By Brittany Goldschmidt
Am I worshipping some Hindu God when I am meditating? Is meditation some new aged practice? What is meditation? How did the first churches and Jesus himself practice meditation?
Meditation and prayer were created by God to form greater intimacy and personal relationship with Him. It is in stillness and meditating of God’s Scripture that we have the ability to tap into God’s presence through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s not just okay for Christians to do but has the power to deeply transform our faith. When practicing meditation, our intention is to be still in His presence and listen to that small voice called the Holy Spirit without any other distraction. Personally, I practice meditation with the intention of connecting, surrendering, and worshipping God. Even though it is counter cultural in the United States and Western world, Jesus meditated, so did the apostles, so did the disciples, and so did the early Body of Christ.
This practice of focusing our thoughts on things above has slipped through our fingers and I encourage you to bring this spiritual practice into your daily time alone with God. All of us meditate on something throughout the day; we just may or may not do it with intention. When we are tempted to let our thoughts rule us, we can practice biblical meditation by being deliberate with our thoughts and direct them on the things of the Lord. Instead of getting lost in pain, we can set our mind on the promises of God. The Old Testament, New Testament and the early churches give numerous instructions on how to direct our thoughts:
“But his delights is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit it its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”
Psalms 1:2-3
Or in the New Testament:
“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:2-4
Even the enemy knows the power of the Holy Spirit. The demons and Satan have no power over us when we gain that connection with Jesus. It quickly hit me when I imagined it from the enemy’s perspective. Satan called a worldwide convention.
In his opening address to his demons, Satan says, “We can’t keep the Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can’t even keep them from biblical values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, continual experience with Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their Christian lifestyles, but steal their time so they can’t gain that experience with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day. Overstimulate their minds so they cannot hear that still small voice.”
This is why we need Biblical meditation. Join me as we practice biblical meditation. What do you need to surrender over to the Lord and/or receive from the Lord today? Watch this video for an example of guided meditation.
Brittany Goldschmidt is a Christian blogger with a passion for connecting people to Jesus Christ. She founded Mighty Waters with a mission to give others an inside look of what that looks like, feels like, and how you can apply it to your life. Visit her blog at www.mightywaters.online. Also follow her on Instagram @brit.goldschmidt and Facebook.