Series is a book review and study of Richard Foster’s Book, Celebration of Discipline. All quotes from the book are Foster unless otherwise denoted.
This week we are going to tackle the spiritual disciple of meditation. This is certainly one of my favorites, and one in which I feel the presence of the Lord the most. It often seems to be the most difficult one for me to practice regularly, as we are so accustomed to being immersed in the world and so seldom do we know how to be still. It is my prayer that this weekend you would join me in taking a moment to practice meditation, perhaps for the first time, and open yourself to what is trying to speak to you. I pray that we may be emptied of ourselves to be filled with our Creator.
Biblical Witness
The Bible uses two different Hebrew words to convey the idea of meditation, having various meanings such as listening to God’s word, reflecting on God’s works, rehearsing God’s deeds, ruminating on God’s law, and more. “It is this continual focus upon obedience and faithfulness that most clearly distinguishes Christian meditation from it’s Eastern and secular counterparts.”
Familiar names who meditated included Isaac (Gen 24:63), Elijah (1 Kings 19:9-18), Eli (1 Sam 3:1-18), and Jeremiah (Jer. 20:9). “God spoke to them not because they had special abilities, but because they were willing to listen.” Jesus did not just withdraw to “a lonely place apart” (Matt 14:13) to be away from people, but so he could be with God.
This is the biblical foundation for meditation: “Jesus continues ‘to do and teach’ even if people cannot see him with the naked eye (Acts 1:1)” – through the Holy Spirit. He is working in the lives of those who believe to bring about the Kingdom of God here and now as it is in heaven. As we hear the word of God, are moved by the spirit, and chose to obey, we act in love.“What we see over and over again is God’s people learning to live on the basis of hearing God’s voice and obeying his word.”
Hearing and Obeying
“Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey his word”
“The truth of the matter is that the great God of the universe, the Creator of all things desires our fellowship.” Adam and Eve were in constant communion with God before the fall. He desires our company, we are the ones who withdraw from Him. “But God continued to reach out to his rebellious children, and in stories of such person as Cain, Abel Noah, and Abraham we see God speaking and acting, teaching and guiding.”
The Isrealites preferred Moses speak to God on their behalf, because they feared this intimacy with Him (Ex 33:11). We likewise fear this intimacy. We don’t want someone knowing everything about us – what if they don’t like what they see? But the fact is that God already knows everything – and he loves us unconditionally. And in Jesus we have the ability to have that intimate relationship. “In his intimate relationship with the Father, Jesus modeled for us the reality of that life of hearing and obeying.”
“The truth of the matter is that the great God of the universe, the Creator of all things desires our fellowship.” Adam and Eve were in constant communion with God before the fall. He desires our company, we are the ones who withdraw from Him. “But God continued to reach out to his rebellious children, and in stories of such person as Cain, Abel Noah, and Abraham we see God speaking and acting, teaching and guiding.”
The Isrealites preferred Moses speak to God on their behalf, because they feared this intimacy with Him (Ex 33:11). We likewise fear this intimacy. We don’t want someone knowing everything about us – what if they don’t like what they see? But the fact is that God already knows everything – and he loves us unconditionally. And in Jesus we have the ability to have that intimate relationship. “In his intimate relationship with the Father, Jesus modeled for us the reality of that life of hearing and obeying.”
This is the biblical foundation for meditation: “Jesus continues ‘to do and teach’ even if people cannot see him with the naked eye (Acts 1:1)” – through the Holy Spirit. He is working in the lives of those who believe to bring about the Kingdom of God here and now as it is in heaven. As we hear the word of God, are moved by the spirit, and chose to obey, we act in love.“What we see over and over again is God’s people learning to live on the basis of hearing God’s voice and obeying his word.”
We don’t often hear much about meditation outside of the Eastern images of crossed legs and silence, so what do some of the more modern day Christians think about meditation? I love these two quotes that describe the necessity of meditating in our faith journeys.
“Meditation is the duty of all.” – Jeremy Taylor
“Because I am a Christian.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer (when asked why he meditated)
The Purpose of Meditation
I love the quote by Carl Jung about hurry – one of the memories I most too from my time in Bolivia and also in Latvia was the ability to truly slow down and step away – from technology, from being busy – and just be in relationship with one another and with the Lord. “He walks with me and he talks with me” ceases to become pious jargon… when we regularly meditate. It becomes the reality of our daily walk. The reality that we are listening for God to speak, and we are ready to listen to what He has to say.
Foster describes it as “not a giddy, buddy-buddy relationship”, but one of “intense intimacy and awful reverence.” In meditation “we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart.” Think of your most intimate friendship. When you relinquish control and simply let the other person in – to your thoughts, your ideas, your beliefs – you become much more connected to that person. How much more when we do so with our Savoir?
