Colossians 1:10
10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
No matter which side you take in the debate between Tozer and Lewis, the highest and holiest pursuit of our lives is to know God better than we do right now. Until “…we shall be where we would be…and we shall be what we should be,” [1] we should immerse ourselves in the only Book through which God has personally revealed himself to mankind. Put simply, God wants to be known. How much work are we willing to do so that we can increase in our knowledge of our Lord? He is the One who has made it possible for us to know him deeply and personally. Please don’t lazily pass over that last statement. It should astound, amaze, and humble us that God has revealed himself at all to sinners like us. You can know God as much as you want to. So, do you want to?
Biblical Meditation
One of the blessings of losing my ability to speak is that I have been forced to become a more attentive listener. I mean, actively listening with my head and with my heart. For instance, singing hymns with my church family means more to me now than it ever has because I am thinking about the message not just singing words. This hearing and thinking process is called meditation. Maybe a better word than “process” would be “discipline.” Biblical meditation is hard work. Do we really think that getting to know God should be easy? It is not!
Meditation Combines Bible Intake with Bible Praying
We might describe biblical meditation as “mentally, talking to yourself.” Biblical meditation involves talking to ourselves about what God has said to us in his Word, then talking to God (prayer) about what he said. The assumption here is that we have a consistent practice of Bible intake. There is a very direct correlation between knowing the Bible (the Word) and knowing the Word, Jesus (John 1:1). May I suggest that Bible intake is accomplished in, at least, four ways:
- Reading
- Studying
- Memorizing
- Preaching
Meditation Converts Bible Intake into Bible Living
Very often, the subject of Biblical meditation comes up in the context of what some call “daily devotions.” I think we make a mistake when we equate devotions with something we do rather than what we are. I suggest that rather than thinking in terms of, “having my devotions,” we should think in terms of, “I want to be devoted to God.” A person with a longing to know God and be devoted to him will be in the Word, in Church, and in prayer. We will discipline ourselves this way, not because we have to, but because we desperately want to and know we need to.
Functional Meditation
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not denying the vital part daily devotions (or whatever you call your personal worship time) plays in our walk with God. As a matter of fact, I believe personal worship is foundational to what we will call functional meditation. I believe this is what we are reading about in Psalm 1:2 and Joshua 1:8. That phrase “day and night” is referring both to a time of day as well as an attitude of our spirit. As we are going about our business, living our lives, doing what we do both day and night, we are to be meditating on the Scriptures. That way, as situations arise when we need God’s wisdom, we can bring to mind what God says and do that. We learn to think like God thinks as we meditate on his thoughts. The wall builder, Nehemiah is a great example of this type of “day and night” living and thinking. After coming, sad faced, before the most powerful king on the planet, the King asks the reason for Nehemiah’s distress. We know from the text that Nehemiah is greatly burdened about the conditions in Jerusalem. He is afraid that the broken down walls and crumbling city is a reproach on his Holy God. So when the King asks, this is what Nehemiah does,
Nehemiah 2:4
4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Nehemiah didn’t kneel for an extended prayer meeting, In his head and heart, he simply prayed. What Nehemiah already knew about God had prepared him to face this very delicate and, we might add, dangerous situation. So think about today. Did anything happen to you today that made you realize that you needed God right then? Functional meditation prepares us for daily living and daily dependence upon God.
Focused Meditation
There are times in daily life when we need God desperately and immediately, but there are also extended or prolonged trials and struggles. Times when we need to dive deeper and swim longer in the water of the Word. Focused meditation involves concentrated study and careful listening so that we come to a point of complete trust. One, very effective tool for focused meditation is singing. Sing hymns that focus your head and heart on God’s Word and God’s promises. Hymns like this,
“O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured boundless, free,
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me is the current of Your love,
Leading onward, leading homeward, to Your glorious rest above.”
“Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His fame from shore to shore,
How he came to pay our ransom through the saving cross He bore;
How He watches o’er His loved ones, those He died to make His own;
How for them He’s interceding, pleading now before the throne.”
Chorus:
“O the deep, deep love,
all I need and trust
Is the deep, deep love of Jesus.” [2]
Don’t rush through these soul refreshing times. Please don’t seek relief from the trial so quickly that you miss the point and purpose of the trial. The deeper we dive, the better we will know God and be able to trust Him. Too many of us are content with dog paddling on the surface when we should take a deep breath, then dive into the depths so we can search for pearls.
So start today. Pray Colossians 1:10 about yourself. Pray this for your spouse and children. Pray this for your fiancé. Pray this for your single friends. Pray this for your church family. Church, would you agree that there are too many of us who know a great many facts about God, but we don’t really know God? Many of those young people we bemoan who have left church knew a lot of verses. They were on the Bible drill teams. They grew up in our Sunday Schools. They heard Bible facts and Bible stories. Sadly, we never taught them to know God or how to know God. God forgive us and help us.
If you would like to further study on the discipline of meditation I would suggest David Mathis’ excellent, little book, “Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines.”
1. Thomas Kelly. “Praise the Savior Ye Who Know Him.” (excerpt from Stanza 5)
2. Words: Samuel Trevor Francis, alt; additional words by Bob Kauflin. Music: Bob Kauflin; arr. Ruth Coleman. “Hymns Modern and Ancient” #99.
