Meditation

Meditation

Bible Reading: Psalm 1:1-3

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry it out.

Imagination exerts amazing power! Many of us struggle with obsessive thoughts. Our imaginations are haunted by images of doing the things we crave. No matter how hard we try to exert willpower over our imaginations, our willpower loses the battle sooner or later. Instead of trying to summon up more willpower, perhaps we should try a different tactic.

The Lord told Joshua, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper” (Joshua 1:8). When the psalmist described people not caught up in evil, he said, “They delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night” (Psalm 1:2). Each of these passages describes meditating as a key to success in following God’s will for our lives.

The word meditate in the Bible means “to imagine” and “to ponder repeatedly.” The key to winning the battle over obsessive thoughts is to fill our imaginations with images of a life lived according to God’s plan. There’s a better way of life for us. When we begin to “delight in” imagining what that would be like, we will find that we begin to win more of our inner battles.

The more we bask in the joy of God’s presence, the more we will discover joy within.