Day Three

MEDITATION

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Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.

—MARCUS AURELIUS

Meditations

Biblical meditation is not emptying the mind; it is filling it with truth. It is maintaining a fixed mental focus on what the Word of God says. It is reorienting our thought life to come into agreement with the very thoughts of God. When it comes to meditation, it is important for us to get practical, otherwise it is easy to over-spiritualize the process.

Our thoughts need to represent the character of Christ. In fact, you can begin the meditation process right now! Consider these truths:

1. The mind of Christ has been given to you. “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16 KJV).

2. Having His mind, you can think His thoughts. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5 ESV).

3. You can continually keep your mind set on higher things. “And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things)” (Col. 3:2 AMP).

Think on these scriptures for a moment. These three truths are worth meditating on because they reveal what you have access to in Christ. You can change the way you think. It is possible, like Marcus Aurelius wrote, that your soul can become “dyed” by higher thoughts—the thoughts of God. This is not New Age thinking; this is what Paul was writing about in Romans 12:2, where he described the process of renewing the mind.

Are you moving toward the prosperous soul that God wills for you—or are you meditating on things that move you away from the truth hidden in God’s Word? You can know instantly by evaluating the nature of your thoughts. What thoughts do you allow to linger in your mind as you go about the business of living each day? Are you pressing God for greater insight and understanding? Are you asking big questions and meditating on His promises? Are you consumed with the problems in the world or the possibilities of His universe? Are you believing God for breakthrough ideas and innovations within your field of work, whether in the arts, science, entertainment, business, education, technology, medicine, government, media, social work, or ministry?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What does meditation look like to you? Have you had any past experience with meditation? If so, what was that like?

If you have participated in eastern meditation, I encourage you to pause right now and renounce your involvement with those practices. Such is a counterfeit of how meditation functions in the Kingdom of God.

Pray:

Father, I renounce my involvement with eastern meditation (list, specifically, what kind of meditation you were involved in). I acknowledge this is a counterfeit of what You offer. I declare the blood of Jesus over my mind and thank You, Holy Spirit, that You have given me access to the thoughts of God. Fill my mind with those thoughts, Lord. And help me walk in the abundant life You have made available by helping me renew my mind according to Your Word. In Jesus’s Name, Amen!

Why do you think meditation on the Word of God is a link to living the abundant, prosperous life that God has made available to you?

ACTION STEPS

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

PSALM 119:15 NIV

Begin to take small pieces of Scripture and start meditating upon them. Even though it is our tendency to want to read through sizable portions of the Bible to gain that sense of accomplishment, quality meditation is more important than a quantity of reading. This is why many people who read the Bible claim that they do not understand what they read immediately after reading it. Start to practice the art of biblical meditation. Even if you do read a larger portion of Scripture, select key verses that stood out to you and think about them. Write them out and record your reflections on what the Holy Spirit is speaking through the text. You will be amazed at how you can powerfully encounter God through the practice of meditation on the Scriptures.