As a Christian, we want to grow closer to God and that’s exactly what Christian meditation can do for us. However, there is a lot to know about Christian meditation, how do we know where to start? In this article, I explain what every Christian should know about Christian meditation.
Get Reconnected with God Through Christian Meditation
Meditation has been medically-proven to reduce stress, create calmness and inner peace, and even eliminate or reduce the symptoms of many illnesses. Just for this reason alone, meditation should be a part of a healthy lifestyle.
Even though Christian meditation is a fairly old practice it’s a new concept for the modern day Christian. Many believers grew up believing that meditation was ungodly or dangerous. But if you were to do a thorough research, you would find that this just isn’t true. But the most compelling reason for Biblical meditation is the Bible itself.
The scriptures that tells us that great success comes from meditating on Christ (Joshua 1:8) or Psalms 46:10 that declares it is through stillness that we come to know God.
Jesus also showed us by example how important it is to spend time with God. It was Jesus daily custom to find a solitary place and spend hours just abiding with God and spending time in his presence. Spending time with God in silence and solitude and planting his word into your heart, is not only going to make you physically healthier, it’s going to also enhance your relationship with God and create more peace, joy, and contentment in your life.
If you are feeling disconnected from God, confused about your life, longing to know your purpose, experiencing a lack of faith and unbelief, plagued with worry or fear, and lacking God’s joy in everyday events, through practicing Biblical meditation you can begin turning your life around today.
Through Christian guided meditation, we learn that life isn’t so much about what we are doing, achieving, or even becoming, life is what is happening now, in the midst of our crisis, joy, and pain.
It is embracing what is, instead of resisting it, and finding God’s love, joy, and peace right where we are. Christian meditation is a spiritual discipline that will help us move in this direction. If you are like most Christians, you’ve probably gotten the wrong idea about meditation.
You might have thought that meditation isn’t Christian or that is difficult to learn… this is why I have made it easy to learn how to incorporate Biblical meditation into your daily life.
What Does it Mean to Meditate on Christ?
What Does It Mean to Meditate on Christ?
- Renew Your Mind
- Rejuvenate Your Walk with God
- Be Still and Know God in an Intimate and Personal Way
Many Christians struggle with worry, anxiety, and fear. Negative thoughts steal their peace of mind and busyness prevents them from spending quality time with God. Studies prove that meditation can reduce stress and improve 90% of all illnesses. In addition to its physical benefits, faith-based meditation has many spiritual benefits for the Christian as well. It helps us to develop greater intimacy with God, renew our minds, overcome negative thoughts, create greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, detach from secular thinking, and restore our peace of mind.
Jesus knew the benefit of spending time alone with our Heavenly Father that many believers don’t realize today. Christian meditation simply means to spend time abiding in God’s presence. Listening to a guided meditation or silently repeating a mantra (biblical word, phrase, or scripture which quiets the mind) are the most common methods Christians use to meditate today.
More Scriptures Related To Christian Meditation
- Joshua chapter 1: 8 encourages us to meditate on God’s word day and night.
- Psalms chapter 4: 4: “When you are in your beds, search your hearts and be silent.”
- Psalms 104: 34, that his “meditations be pleasing to the Lord.”
- Isaiah 50:4, “He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.”
- Moses spent 40 days on the mountain abiding and learning from God (Exodus 34-35).
- Paul received revelation and saw visions from heaven (2 Corinthians 12).
- John wrote visions that are recorded in the book of Revelations. There are numerous scriptural references encouraging us to meditation and abide in God’s presence.
Over 25 Christ-Centered Biblical Meditations Available
It was meditation integrated with the scriptures that helped me overcome years of depression. Later God inspired me to create a variety of Biblical meditations that allowed believers to receive the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of meditation without compromising their Christian faith. My Christian meditation CD’s are full of uplifting scriptures, positive spiritual messages, and instructions on how to meditate and relax. Each Christ-centered meditation is set to soft-angelic music and narrated by me, the author.
