The reason we come away so cold from reading the word is, because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.
~ Thomas Watson ~
While pulling books for the Rez conference, I came across God’s Battle Plan for the Mind, The Puritan Practice of Biblical meditation by David Saxton (paperback; 145pp; R150). I remembered that someone had recommended it highly and bought a copy for myself. I was indicted by the Foreword!
This is an excellent book that explains that God’s Word is lost unless it is well digested. It is an in-depth study on Christian meditation. Saxton deals with the value of meditation, comparing Christian meditation with other forms of meditation prevalent today. He draws on the Puritans to validate the necessity and value of this lost practice.
When we hear and read God’s Word, we need to ponder and process it in order to truly assimilate it and make it our own. This takes time and effort. And, as Satan would not have us benefit by God’s Word, the effort needed is increased by his devious opposition. Without meditation, the Word slips away. We need to do all that we can to hold onto God’s Word and allow it to have the changing influence that God designs. Without meditation, our faith remains undeveloped.
Processing God’s Word involves making the Word pertinent to ourselves and deciding on a resultant action. There are fruits of the spirit to be embraced and sins to be dealt with and put away. Every time we hear or read God’s Word, there must be a resultant change or we stagnate.
How much time do we spend thinking about what we have heard or read? Do we even think about the changes that need to result from this Word to us? If we are honest with ourselves, we treat God’s Word far too casually and then we wonder why there isn’t more spiritual growth. It is valid to spend time thinking about our businesses, families and all the everyday concerns that we have, but not when pondering the Word squeezed out as a result. Just as we make time to attend the means of grace, we need to make time to embed those graces into our minds and hence into our lives. Seriously ponder the question: where does your mind spend most of its time? May the Lord enable us to be those who truly meditate upon his Word day and night.
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