3 Tips on Meditating from the Bible
Bible meditation is an essential spiritual discipline for Christians. Often, we neglect this practice because we don’t make the time to sit with the Word of God, let alone read it. Nevertheless, our lack of devotion does not diminish its significance in spiritual growth.
It is often said that the battlefield is the mind, and I couldn’t agree more. We frequently struggle with our thoughts daily, including intrusive thoughts, anxious thoughts, self-defeating thoughts, and so forth. If no caution is taken, succumbing to these thoughts and feeling controlled by them rather than controlling them is easy. Moreover, it is easy to dwell on these thoughts as if they are true, but they are not. Therefore, biblical meditation is essential in grounding oneself in the Scriptures to renew one's mind in understanding the will of God (Romans 12:2). It is learning to take every thought captive to Christ in His Word. The question is, how do we meditate on the Bible?
Find a Quiet Place
Let’s face it: we live in a very distracted generation, where multiple things are vying for our attention. A prime example is social media, with its endless notifications on the daily. A great danger is spending more time there than in the Word of God and prayer. Additionally, people get trapped in the cycle of surfing aimlessly on there, let alone the internet. An even worse danger is “doom scrolling,” where one scrolls online constantly looking at negative news, which, in turn, creates anxiety, anger, and despair. When one fills the mind with such things, it's no wonder people are restless.
That being said, we must refrain from these distractions and find a better alternative. What better alternative do we have than to spend time with our Heavenly Father? It is best to cultivate time out of the day to seek His face uninterrupted. Let us step away from the noise into the secret place to replenish our souls. When we do this, God can speak to us through His Word. As the Scripture states, “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” ( Deuteronomy 8:3). As food is essential for the body, the Word of God is necessary for our souls. Therefore, let us not neglect to starve ourselves of it, especially when so many distractions can rob us of our time. So find a quiet place, such as at home or in the park, and prepare to receive from the Lord in His Word.
Memorization
Bible memorization is required to even reach the point of Bible meditation. It is essential to obtaining and keeping God’s Word in our hearts! When we memorize, we take extra care in knowing what Scripture we can bring into our hearts. This prevents any skim reading of the text that will soon be forgotten. Overall, memorization is intentional as we seek to know God’s Word by heart so that we can meditate on it ourselves later on.
Obtaining God’s Word through memorization helps us build a repertoire of having verses and passages on hand when needed. And believe me, we’ll need it each day, for we know what the day will bring us. We are challenged on every side through the many challenges of life. Moreover, we still struggle in our flesh, as well as the intrusive thoughts that attempt to hijack the mind. Just as Jesus countered the devil’s temptations by quoting Scripture, how much more do we! Are we greater than Christ that we are to go into battle without the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God? Perish the thought! On the contrary, we must memorize as much as possible to be ready to use it whenever.
Meditate
Moving on to Biblical meditation, it is imperative for Christians to understand that this spiritual discipline has nothing to do with emptying the mind, as taught in Eastern meditation. At its core, it involves filling one’s mind with the Word of God.
Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
Psalm 1:2 states, “ But His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law, he meditates day and night.”
Psalm 119:97 says, “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day.”
The foundation of meditation for the Christian is based on Scripture, which is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). And because we know that Scripture is God-breathed, it is sufficient for it to endure forever, even if everything else fades away. It is the means of grace given to us that we would know the Lord and what He says.
Meditation means to mull over or ruminate, let the Scriptures dwell in our minds, and absorb its truths. Let us consider what the text is saying in its original context, how it points to God, and how it applies to us. In doing so, we can receive from biblical meditation far beyond simply reading through it. And as the above Scriptures state, we must meditate day and night, thus showing the discipline behind it. This is no sporadic thing, where we do it once in a while or when we feel like it, but incorporating it into our daily lives.
A great analogy for Bible meditation is dipping a tea bag into hot water, with the tea bag being the Word of God. Letting the tea bag be dipped or letting it sit in the hot water allows for a greater infusion of flavor. Now, considering biblical meditation, it is precisely the same way we constantly ponder its truths to renew our minds and actions.
In closing, let us consider the words of English preacher and author Thomas Brooks. “Remember that it is not hasty reading but serious meditation on holy and heavenly truths that makes them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the mere touching of the flower by the bee that gathers honey but her abiding for a time on the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most but he that meditates most that will prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian,”
When it comes to meditation, a proper time of dwelling in the Word is required to benefit from its timeless truths. As the eternal Word of God, we always have a resource to draw upon repeatedly. Therefore, let us make the most of it.
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Originally published April 12, 2025.
