INTRODUCTION
TO BIBLICAL MEDITATION
We live in a microwave generation. People are impatient. Everyone wants everything right
now. We have high speed cameras, high speed internet, fast food, fast track traffic lanes, and we
can watch current events instantaneously as they occur by satellite television broadcasting.
The question is, what are we forfeiting spiritually by our haste and impatience? For Esau, it was
his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34). For King Saul, it was his kingdom (1 Samuel 13). Many
believers who are caught up in the flurry of this “microwave” generation are forfeiting great
spiritual benefits. One of these is the blessing of Biblical meditation.
A.W. Tozer notes:
“A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is
impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying
to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our
short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by
attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious
adventurer lately returned from afar.
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: Shallow lives, hollow religious
philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the
glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships,
salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit…
We don’t need to have our doctrine straightened out; we’re as orthodox as the Pharisees
of old. But this longing for God that brings spiritual torrents and whirlwinds of
seeking…this is almost gone from our midst.”
This study presents Biblical meditation as a spiritual discipline that is essential for Christians. It
exposes the dangers of meditation diversions and defines Biblical meditation, its purposes, and
its importance. The study includes practical suggestions for making time to meditate, preparing
for meditation, and eliminating hindrances. Guidelines are given on meditation methods and
selecting Scriptural topics for meditation. Each chapter includes study questions and practical
steps for personal application.
The purpose of this study is not to generate an intellectual discussion of meditation. Its objective
is to lead you into a discipline that will totally revolutionize your spiritual life—the practice of
Biblical meditation.
3
, OBJECTIVES
Upon conclusion of this study you will be able to:
-Identify unscriptural methods of meditation.
-Summarize the dangers of unscriptural methods of meditation.
-Define Biblical meditation.
-List purposes for Biblical meditation.
-Give Biblical examples of people who meditated.
-Explain the importance of meditation.
-Summarize suggestions for making meditation part of your daily routine.
-Explain the difference between occasional and deliberate meditation.
-Identify times when meditation would be especially important.
-Explain the importance of having a regular time for meditation.
-Summarize guidelines for selecting a season for meditation
-Explain the importance of seclusion during meditation.
-Summarize ideas for establishing surroundings conducive to meditation.
-Summarize guidelines for maintaining silence during meditation.
-List basic supplies needed for meditation.
-Discuss hindrances to meditation and strategies to overcome them.
-Summarize methods of meditation.
-Identify topics for meditation.
Personal objectives:
-Abandon unscriptural meditation methods.
-Prepare for personal meditation.
-Eliminate hindrances to meditation.
-Select relevant topics for meditation.
-Complete practice meditations on a verse, a passage, and a topic.
-Make meditation a regular part of your time with God.
-Share what you have learned with others.
4
, CHAPTER ONE
EXPOSING MEDITATION DIVERSIONS
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this chapter you will be able to:
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on mantra meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on transcendental meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on mindfulness meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on spiritual meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on New Age meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on focused meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on movement meditation.
-Explain the spiritual dangers of these diverse forms of meditation.
INTRODUCTION
Sadly, when one speaks of meditation today, they are often referring to non-scriptural methods.
Before we explore the subject of Biblical meditation, we need to dispel the deceptive forms of
meditation advocated by our culture today. The concept of meditation has been corrupted by
belief systems that do not acknowledge the Trinity of God or the precepts of the Bible. These
deceptive forms of meditation are seducing spirits about which the Bible warns:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. (1 Timothy 4:1)
Christians must avoid all forms of meditation that divert them from that originally designed and
commanded by God which we are calling “Biblical meditation” in this study.
METHODS TO AVOID
Christians should not engage in the following types of meditation:
-Mantra meditation, prominent in Hindu and Buddhist religions, uses repetitive words, phrases,
or sounds that claim to promote ultimate relaxation and alleviate stress. The Bible warns against
vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7). Biblical meditation is not a practice of speaking, but rather of
hearing from God.
5
, -Transcendental meditation encourages one to empty their mind.
David. W. Saxton notes:
“Sadly, in recent years many associate meditation with false religion of the Far East.
They view meditation as a process of emptying the mind rather than, as Scripture
commands, filling the mind with divinely revealed truth.”
Transcendental meditation also uses mantras, but the mantra is original and unique to each
practitioner rather than a common one. Again, this is vain repetition against which the Bible
warns (Matthew 6:7).
-Mindfulness meditation originates from Buddhist teachings. The focus is on your own
thoughts as they pass through your mind, but the Bible teaches that your thoughts are not God’s
thoughts:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8)
Your thoughts come from your heart and the Bible reveals that “The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). When each person does
what he thinks in his own heart, this leads to an environment like that in the time of the judges
where everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
In Biblical meditation the believer fills his mind with thoughts about God, His Word, and His
works.
-Spiritual meditation is a term used in Eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Daoism. The
focus is on silence and seeking a connection with any god or the universe in general. The Bible
declares there is only one God and we are to worship Him:
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth…(Exodus 20:1-4)
-New Age meditation seeks to change a person's perceptions of self and the world in order to
support the New Age philosophy and goals. The object is self, whereas in Biblical meditation the
object is God. New Age meditation promotes altered states of consciousness, development of
psychic powers, and spirit possession. These are all practices of the occult against which the
Bible warns:
6
TO BIBLICAL MEDITATION
We live in a microwave generation. People are impatient. Everyone wants everything right
now. We have high speed cameras, high speed internet, fast food, fast track traffic lanes, and we
can watch current events instantaneously as they occur by satellite television broadcasting.
