Hi, Everyone,
I thought that this week's devotional was really interesting; meditation is not something that I've really considered much. If meditation is "a piece of straight thinking under God's guidance" about scripture, about something God has done, about anything along those lines, then meditation is difficult for me. My mind tends to wander when I think about things that are "religious" in nature, so I can understand how "Christian meditation engages...supremely, our will".
Regrettably, although I enjoyed reading the devotional, looking back on the week, I never did any meditation to speak of. I'll have to take another whack at it this week.
One final note: At the beginning of the devotional, meditation is described as being "a piece of straight thinking under God's guidance" that engages our mind, creativity, etc. Then later: "There is no such thing as a "single" act of meditation. Meditation is the "ability to hear God's voice and obey his word."" I'm probably missing something, but it seems like there's a conflict. Is it an action or an ability? I understand the idea of meditation as deep though or as mulling something over, but I just don't get that second definition. Any help?
It's been nice to hear from all of you, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the posts on this topic.
Gwen
I took this to mean that the action of meditating isn't simply the act of being still for a moment, it's the ability to, through whatever we're doing, listen to what God is trying to speak into our lives.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm definitely on the same page as Sydnie on this one. It seems to me like the main point that the author was getting at here is that meditation isn't just a one-time act that we can check off our list for the day. It's something that needs to become a life style, a way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteIn that way, I think it's actually both an action and an ability. That way of life does require some actions (like spending intentional time alone with the Lord), but it's more than just those actions. It's a total restructuring of our thought process. Through those actions, we develop the ability to commune with God like that.
Let us know how your "whack" at it goes this week!
ReplyDelete^ i agree with the 3 wonderful people above!
ReplyDeletei never really considered meditating that much until i read this week's devotional either - my mind also tends to wander to whatever i'm supposed to do/want to do next, showing how selfish i am to not want to listen to God and what He's trying to tell me; when i act that way, i'm actually hurting myself more since the best thing God can give us is more of Himself!
i agree with pearl that meditation needs to become a life-style, a way of thinking; maybe a better way to phrase what it said in the devotional is "meditation engages our mind AND increases the ability to hear God's voice and obey His word"; i also agree that it's both an action and an ability - it's an action that improves upon our ability!
i hope you develop this ability everyday for the rest of your life! haha we should never stop growing in our walks with our holy, sovereign God