[ad_1]

Meditation is by definition the practice of concentrated focus on an object, thought, or sound. Christian meditation is a form of prayer that makes a deliberate attempt to get in touch with God and reflect upon His revelations. The Bible teaches us that all of God’s children should meditate continuously. Joshua 1:8 says that we should meditate on the Word of God “day and night”. Psalms 1 tells us that we are blessed when we meditate continuously on His word.

When God created humans He not only created us in His image, but He created us with the ability to have a personal, intimate relationship with Him. As with any other relationship, the intimacy that God desires us to have with Him is built over time, by spending quality time with Him, becoming well acquainted with who He is and what He is about. God reveals these things to us by His Holy Spirit, through His word, so it is extremely important that we spend time meditating on His word.

With all the cares and concerns a day brings in this life, it is very difficult to slow our minds down long enough to let God in. Meditation helps to get us to a place of quietness and peace, so we can hear God speaking His word to us and allow His Holy Spirit to give us the understanding we need in order to go deeper into intimacy with God.

First of all, Christian meditation increases the quality of the time we spend with God. While Christian meditation has many valuable benefits for our mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing, there are three that I believe should be at the top of the list. Psalm 46:10 tells us to be still and know that He is God. The more quality time we spend in the presence of God the more familiar we become with who He is and the more we take on His character and likeness. When Mary and Martha had Jesus over for dinner, Martha became upset because Mary wasn’t helping her with the preparations. Jesus told Martha that she had many cares, but that Mary had made the better choice, to dwell at his side, and it will not be taken away from her. We all have much to do on a daily basis, but we must get in the habit of making time in the presence of God a priority.

Secondly, Christian meditation improves our thought life. Second Corinthians 10:5 tells us that we need to bring every thought into the obedience of Christ. Christian meditation helps to still our minds so that we can take control of our thoughts, and allow them to be guided by the truths of God’s word, and not our emotions or our circumstances. The reality is if we are not controlling our thoughts, then our thoughts are controlling us. We need to take time to recognize the thoughts that are guiding our lives and line them up with the Word of God rising above our natural level of consciousness.

Finally, Christian meditation promotes mental and emotional wellbeing. Our minds need rest in the same way our bodies need rest. It is easy to become overwhelmed with worries and thoughts of responsibilities. When this happens we do not think as clearly as we should and our mental stability is jeopardized. Christian meditation teaches us how to surrender every situation to God and opens us up to receive the “peace that passes all understanding” that is promised if we keep our mind on Him.

[ad_2]

Source by Janice Beasley