The question is, what are we forfeiting spiritually by our haste and impatience? For Esau, it was
his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34). For King Saul, it was his kingdom (1 Samuel 13). Many
believers who are caught up in the flurry of this “microwave” generation are forfeiting great
spiritual benefits. One of these is the blessing of Biblical meditation.
A.W. Tozer notes:
“A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is
impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying
to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our
short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by
attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious
adventurer lately returned from afar.
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: Shallow lives, hollow religious
philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the
glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships,
salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit…
We don’t need to have our doctrine straightened out; we’re as orthodox as the Pharisees
of old. But this longing for God that brings spiritual torrents and whirlwinds of
seeking…this is almost gone from our midst.”
This study presents Biblical meditation as a spiritual discipline that is essential for Christians. It
exposes the dangers of meditation diversions and defines Biblical meditation, its purposes, and
its importance. The study includes practical suggestions for making time to meditate, preparing
for meditation, and eliminating hindrances. Guidelines are given on meditation methods and
selecting Scriptural topics for meditation. Each chapter includes study questions and practical
steps for personal application.
The purpose of this study is not to generate an intellectual discussion of meditation. Its objective
is to lead you into a discipline that will totally revolutionize your spiritual life—the practice of
Biblical meditation.
3
, OBJECTIVES
Upon conclusion of this study you will be able to:
-Identify unscriptural methods of meditation.
-Summarize the dangers of unscriptural methods of meditation.
-Define Biblical meditation.
-List purposes for Biblical meditation.
-Give Biblical examples of people who meditated.
-Explain the importance of meditation.
-Summarize suggestions for making meditation part of your daily routine.
-Explain the difference between occasional and deliberate meditation.
-Identify times when meditation would be especially important.
-Explain the importance of having a regular time for meditation.
-Summarize guidelines for selecting a season for meditation
-Explain the importance of seclusion during meditation.
-Summarize ideas for establishing surroundings conducive to meditation.
-Summarize guidelines for maintaining silence during meditation.
-List basic supplies needed for meditation.
-Discuss hindrances to meditation and strategies to overcome them.
-Summarize methods of meditation.
-Identify topics for meditation.
Personal objectives:
-Abandon unscriptural meditation methods.
-Prepare for personal meditation.
-Eliminate hindrances to meditation.
-Select relevant topics for meditation.
-Complete practice meditations on a verse, a passage, and a topic.
-Make meditation a regular part of your time with God.
-Share what you have learned with others.
4
, CHAPTER ONE
EXPOSING MEDITATION DIVERSIONS
OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this chapter you will be able to:
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on mantra meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on transcendental meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on mindfulness meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on spiritual meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on New Age meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on focused meditation.
-Define and summarize the Scriptural position on movement meditation.
-Explain the spiritual dangers of these diverse forms of meditation.
INTRODUCTION
Sadly, when one speaks of meditation today, they are often referring to non-scriptural methods.
Before we explore the subject of Biblical meditation, we need to dispel the deceptive forms of
meditation advocated by our culture today. The concept of meditation has been corrupted by
belief systems that do not acknowledge the Trinity of God or the precepts of the Bible. These
deceptive forms of meditation are seducing spirits about which the Bible warns:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. (1 Timothy 4:1)
Christians must avoid all forms of meditation that divert them from that originally designed and
commanded by God which we are calling “Biblical meditation” in this study.
METHODS TO AVOID
Christians should not engage in the following types of meditation:
-Mantra meditation, prominent in Hindu and Buddhist religions, uses repetitive words, phrases,
or sounds that claim to promote ultimate relaxation and alleviate stress. The Bible warns against
vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7). Biblical meditation is not a practice of speaking, but rather of
hearing from God.
5
, -Transcendental meditation encourages one to empty their mind.
David. W. Saxton notes:
“Sadly, in recent years many associate meditation with false religion of the Far East.
They view meditation as a process of emptying the mind rather than, as Scripture
commands, filling the mind with divinely revealed truth.”
Transcendental meditation also uses mantras, but the mantra is original and unique to each
practitioner rather than a common one. Again, this is vain repetition against which the Bible
warns (Matthew 6:7).
-Mindfulness meditation originates from Buddhist teachings. The focus is on your own
thoughts as they pass through your mind, but the Bible teaches that your thoughts are not God’s
thoughts:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and
my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8)
Your thoughts come from your heart and the Bible reveals that “The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). When each person does
what he thinks in his own heart, this leads to an environment like that in the time of the judges
where everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
In Biblical meditation the believer fills his mind with thoughts about God, His Word, and His
works.
-Spiritual meditation is a term used in Eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Daoism. The
focus is on silence and seeking a connection with any god or the universe in general. The Bible
declares there is only one God and we are to worship Him:
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth…(Exodus 20:1-4)
-New Age meditation seeks to change a person's perceptions of self and the world in order to
support the New Age philosophy and goals. The object is self, whereas in Biblical meditation the
object is God. New Age meditation promotes altered states of consciousness, development of
psychic powers, and spirit possession. These are all practices of the occult against which the
Bible warns:
6
