Meditating on Scripture - Part 2
"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
(Deuteronomy 6:6-9)
As we saw last week, one of the greatest benefits of memorizing Scripture is that it makes constant meditation on the Word of God possible. The pattern of success outlined in Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8-9 is that delighting ourselves in the Scriptures inevitably leads to meditation, which in turn leads to fruitfulness and spiritual prosperity. Christians who hope to "walk in the light as He is in the light" must cherish in their hearts what David described as "a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (1 John 1:7; Ps. 119:105)But what exactly does it mean to meditate on Scripture? What are some practical steps that will take us from a knowledge of God's Word to an unquenchable love for truth?
First of all, we must recognize that "whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Rom. 15:4) Aside from first knowing what God has said, the most important part of meditating on Scripture is realizing that it applies to us in a very real and personal way. The psalms of David, the faith of Esther, and the courage of Samson were recorded for our benefit and that "the eyes of our understanding" would be enlightened (Eph. 1:18).
Secondly, ask God to reveal the hidden treasures of His Word by way of the Holy Spirit. The human mind is finite and incapable in itself of fully comprehending what has been Divinely inspired (1 Cor. 2:14), meaning our best efforts to understand the Bible must be coupled with the prayer of David in Psalm 119:18, "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law."
Finally, meditation takes time. Despite our human tendency to want everything right away with as little effort as possible, no Bible verse can be placed in the "microwave" of our minds and fully enjoyed 30 seconds later. It requires a "crock pot" commitment where we deliberately slow down and fully immerse ourselves in what God says - and not just until Bible study is over or it's time to leave for work. It means permanently "settings our minds on things above" and being ever "mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of...the apostles of the Lord and Savior." (Col. 3:2; 2 Pet. 3:2)
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