What is Meditation?
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Meditation
Meditation is not a strange, mystical, or mysterious thing, at least not when you’re talking about meditation in the word of God. Meditation in the Bible has nothing to do with New Age spiritual practices or the religious rituals of the followers of Eastern religions.
Thinking Deeply
Meditation, as defined in most English language dictionaries, is merely the act of thinking deeply into a thing, the placing of considerable thought upon a subject. And if that’s the case, then we have all been involved in meditation most of our lives. Any time we have thought a great deal about something we are deeply interested in, any time we have endeavored to think through and solve a problem, any time we have brainstormed and planned out a project to do, we have engaged in meditation.
To Ponder
Genesis 24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide:
Psalm 63:6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
In both of these scripture verses the word “meditate” is used to mean merely thinking about something, musing, pondering. Isaac went out in the field to ponder things. The man in Psalm 63:6 thought about the LORD upon his bed, and pondered about God as he served on his night watch. This man used meditation to pass the time, which is exactly what most people do.
To Mutter
One of the meanings of this Hebrew word translated “meditate” is to mutter or utter. What does that mean? It has to do with muttering something under our breath, as when we are having an inner conversation with ourselves, perhaps trying to solve some problem we are dealing with. We will often talk with ourselves but not loud enough for others to hear us. So, muttering has to do with having an inner conversation with ourselves while pondering something. And that is very natural and normal behavior.
More than just Reading
And so, to wrap this up, meditation in the word of God is simply taking the time to think deeply into and ponder the things we are reading in the word of God, more deeply that you would normally do while merely reading. Reading is a mental activity by which we gain information, while meditation is more of a pondering and a reflecting upon what we have read.
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.