Each guided meditation CD includes:
- Soft and relaxation background music or nature sounds
- Deep breathing and progressive relaxation exercises
- A biblical narrative and/or affirmations
- A period of silence
When we spend time with God by meditating on His Word and abiding in His presence we are literally changed. Christ-centered meditation will help you to cultivate good soil to bear more fruit, live more present centered, maintain peace of mind, create more balance in your life, and enhance your relationship with God.
Christian Meditation: A Vehicle to Higher Awareness
The practice of meditation is now being encouraged world-wide to help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, alleviate heart disease, and to create calmness and a sense of well-being. For these reasons alone, all people, including Christians, should incorporate some form of meditation into their daily schedule.
Yet, one of the greatest benefits of meditation to the Christian is learning to subdue our minds and bring our thoughts under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the practice of Christian meditation, we can literally transform our mind into a vehicle for higher awareness.
The Battle of the Believer – The Mind
We know from scriptures that the mind is the greatest battle of the believer. It is where the battle begins and ends. The Bible tells us that our minds are depraved, wicked, fearful, and faithless. That is why Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the whole armor of God and to bring every thought under the subjection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is where true peace and prosperity originates.
Christian meditation is a way for us to become aware of the fact that there is more to our being than just our physical activity. This higher awareness creates a greater capacity for us to know and fellowship with God. We have so much more potential locked away within us, but unfortunately we allow our fears, limiting beliefs, and negative thinking to rob us of our highest potential. By not subduing our thoughts and spending time in God’s silent presence, we miss the opportunity to tap into valuable resources and blessings just waiting to overtake us. If our life is filled with urgencies and busyness, we will never step into that realm of God’s abundance supply which is far more than material wealth and riches.
Our spirit is the real benefactor in these moments of quiet reflection and meditation. During times of meditation and quiet contemplation, thoughts that never have the opportunity to be heard during the bustle of the day can whisper to us. We literally open our hearts to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit- our inner witness.
Every action we’ve ever taken started as a thought. Therefore our thoughts often become our realities. This can be positive or negative depending upon what you’re thinking about. Jesus told us that “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” How often do you observe your thoughts in life? Are you thinking thoughts of love, faith, joy, or fear? The Bibles says a good man out of the good treasure of his heart creates that which is good, but this also applies to our bad thoughts as well. My pastor often says that “our thoughts our prayers.” The constant thoughts of the day and night have much more impact on our life than the occasional prayer here and there. The good thing is we can use the principles of meditation (quiet reflection) to monitor and pay more attention to our inner thought life. We can also use it to tame the thoughts that are creating havoc in our lives and relationships as well.
Taking Control of Our Life
Every step that we take is a step in some direction for our life. God gives us free-will. We have the ability to create our own destiny. The question remains, are you creating your life on purpose or by default? Taking control of your mind and what you meditate on will ensure that you’re creating the life you want instead of falling prey to whatever comes your way. I have a statement on my refrigerator that reads, “I have what I want, and I want what I have. I take 100% responsibility for my creations.” We are all co-creators with God and the universe (Holy Spirit). God said he will give us the desires of our heart and the funny thing is that He has. He has given us what we expect. He has given us what we think about. He has given us what we meditate on. But He has also given us the ability to choose our focus, our thoughts, and our actions, and He continually tells us to “Choose Life.” By choosing life we choose his thoughts, his ways, and his mind. The Bible says that man develops his way, but God directs his steps. Yet, if we are continuously planning, but not communing with God by becoming still and sitting at his feet, we may miss the guidance and direction we so desperately need.
On a practical or physical level, it is in these quiet moments that our mind has the opportunity to heal itself from the stresses of the everyday activities and maintain a real level of mental and emotional health and well-being. Our spirit has the opportunity to renew and revive. Like the dying patient that receives the administration of CPR in the final hour, our spirit receives the moments of solitude that allow it to regroup, regain that wonderful faith in God, ourselves, and mankind. Our mind, like our body, doesn’t have to look unhealthy to be unhealthy, but sooner or later, the illnesses show, unless we take the time to nurture our inner being.
