Blessed
is the man…[whose] delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he
meditate day and night.
—Psalm 1:1, 2
Let
the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy
sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
—Psalm 19:14
God’s Word only works when the truth it brings
to us has stirred the inner life and reproduced itself in trust, love, or
adoration. When the heart has received the Word through the mind and has had
its spiritual powers exercised, the Word is no longer void, but has done what
God intended it to do.
It is in meditation that the heart takes hold
of the Word. We must remember that the heart is the will and the emotions. The
meditation of the heart implies acceptance, surrender, and love. “Out of [the
heart] are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Whatever the heart
truly believes, it receives and allows to rule the life. The intellect gathers
and prepares the food on which we are to feed. In meditation the heart takes it
in and feeds on it.
The art of meditation needs to be cultivated.
Just as we need to be trained to concentrate our mental powers to think
clearly, a Christian needs to meditate until he has formed the habit of
yielding his whole heart to every word of God.
How can this power of meditation be
cultivated? The Word is meant to bring us into His presence and fellowship.
Take the Word as from God Himself with the assurance that He will make it work
in your heart. In Psalm 119, the word meditate is mentioned seven
times, each time as a prayer addressed to God: “I will meditate in Thy
precepts” (verse 15); “Thy servant did meditate in Thy statutes” (verse
23); “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day” (verse
97). Meditation is turning our hearts toward God and seeking to make His Word a
part of our lives.
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation
of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Let
this be your aim, that your meditation may be part of the spiritual sacrifice
you offer. Let this be your prayer and expectation, that your meditation may be
the living surrender of the heart to God’s Word in His presence.
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