The verse “I stand at the door and knock…” was originally penned for believers, not unbelievers! Jesus longs to commune with us. To break bread & drink wine with us. To be in relationship with us, “tabernacling” in our hearts as we live this life. When we give up everything that is foreign to His way and “everything within us will swing like a needle to the polestar of the Spirit”.
Understandable Misconceptions
“Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind.”
These are four common misconceptions about Christian meditation that tend to keep believers from practicing this particular discipline.
It’s all about detachment. “There is a need for detachment, a ‘sabbath of contemplation’ as Peter of Celles put it.” But there is a danger in thinking only in terms of detachment (see Luke 11:24-26). We detach from the world around us, to attach to who He is. And we do so in order that we may be His example to the world we live in.
It’s too difficult or complicated. It’s really quite the opposite, however. “Meditation is really very simple and there is not much need of elaborate techniques to teach us how to go about it” says Thomas Merton. It will be different in form and topography for each person, yet the function remains constant – to deepen relationship with God and listen to His voice guiding us into obedience.
It’s impractical & out of touch to meditate. People often see meditating as needed a specific space, or having a specific posture, or landscape to truly do appropriately. That it is out of touch with today’s culture and the hustle and bustle of the day and time we live in. But we ought be reminded that we are called to be a people set apart for His glory. “Meditation is the only thing that can sufficiently redirect our lives so that we can deal with human life successfully.” It is not the goal of meditation to remove ourselves from this world. God wants to put the world to rights, and we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ to make that happen. As William Penn says, “True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.”
Meditation as a religious form of psychological manipulation. This often is the most common one of all. That by meditating we are trying to order our mind alone by relieving stress, lowering our blood pressure, or just cal ourselves down. This view limits meditation to simply emptying ourselves, and lacks a response of being filled, of hearing and being called to obey.
Desiring the Living Voice of God
One of the first steps in meditating is desiring to draw nearer to God. “We are content to have the message secondhand. Such an approach saves us from the need to change, for to be in the presence of God is to change.” We are all too often fearful of change. Fearful of wrath, disappointment, or failure. By distancing ourselves, the intimate relationship does not exist, and we feel no need to change. Meditation is threatening to us because it calls us to enter into the presence of God for ourselves. Many question “If God is alive and active in the affairs of human being, why can’t his voice be heard and obeyed today?” to which I say that it can. If you’ve ever been at a gathering and the music was so loud that you couldn’t hear the person across the table, you will start to understand the image here – unless we turn down the music (the distractions of this world) we won’t be able to hear the voice of God, even if he is yelling at us from across the table. When we truly desire to let go and cling to the One who created us, to allow ourselves to be called beloved, and seek the intimacy that comes from meditation we will finally begin to stand in awe of who He is and want to obey. “The contemplation of the saints is fired by the love of the one contemplated: that is, God.” – Albert the GreatSanctifying the Imagination
To meditate, most of us need to be deeply rooted in the senses. To hear, to smell, to see our surroundings. The imagination helps to anchor our thoughts and center our attention on Christ. “God created us with an imagination, and as Lord of his creation he can and does redeem it and use it for the kingdom of God.” You may have heard the expression, “Don’t let your imagination get the best of you” at one point or another. Well sometimes I beg to differ – let your imagination free, and allow the Lord to use it to draw you closer to Him. “We are seeking to think God’s thoughts after him, to delight in his presence, to desire his truth and his way.”
Preparing to Meditate
How do you learn to meditate? Just do it! There are no laws intended to confine you, and there is no “correct” time, place, or posture. Find what works best for you.
The Forms of Meditation
The written Word becomes a living word addressed to you…”set aside all tendencies toward arrogance and with a humble heart accept it.” Allow yourself to be spoken to. To hear what the Lord is trying to teach you, and how you are to go forward in that knowledge in obedience. One familiar form of meditation uses your body as a visual representation of the actions of emptying ourselves to receive Christ. One such example is palms down, palms up. Give your worries and concerns over to God with palms down, then receive his grace and peace with palms up. Another common way to practice meditation, and one that I love combines meditation with other disciplines as well, is Lectio Divina which traditionally has 4 separate steps: reading (scripture verse or passage), meditate, pray and contemplate.
“Meditation is not a single act… It is a way of life. You will be constantly learning and growing as you plumb the inner depths.”How do you prefer to meditate?
To recap all of the spiritual disciplines from Foster’s book, check out the full series: Celebrating the Spiritual Disciplines
