Meditation: The Art of Enjoying God In His Word

Imagine with me for a moment walking into a home filled with the smells of a Thanksgiving feast. Then sitting down at the table to the mouth-watering assortment of  turkey & stuffing, hot buttered rolls, various casseroles and pies. But, once the full plate has been placed in front of you and the food blessed - instead of actually taking your fork and knife and eating the meal in front of you, you simply got up from the table and walked away. You had seen and smelled the food - but you never actually took the necessary step of putting it in your mouth, chewing it, then digesting it. The food did nothing to nourish your body or satisfy your hunger. And this is precisely what many Christians do with the Word when they settle for a quick glance at God's Word, but never learn to actually meditate on it!

Edward Calamy (a Puritan pastor) said, “As it is impossible for a man to be nourished by meat if he [lacks] digestion…so it is impossible for a man to be nourished in grace, if he neglect the duty of divine meditation.” In a similar vein, Nathanael Ranew also wrote that, “little meditating makes lean Christians, of little life, little strength, little growth, and of little usefulness to others.”

But how does Meditation help us? Maybe another analogy will be helpful. Don Whitney, in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, helps us understand the power and purpose of meditation using the analogy of tea steeping. He explains…

"You are the cup of hot water and the intake of Scripture is represented by the teabag. Hearing God's Word is like one dip of the tea bag into the cup. Some of the tea's flavor is absorbed by the water, but not as much as would occur with a more thorough soaking of the bag. In this analogy, reading, studying, and memorizing God's Word are represented by additional plunges of the tea bag into the cup. The more frequently the tea enters the water, the more effect it has. Meditation, however, is like immersing the bag completely and letting it steep until all the rich tea flavor has been extracted and the hot water is thoroughly tinctured reddish brown.” 

In other words, meditation is the intentional means by which the Word of God makes it’s fullest and deepest impression on the people of God. Meditation on God’s Word can be said to be the chief way that God’s people seek to satisfy their souls in the Lord so that their lives are transformed by His glory into His image.

And yet, meditation may never have been more neglected among Christians than it is today. In our push-button, AI-driven, quick-answer world - we don’t have to wait long for the right answer. We have a world of information - even biblical truth at our fingertips! And while this is not a bad thing, to have our curiosity satisfied or confusion settled by the truths found on the page or screen is NOT the same thing as having that truth imprinted on our hearts and souls. In an article on the Puritan approach toward meditation, James Davison writes, “Like the art of Christian contentment, the art of Christian meditations is something of a lost art. It does not sit easy in our quick-fix world…Meditation takes time.”

So, what exactly does meditation look like? There are two opposite errors we want to avoid: First, making it so complicated that the average Christian thinks it is beyond their ability. Second, to make it seem so easy and delightful that no discipline or effort is involved. To be clear - Christian meditation will require EFFORT, but it is something that EVERY Christian can (and should) engage in! How do I know every Christian can meditate? Because we are all ‘meditating’ on something every day. Something is filling our minds and grabbing our mental attention. What is worry but meditating on a situation that we can’t control?

To give us a functional definition for meditation - let’s look to the words of JI Packer in what I still believe is one of the best descriptions of how we are to meditate on God’s truth. He says…

Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.

There is so much to commend in this definition. It’s an intentional focusing of the mind on biblical truth. It’s a ‘chewing’ on the truth so that it moves beyond mere principal, to the practicalities of ‘applying to oneself’ the truth of the Word. But it’s not done simply in our strength - as if it’s some mental positive-thinking trip. It’s an act of faith as we cast our mental energies to grapple with truth so that it might be rightly applied in our lives with the full confidence that the Spirit of God will help and bless this effort because without His help it will be utterly fruitless. And even then, the point is not simply satisfaction or transformation, but ‘communion’ with God. 

All that to say, is meditation something you should seek to grow in? I guest the real question is, "Do you want to grow in spiritual satisfaction, joy, and intimacy with God? Do you want to, '...taste and see that the Lord is good.'" If the answer is “yes” then we must learn the art of meditation on scripture. And we can do it with the confidence that, “whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” So, begin (or press on!) in seeking to satisfy your souls in the Lord as you meditate on the truth of His Word today!

For more tips on how to meditate on scripture - stay tuned for a future blog.