The psalmist encourages us to meditate on Scripture at the end of the sixth stanza 119:48,

“…and I will meditate on your statutes.”  Psalm 119:48

I challenged you to take Psalm 119:41-48 every day this week and:

1. Read it slowly.
2. Read it again.
3. Pray it back to God.
4. Ask:
• What does this teach me about God?
• What does this teach me about myself?
• Is there something I need to confess?
• Is there something I need to pray?
• Is there something I need to ask for help with?

That challenge was ment to help you begin to practice meditating on the Scripture that we’d just focused on together. 

Matthew Bingham’s book, A Heart Aflame for God, contains a wonderful chapter about meditation. In it he says,

“Biblical meditation is changing mere thoughts about God and the things of God into heartfelt, soul-stirring, life-transforming convictions about God. …One might say that meditation attempts to move God’s truth from our heads into our hearts.” (A Heart Aflame for God, p.136)

So what might this look like?

After reading Psalm 119:41-48 a few times, we can begin to answer the questions above. 

What does Psalm 119:41-48 teach me about God? 

• God’s love is steadfast
• His salvation is promised
• God’s word can be trusted
• We can have hope in God’s rules
• God won’t put us to shame

What does the passage say to me about myself?

• I can trust in God’s word
• There is a danger that God’s truth might not be on my lips
• I can keep God’s law by staying near to His words and precepts
• I won’t be put to shame as I speak about the Lord
• I should meditate on God’s statutes

Is there something I need to confess?

• When I am taunted and want to answer back, I don’t first look to God for the answer.
• Sometimes I lose hope by trusting in the wrong things.
• I don’t always seek God’s precepts.
• I don’t speak of the Lord in front of those who need to hear of Him.
• I don’t always take time to meditate on God’s statutes. There are so many other things to think about.

Now, refer to the above lists and you’ve got three collections of things to pray about. 

The first list is full of things to praise God for and the second and third lists contain things to pray about and ask for help with.

As you continue through the week, choose one answer from the questions above, especially from the first one, and think on it daily. This will help move that truth about God from the pages of your Bible into your heart and outward through your life. 

Matthew Bingham quotes Reformer John Ball’s definition of meditation saying that it is,

“a serious, earnest and purposed musing upon some point of Christian instruction, tending to lead us forward toward the Kingdom of Heaven, and serving for our daily strengthening against the flesh, the world, and the Devil.”

I am sure that I am not alone in thinking that a practice in which we are commanded by God, and used by God to strengthen us against such enemies, should be taken seriously and practiced regularly. 

Already in Psalm 119, we’ve been instructed to meditate 4 times in verses 15, 23, 27, and 48. And there’s more to come as we continue.

“Meditation is, in large part, nothing more than an intentional sort of thinking. It’s a thinking about God and the things of God with an eye toward personal application. There is nothing magical, mystical, or even especially complicated about it.” ~Matthew Bingham

Let’s not merely read the Word and move on. Let’s meditate on it, pray it back to God, and ask Him to carry His truth from our heads into our hearts and outward though our lives.

This post is part of the Walking In The Word Series