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: the tragedies happening in the world, that big job interview, saving enough for retirement, something someone unexpectedly said to us, and so on.

When you think of meditation, you might not think it connects to your faith. You might have visions of Buddhism or people sitting on yoga mats and saying, “Om.” But, that’s not what we’re getting at today.

In fact, eastern meditation and Christian meditation are not the same thing. Eastern mediation is often about emptying your mind of any thoughts. The problem with this is that, if we empty our minds completely, we may be opening ourselves up to the lies that Satan wants us to believe. The last thing I want is to allow any of his lies into my mind. 

Christian mediation 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.”

If you’re someone who loves and follows God, you’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.

One of the best ways for us to know God and trust Him more is by meditating. I like to think of meditating as having my heart marinate in His truths. It’s not just reading over the words on the pages of your Bible. It’s about stopping, thinking on, and asking God questions about what His words mean to you. What does He want you to walk away knowing about Him and about yourself?

Meditation is also a great way to memorize Scripture, so you can pull it to mind when needed. I know there have been several times in my life when I was struggling, and I was so grateful that I could pull up Scripture to remind me of God’s Word and His 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 Isaiah 41:10. It says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Now let’s turn part of that into breath prayers that allow us to meditate more deeply on these verses:

Inhale: I will not fear

Exhale: because you are with me

Inhale: You are my God

Exhale: and you hold me up

You can repeat this to yourself during your workouts, as you do chores, 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!