“Pastor, I’m not sure I know how to meditate on God’s word. Can you teach me how to meditate?”

I think the way some preachers talk about meditation have made it appear as a very difficult task to achieve. Check your dictionary, among many other definitions you’d find about meditation, you’d find that to meditate means to contemplate, to keep the mind fixed upon something, or to study in other to get better understand of something. It also means to consider or reflect on an idea. While reflecting and contemplating may be a difficult task, studying further in other to get better understanding of something is easy.

In Joshua 1:8, when Moses was telling Joshua to Meditate on the words written in the book of the law, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t telling him to just reflect on the law, but to study it and make it a priority in all his considerations. Let’s see how scriptures put it:

Joshua 1:
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Look at that! Change the word “Meditate” to “study” and see if it makes more sense. The purpose of meditation is to get more understanding or enlightenment. And you can do that by studying further on the subject of focus. If you don’t understand what the bible says concerning financial prosperity, you can leverage on the explanations given by proven preachers or authors. Their revelation will give you an operational knowledge of the word, at least until you’re able to understand the scriptures by yourself.

When I gave my life to Christ in 2010, one of the first books I read was “Creating A New Beginning” by Bishop David Abioye. By reading that book, I understood scriptures I never would have understood if I read the Bible by myself at that time. Asides that, each time I listened to a teaching, I’d open my bible to see the scripture that the preacher is explaining, so that I won’t be alien to that scripture anymore. In most cases, the explanation of one verse of scripture gives meaning to the entire chapter. So focused-studying is also a form of meditation. Don’t stress your mind reflecting on something you have no experience in.

Having said that, let me show you how I meditate on God’s word:

– The testimony of men

Don’t trivialize testimonies of the acts of God. The bible tells us that testimonies are proofs that God is true. According to Mark 16:20, signs and wonders are confirmations of God’s word. That scripture tells us that as they went forth and preached everywhere, God was working with them confirming the word with signs and wonders. So whenever you see testimonies or signs and wonders, it’s a confirmation of the word of God.

The next time you read or encounter a scripture you don’t understand, reflect or think of testimonies you’ve heard or read that relates with that scripture. Sometimes these testimonies can even be in the bible. The moment you locate a testimony, an understanding will immediately be established.

For instance, if you encounter a scripture that says “God will lead you in the way that you should go” and you don’t understand what it means, you can reflect on how God lead the children of Isreal through the wilderness. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If he led the children of Isreal, then he won’t fail in leading you. You may also read about their journey so as to understand the level of discipline you must practice to be led by God. That’s meditation; focused-studying.

– The faith of men

It’s true that some men of faith didn’t eat the fruit of their labour, but their descendants did. So sometimes you may encounter scriptures that appears difficult, and your only reference may be someone who labored for the kingdom without seeing the harvest in his lifetime.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you won’t see your harvest, I’m just saying that leveraging on the actions of men of faith can boost your understanding of scriptures. During your meditations, don’t ever leave out men of faith. Just because Apostle Paul suffered all through his journey doesn’t mean you can’t understand a scripture through his experience. Learn from their actions of faith, not their mistakes. As good as these men of faith were, many of them made mistakes. Asides bible times, we have many fathers of faith in our day and age that you can reflect on their results.

I remember how I was speaking to a friend many years ago, all of a sudden I did something that made him scream “Yes, I now understand that scripture”. He understood a scripture he had been reading because he saw me act out that scripture. That’s how effective actions of faith can help your meditation.

– The inspiration of God

It was Job that said there is a spirit in man, but the inspiration of the Almighty God gives him understanding. You can ask the Holy Spirit to give you understanding to a scripture. This is one dimension of meditation I’ve enjoyed over the years; each time I encounter a situation I don’t understand, I simply ask the Holy Spirit to give me scriptural understanding.

Reflecting on scriptures is a beautiful thing, but it’s easier when the Holy Spirit is giving understanding to your reflections. So, just ask Him. It’s as simple as saying, “Holy Spirit, give me understanding to this scripture”.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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