What is Christian meditation?
When you think of meditation, you might not think it connects to your faith. You might have visions of Buddhism or people sitting on pillows and saying, “Om.”
Meditation in its simplest form is reflecting on or contemplating something. Whether or not we mean to, we likely all meditate on something - good or bad: that big job interview, how we’ll juggle childcare and work, something kind or rude that was said to us, and so on.
You’re likely most familiar with eastern meditation, but it is not the same as Christian meditation. Eastern mediation is often about emptying your mind of any thoughts. Christian mediation, on the other hand, is about giving God space to fill your mind with His love and truth.
In Psalm 1:1-2, it says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (emphasis added).
As followers of Christ, we’re called to reflect on, contemplate, and meditate on His Word. It’s often how we are led by the Spirit and can call specific Scripture to mind when we need it.
When we meditate on God’s Word, we learn to know and love Him better - and it helps us to better handle both the struggles and joys of life.
One of the best ways for us to know God and trust Him more is by meditating. It’s not just reading over the words on the pages of your Bible. It’s about pausing, thinking on, and processing what His words mean. What does He want you to walk away knowing about Him, about yourself, and about others?
Meditation is also a great way to memorize Scripture, so you can pull it to mind when needed. There have been many times in my life and my friends’ lives where we’ve been able to recall certain Bible verses and passages, and have been able to encourage one another with God’s promises.
Another way to look at Christian meditation is as prayer. While prayer can be a time for us to share our lives with God, it’s also a time to talk to Him about Scripture. One of my favorite ways to practice this is by creating breath prayers that go along with Bible passages and verses.
For instance, let’s look at Psalm 23:5-6. It says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Now let’s turn part of that into breath prayers that allow us to meditate more deeply on these verses:
Inhale: Goodness and mercy follow me
Exhale: all the days of my life
Inhale: I shall dwell in the house
Exhale: of the Lord
You can repeat this to yourself during your workouts, as you run errands, or even as you work from your desk. Christian meditation and prayer can be done from anywhere and at any time. That’s the beauty of our relationships with Jesus!
Are you looking for more ways to incorporate Christian meditation and breath prayers into your life? Check out our library of meditation, breath prayer, and Bible study videos in the SU Collective!
(Plus, you can try out the first 7 days for free!)