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What exactly is meditative
prayer? It is not a New Age type
of prayer. It rather helps us
pray the Word and meditate or
think upon it.
In Hebrew tradition, to meditate
upon the Scriptures is to
quietly repeat them, giving
oneself entirely to God, and
abandoning outside distractions.
The two main things that we are
told to meditate on are God's
Word and God's goodness:
"Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable-if
anything is excellent or
praiseworthy-think about such
things. Whatever you have
learned or received or heard
from me, or seen in me-put it
into practice. And the God of
peace will be with you" - Philippians
4: 8-9
We see the difference between
the task orientated and
contemplative Jesus-focussed
Christian life illustrated in
the story of Mary and Martha in
Luke 10:38-42. Mary sat at the
feet of Jesus and heard His
word, while Martha was
distracted with much serving.
Jesus said that Mary had chosen
the best thing because she sat
at His feet and was not
distracted. It does not mean
avoid the "kitchen", it just
means that there are times and
opportunities when we have to
pause, sit down and listen
without the distractions of
normal life. Then we can
continue again in the matters of
daily responsibility.
Meditative prayer is exactly
this, sitting at the feet of
Jesus and hearing and listening
to His words. We must allow time
to let the Lord speak to us
through meditating on Him and
His word in prayer.
Guidelines for meditative prayer
Schedule it.
You have to schedule times of
meditation upon the Word of God.
Try to spend at least 30 minutes
once a week in meditation. You
can do it while driving to work
or on public transport, or take
a walk over the weekend, perhaps
on a Sunday afternoon; sit down
in a public park, next to a dam,
or in a garden etc.
Designate a quiet place.
In a world full of distractions,
we need a quiet place where we
can allow God to speak to us.
The most effective place to pray
is where you are least likely to
be disturbed.
Give yourself at least 30
minutes.
Many people only spend a few
minutes each day in prayer. Very
few people actually spend time
in meditative prayer. It takes
time to drown out the cares of
the world, sit, prayerfully
meditate on God's Word, and then
allow Him to speak to us.
Choose a Scripture on which to
prayerfully meditate.
Prayerfully select a passage of
Scripture that is especially
meaningful to you. Let it either
focus on the goodness of God,
the promises of God, or the
worship of God. You can start by
using the above Scripture from
Philippians 4:8. Rewrite the
verse on paper or in your
journal. Underline some words
that stand out to you. Write
them underneath each other,
leaving some lines open for your
notes.
Allow God to speak to you.
This is the hardest
part. Many people never hear the
Lord speak to them simply
because they don't allow Him to.
We need to sit and listen for
the voice of the Lord. Samuel
was open to hearing from the
Lord. (1 Samuel 3). He said,
"Speak, for Your servant is
listening." The most effective
way to capture what the Lord is
saying to us is to write down
what we experience He is telling
us. Now prayerfully wait upon
the Lord to speak to you about
each word you underlined and
make notes. You can look up
cross references from a
concordance if you want more
clarity on what the Bible says
elsewhere about these topics. It
might be that you sometimes
wonder whether it really was Him
telling you these things or your
own thoughts. In time it will
become clearer.
Conclude with thanksgiving and
prayer.
It is important to speak to the
Lord now regarding the matters
He has shown us. You can start
by asking for each aspect He has
shown you to be formed in your
inner man, the image of Christ
in your mind, heart, and soul.
Ask for Him to make you more
sensitive for the voice of the
Spirit of God and become more
obedient. Then conclude your
time of meditation by giving
thanks to the Lord for His Word,
for being faithful and for
touching your heart with His
living Word.
Taken from the
Jericho Walls Prayer Guide March - May
2013 |
Murray Moerman (