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HOW TO MEDITATE IN GOD’S TEMPLE
August 20, 2024One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.
Psalm 27:4
1. THE MEANING OF MEDITATION. This verse shows King David exclaiming his desire to meditate in God’s temple. However, the word “meditation” in the modern dictionary describes a couple of different approaches. One, “to train, calm, or empty the mind . . . as a form of religious practice in Hinduism or Buddhism.” Because of the popularization of those religions when I was young, this emptying the mind is how I first thought about meditation, so it took me a while to grasp the next definition: “To engage in focused thought on scriptural passages or on particular doctrines or mysteries….” This would be the Judeo-Christian model. One model is emptying yourself; the other is about filling yourself.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2
2. SPEAK OUT GOD’S WORD. In the Judeo-Christian format, which I have embraced and adhered to and proclaim, we’re invited to meditate on God’s Word day and night. This means to be engaged in focused thinking about the Lord. One of the definitions for the word meditate from Psalm one is the Hebrew word hâgâh: “to mutter, speak, talk.”* This means to take God’s Word and reiterate it verbally. So when you meditate with the Lord, you are not only filling yourself up, you are speaking out His truth over your life.
3. ANY TIME SPENT WITH GOD IS GOOD. David said that he wants to dwell in the house of the Lord all of his days. Our life with God is not segmented from the rest of our life. It is everything full-on all the time. Someone recently gave me some cuts of yellowfin tuna from their fishing trip. I pan-seared it with soy sauce and sesame seeds at his suggestion, and it was delicious. The next time, I tried marinating it, but I got so busy that I left it longer than planned, and it soaked all the way through. It changed the whole color of the fish, and the taste was different but amazing. However you spend time with God, whether you flash fry in a moment or you get to marinate and slow cook, it’s all good. Read a scripture between appointments, meditate on God’s goodness while waiting in line at the store, seek God first thing in the morning – let God fill all the parts of your day!
DAILY CONFESSION:
How blessed I am when I do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. Instead, my delight is in the law of the Lord; in His law, I meditate day and night. I am like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In whatever I do, I prosper! (Psalm 1:1-3)
God bless you,
Pastor Jeff Perry
med·i·tate, verb
1. To train, calm, or empty the mind, often by achieving an altered state, as by focusing on a single object, especially as a form of religious practice in Buddhism or Hinduism.
2. To engage in focused thought on scriptural passages or on particular doctrines or mysteries of a religion, especially Christianity.
3. To engage in devotional contemplation, especially prayer.
Copyright © 2024 St. Louis Family Church, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. *“Châzâh, H2372.” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. James Strong, 1890, p. 38. “Meditate, V.” American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Harper Collins Publishers, 2022, https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=meditate&submit.x=0&submit.y=0.