Some people choose to accommodate this through community worship and some people through moments of quiet solitude in nature. Still others choose renewal through silent meditation and prayer. No matter our choice of activity, the important accomplishment lays in the renewal of our spirituality and a deeper connection with our Creator.
Removing the Mountains From Your Life
If You Have Faith of a Mustard Seed…
Jesus said that if you have the faith of a mustard seed that you can tell this mountain to be cast into the sea and it must obey you. Many believers are living with mountains in their life that God wants to tear down. Often we see mountains as external forces that keep us from meeting our goals; however, many of the mountains we face our internal. These are mountains of fear, self-doubt, un-forgiveness, unbelief, and more. A mountain can be anything that keeps you from accessing all that God has for you.
When you think about mountains you may look at them as obstacles that stand in the away of your needs or desires. You may believe that if only you had more money, a better job, or a better spouse (or a new one) that all your worries would be over. But the most challenging mountains aren’t those that we see through our physical eyes. The most challenging and debilitating mountains and hills are the ones that we don’t see at all. They are the mountain ranges that we play over and over in our mind. That stretch of terrain that tells us like a broken record, what’s wrong with us, what’s wrong with them, and what’s wrong with our life. It’s that tirade of thinking that keeps us in victim mode instead of victor mode.
Taking Inventory of Your Daily Thinking
If you find yourself unsatisfied or complaining about various aspects of your life, it’s time to take inventory of what you’re thinking about on a continual basis. Often times, these thoughts come so fast and are so intertwined with each other that they appear to be a great big blur. And because we’ve been thinking the same thoughts for so long, we just think they are a part of who we are. These thoughts are also emotionally charged. Therefore, if the majority of your thoughts are self-debating or hopeless, they may cause you to be depressed. If the majority of your thoughts focus on all that is wrong with your mate or another person, it’s going to cause you to be critical, judgmental, and possibly angry towards that person instead of compassionate and loving.
In order to remove the most devastating mountains from your life, you must overcome them by first, paying close attention to your thinking and then secondly, casting down every thought and imagination that exalts itself against the kingdom of God. That means eliminating every thought that promotes fear, separation, anger, and strife. The Bible tells us to cast down every thought and imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. If you really want to remove the mountains in your life, it begins with seeing and changing how you think.
The Power of Christian Meditation
One of the most effective ways to take authority over your thoughts and mind is Christian meditation or meditating on the scriptures. By Christ-centered meditation, I mean spending time everyday meditating slowly on the scriptures allowing God’s word to penetrate your heart. Jesus said, I will keep thee in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me. You can drown out your negative thinking with the word of God until God’s word is the prevalent voice in your head. By meditating on the word, you allow it to seep deep down in your spirit, where it begins to change both your thoughts and your character into the likeness of Christ. Then when the mountains arise, you can resist, climb, or cast them into the sea where they lose their hold and grip over you and you can walk in victory in Christ.
Christian Meditation Is Like a Shower of the Mind
Each morning, usually before day-break, I tread to my meditation spot, an overstuffed comfy green chair in the corner of my bedroom. Some mornings it’s cold and I just want to hide under my covers, but regardless of the conditions, eventually I make my way to my chair, light a candle, wrap myself in a blanket, set my timer, and close my eyes. For the next 30 minutes I become completely absorbed by God’s word and his presence.
For me, Christian meditation is like a daily shower of my mind. It’s where I can dissolve any fears, worries, stresses, or the onset of negative or toxic emotions lingering near by. During meditation, I cast all of my cares upon the Lord and allow them to diminish in his light, Spirit, and love. To forfeit my meditation practice any one day means that my flesh has gotten the victory over my spirit and now sits on the throne. It is said that how we begin our day is how we often finish our day.
My meditation practice consists of slowly meditating on passages of scripture or inspirational texts. I call this Scripture Meditation. I meditate on the 23rd Psalms, The Lord’s Prayer, The Love Chapter, The Beatitudes, and other verses that I have memorized and God puts in my heart. I begin each meditation session with the following prayer that I slightly modified from Psalm 19 of Praying the Psalms by Nan Merrill. I read it as:
“But who can discern their own weakness?
