“I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.” (Psalm 119:15 NKJV)
“I set my heart on your precepts and pay close attention to all your ways.” (Psalm 119:15 TPT)
“I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.” (Psalm 119:115 NLT)
“I will meditate on Your precepts and [thoughtfully] regard Your ways [the path of life established by Your precepts].” (Psalm 119:15 AMP)
“I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways.” (Psalm 119:15 HCSB)
“I have meditated in your commandments and I have known your ways.” (Psalm 119:15 ABIPE)
Meditation is a lost art in the Western World. It seems that in the Western Christian Community we have become afraid to even approach the concept. So many times we react to what we perceive as error which in turn creates a new error. From Psalm 119 it is clear that the memorization of Scripture and meditation go hand in hand. There is an emptying and a filling that make up biblical meditation. I empty everything that is filling me and fill the emptiness with the Word. In this process I aim for less of me and more of the Spirit. Less of my thoughts and more of God’s thoughts.
Another word for meditate is mutter. In meditation I take portions of Scripture and mutter them over and over again allowing myself to hear the word in a continual expression. Another word associated with meditation is ruminate. As a cow chews it’s cud, I chew on the Word. It is often helpful to add physical motion in order to synchronize my body and mind with my spirit. Planned sound, scent, and lighting may also help in creating the mood in which meditation becomes more effective. This again helps to place my body, soul (mind), and spirit in alignment.
Psalm 119:15 leads me to believe that meditation is high on my Daddy’s priority list for me. I am finding more and more that hiding God’s Word in my heart (memorization) and pondering on it throughout the day (meditation) is critical to my spiritual well being and growth. Just like prayer has a continual element in which I am in constant communication with my Daddy, as well as a committed element in which I set aside designated times to focus exclusively on praying; meditation has a continual element in which I ruminate on the Word throughout my waking hours and a dedicated time in which I remove all distractions and practice the art of biblical meditation.
I will meditate on the Word as I ponder…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 289: Clean Living (Psalm 119:9-16) – Part 8 – Verse 15