The practice of meditation is possibly one of the most overlooked aspects in the process of renewing the mind. Knowledge alone of the Word of God is not sufficient for renewal. The Hebrew concept of hearing includes the wilful obedience to practice or live by what you hear.
A common analogy used in the New Testament is that of bread or eating. Jesus says, “Man can not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Paul speaks of drinking milk and eating meat in terms of spiritual maturity and the understanding of the Word. Jesus challenges His followers to eat His flesh and drink His blood – referring to the coming Passover meal. Another way of looking at this is He is telling us to eat the Word (He is the Word that became flesh).
Meditation would then be the process of chewing, regurgitating and digesting food as a cow would do to the grass it eats. This is our need to think about, comprehend, ponder, acknowledge and choose how and where to apply this spiritual food in our lives. The goal is to be transformed (grow up) into the likeness of Christ, through the renewal of our mind and fellowship with the Author. So like food is needed for our flesh to grow, so Truth for the mind is needed for spiritual growth. Hearing alone is not enough, it needs to be digested and absorbed through the practice of meditation, seeking understanding and applying this truth in your life, in context to the One who is Truth.
Take the fact that Jesus has given us a new spirit and that He lives inside us. His Spirit is in us. We should get on our knees and worship Him every time we comprehend and think about this. Meditation is a rich experience of allowing God’s Living Word to become part of our life. It is the key to going from hearing (knowledge only) to a transformed (relational Truth). Meditation should lead to a relationship with Jesus, not just knowledge of Him.
Scripture Examples:
- This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. The New King James Version, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jos 1:8.
- But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. The Amplified Bible, (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987), Ps 1:2.
- And Isaac went out to meditate and bow down [in prayer] in the open country in the evening; and he looked up and saw that, behold, the camels were coming. The Amplified Bible, (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1987), Ge 24:63.
- May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD. – Ps 104:34.
Meditation in the psalms involves considering Yahweh, and then expressing the results of that process. The psalms portray meditation as a sort of worship. – John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