Cleanse me, O Lord, from all my hidden faults?
Keep me from boldly acting in error;
let my fears and illusions not have dominion over me!
Then shall I become a beneficial presence,
Freely and fully surrendered to your Love.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
find favor in your Heart.
O my Beloved, my strength and my joy!”
During meditation, I slowly graze over the scriptures in my mind, and as I do I sink deeper and deeper into the peace, calm, and presence of God. Each time my mind wanders off in thought, fear, or anxiety, I turn my attention back to my scripture passage, keeping my mind on the Lord. The Bible says that “you will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.”
Jesus tells us in the Bible that we become what we think about or meditate on. Through meditation, we hide God’s word in our heart and that planted word begins to take root and grow a harvest of godly fruit. Each time we return our wandering mind back to the scripture passage, it’s the same as plucking up the weeds that want to invade our mental garden.
The Benefits of Christian Meditation
The benefits of meditation aren’t generally realized during the actual practice, though dwelling in God’s presence is definitely an added reward. The real benefits of Christian Meditation are realized throughout our day when we find that we are more loving, kind, patient, and compassionate or when we squash thoughts of fear or worry that come to steal our peace and joy. Just like we divert our attention from them in meditation, we do the same as we go about our daily tasks. Through meditation, we learn that we can choose what we allow in our minds. We can choose what we allow to rule over us. Meditation empowers us to cast down every thought and imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Paul said that we are a slave to whatever we allow to rule over us. Too many Christians are ruled by the whims of their thoughts. Just like watching a television commercial that tells us we want a Mrs. Smith’s Cherry Pie and we run out and buy one, our unregenerated mind rules most of us. It says stay in bed and we stay in bed. It says you’re depressed and we become depressed. It says sin and we sin. It says don’t forgive and we hold grudges. Christian meditation gives us the opportunity to become slaves of righteousness as we continue to hide God in our heart and crowd out the voices of illusion and deception. Through Christ-centered meditation, we also experience a deeper connection with God. As our meditation practice deepens we gain a greater capacity to know God, hear his voice, and experience him in a new and real way.
James 4:8 declares, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Christian meditation allows us to wash away the mental dirt and debris that we pick up each day. It helps us to break the conditioning, patterns, and falsehoods of the world and start each day clean, purified, and centered in Christ.
Some people would never think to miss their morning shower or bath. I know people that spend at least 30 minutes in the shower or until the water turns cold. Then they spend another two hours doing their make up and hair. They wouldn’t dare leave the house until their outsides our fully together. But how much more important is it that we clean our insides from worldly contaminates. To miss this time in silence reverence to God means carrying around these mental and emotional weights for another 24 hours or until I decide to meditate again. I’d much rather wash them away, just like the water takes the dirt from my body and carries it down the drain. Starting my morning in meditation frees me from any encumbrances lingering in my unconscious mind. Through Christian meditation, my mind is swept clean and polished with the light of God’s word.
2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement that contaminates either flesh or spirit.” Through meditation, we become the observer of our thoughts and which gives us the power to eliminate those ideas that are contrary to our faith. Mastery of the mind is the only road to true freedom, for it is in the mind and thoughts that all things are created, “for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he,” and “a good man out of the good treasure in his heart creates that which is good.”
Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and of a heavy heart and I will give you rest.” Spending time with God in meditation, whether scripture, guided, or mantra, that is the place of rest for me, for it is where I lay my burdens at the cross and then cloth myself with the Lord Jesus Christ. Each time I enter meditation I am covering myself in his Word, Presence, and Love. I am dwelling under the shadow of the Almighty. Each time I leave my green comfy chair, I leave cleansed, renewed, restored, and prepared to begin my day.
Want to learn more about Scripture Meditation? See my free online course and Scripture Meditation Tutorial CD that includes 75 minutes of detailed instruction and Scripture Meditation recording.
