The Seven Steps of Biblical Meditation Explained
In my previous article, "The Seven Steps of Biblical Meditation - How To Read The Bible", I listed the seven elements of Biblical meditation and contrasted them with the "Study" approach to reading the Scriptures. In this article I will further explain the seven steps of Biblical Meditation Biblically for a fuller understanding of this approach.
1. Lord, cleanse me by Your blood: Since receiving divine revelation is at the heart of biblical meditation, you must prepare yourself to receive from the Holy Spirit by repenting and being cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. You must be obedient to previous revelations from God (Matt. 7:6), and confess any sin in your life, so you are not cut off from ongoing revelation (Is. 59:1,2; I Jn. 1:9).
2. Lord, grant me a teachable attitude: Revelation is given to those who maintain an attitude of humility, and it is withheld from the proud and the arrogant. So keep an open, humble attitude before God, allowing Him the freedom to shed greater light on any ideas you currently hold and to alter them as He sees fit (Jas. 4:6; II Pet. 1:19).
3. Lord, I will not use my faculties myself: You can do nothing of your own initiative but only what you hear and see by the Spirit (Jn. 5:19,20,30). You do not have a mind to use, but a mind to present to God so He can use it and fill it with anointed reason and divine vision (Prov. 3:5-7; Rom. 12:1,2). If you use your mind yourself, it is a dead work (Heb. 6:1,2).
4. Lord, I pray that the eyes of my heart might be enlightened: Slow down as you read, mulling the text over and over in your heart and mind, praying constantly for God to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1:17,18; Ps. 119:18).
5. Lord, I present the abilities to reason and to imagine to You to fill and flow through by Your Spirit: Meditation involves presenting your faculties to God for Him to fill and use. These include your left-brain reasoning capacities as well as your right-brain visual capacities. Look for the river of God (i.e. "Spirit flow") to guide and fill both hemispheres, granting you anointed reasoning and dream and vision (Jn. 7:37-39). Music can assist you, as can muttering, speaking, and writing as you go through the discovery process (II Kings 3:15).
6. Lord, show me the solution to the problem I am facing: Focused attention brings additional energies of concentration of heart and mind, which help release revelation. For example, note the difference between a ray of sunlight hitting a piece of paper, and sunlight going through a magnifying glass to hit a piece of paper. The focused energy creates a ray so concentrated that the paper bursts into flames. When you have a hunger to master a new understanding and discipline, that hungry and searching heart will cause you to see things you would not normally see (Matt. 5:6).
7. Thank You, Lord, for what You have shown me: Realizing that the revelation came from the indwelling Holy Spirit, give all the glory to God for what has been revealed (Eph. 3:21).
As the Scriptures themselves illustrate, taking our time to meditate on the Word of God and opening ourselves to the Lord speaking to us allows us to receive revelation knowledge in ways the "Study" approach typically does. I hope you will follow these seven steps and receive the blessings from Biblical mediation.
Mark Virkler is with Christian Leadership University. CLU is a Christian University and Online Bible College offering Christian education including Christian counseling and Christian theology seminaries and offers certificates, undergrad, Masters, and Doctorates in the various Christian colleges of CLU. http://www.cluonline.com