and pondered them in her heart(Luke 2:19).
• Jesus advised His followers to “hear the word, accept it, meditate on it, act on it, and bear fruit” (Mark 4:20 THE VOICE).
• The apostle Paul told us to think about things that are true, noble, and gracious, and to meditate on those things (Philippians 4:8, see THE MESSAGE).
• The writer of Hebrews told us to “fix [our] thoughts on Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1).

Meditation is a habit recommended in the Bible; yet, whenever I bring up the subject, some people look at me as if I’d suggested they jaywalk across a busy street. There’s a reason for the confusion. Modern meditation, as it is commonly viewed, is not Biblical meditation. In recent years, New Agers have hijacked the habit, and I was actually there when it happened. One day, in 1970, as I walked across the quadrangle of the college I attended in Bristol, Tennessee, I heard exciting news. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was coming — or maybe he was sending someone — to teach us Transcendental Meditation (TM). When the day came, we packed the room for the mysterious robed man, and he taught us a few rudimentary TM techniques. He told us to sit properly, breathe deeply, and empty our minds. While interesting, the swami lost me somewhere between karma and mantra, and I didn’t fall into Zen.

The next year I transferred to another school, Columbia International University, where I met a group of people — the Navigators — who also extolled the value of meditation, but they viewed it differently, as a Biblical habit. They believed we should constantly memorize, visualize, and personalize God’s Word. The Navigators illustrate this point using the image of the human hand: First, getting a grip on God’s Word requires the four fingers of hearing it, reading it, studying it, and memorizing it. But the thumb that strengthens the grip is meditation.

Once we have a grip on the Bible, our feet go into action, putting into practice what we’re learning.

Biblical meditation is the habit that allows us to pause long enough to be still and to know that God is God. It leads us to spiritual growth, emotional strength, deepening intimacy with the Lord, and soul-steadying peace.

There is healing and holy power in pondering, picturing, and personalizing passages of Scripture from God’s Word. And that’s my simple definition for true meditation:

Biblical meditation is the powerful practice of pondering, personalizing, and practicing Scripture.

It really is as simple as that. While there’s value in breathing exercises and relaxation techniques (I’ll touch on those later), Biblical meditation is more than contemplating the sensation of air passing through our noses and into our lungs. It doesn’t involve draining our heads of content, but rather filling them with the specific Bible verses and passages God brings to our minds at certain times. That’s part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to remind us of everything Jesus has said to us (John 14:26).

Biblical meditation is not just reading Scripture or studying Scripture or even thinking about Scripture; instead, it is thinking Scripture — contemplating, visualizing, and personifying the precious truths God has given us. Like water flowing through a fountain or oil through a machine, Scripture should be constantly circulating through our minds so that we become God-conditioned. In the process, we start to look at things as He does, which is the essence of wisdom — seeing life from His point of view. Our attitudes become healthier; and our emotions fall into line. (2)

Like water flowing through a fountain or oil through a machine, Scripture should be constantly circulating through our minds.

Biblical meditation is an easy habit to begin. It’s as portable as your brain, as available as your imagination, as near as your Bible — and the benefits are immediate. I’ve written this little book to give you some of the whys and hows of meditation, and to show you how it will draw you closer to the Lord and give you fresh insights into His ways, His will, and His Word.

Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

— 1 Timothy 4:15 NKJV

(1) From the headings and text of the New International Version.

(2) Some of these general insights came from attending a Basic Youth Conflicts Institute in 1973, and I’m indebted for the concept of “memorizing, visualizing, and personalizing” verses of Scripture and the concept of wisdom as “seeing life from God’s point of view.”