Meditation: "Letting the Bible Brew in the Brain"

“How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God” (J. I. Packer).

All true Christians agree that regular and intentional exposure to the Bible is an important part of living the Christian life. We believe that all Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16) and that it is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). If anyone claims to be a Christian but thinks that the Bible is inconsequential to their lives, then I’m afraid they have some serious examination to do.

However, there are differences of opinion and practice on what regular and intentional exposure to the Bible looks like. Scripture itself does not prescribe, for example, how many verses should be read in corporate worship services or what time of day the Bible is to be read individually. 

I would argue that the baseline for a Christian is to regularly attend a church where God’s Word is sung, read, prayed, explained, and applied – in other words, where it can be heard. I would also argue that – for those with the ability to read and with access to a copy of the Bible – personal time spent reading God’s Word is imperative. Jesus asserted that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4); if this is true, then to read only sporadically can’t be good for the health of our souls.

Beyond that, I would argue most strongly not for study or even memorization of God’s Word, but meditation on it. 

WHAT IS MEDITATION?

Here are some helpful definitions of meditation as it pertains to Christians:

• “Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God” (J. I. Packer).
• “...[L]et’s define meditation as deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture, or upon life from a spiritual perspective, for the purpose of understanding, application, and prayer” (Donald S. Whitney).
• “Deliberate meditation is the more familiar practice of dwelling on truths from Scripture and considering how they apply to our lives” (Esther Smith).

About this concept of meditation, Scripture has much to say:

• “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8, emphasis added).
• “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2, emphasis added).
• “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16, emphasis added).

WHAT'S AT STAKE

There are many things that compete for space in our minds. Our troubles demand we pay attention to them, stirring up anxiety and worry. Our social media feeds snap at us, riling up our emotions and scattering our thoughts in a thousand directions. The books we read, shows we watch, and songs we listen to replay on a loop in our minds. The solution isn’t necessarily to cut out all forms of input that aren’t Scripture, but to ensure that what gets priority in the residence of our minds is God’s Word. Without meditation, without an effort to focus, our minds wander. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).

If we fail to meditate on God’s Word, then we position ourselves to be hearers only – like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and then forgets what he looks like as soon as he walks away (James 1:22-24). Without meditation, we are prone to disobey God, follow worldly counsel, and be ineffective in God’s purposes for us – even if we go to church every week and follow a disciplined Bible reading plan. In contrast, “the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:25).

When we meditate on Scripture, we allow what we’ve heard or read to settle in our minds; it doesn’t just go in one ear and out the other, but nestles into our thoughts for prolonged consideration. Donald S. Whitney describes it as “letting the Bible brew in the brain” – like dropping a bag of tea into hot water to steep rather than dunking it in once or twice. This meditation has a way of cultivating prayer, praise, obedience, and gratitude in our hearts, which are elements that foster a robust relationship with God.

Hearing, reading, studying, and even memorizing Scripture are practices that grow our knowledge about God, and there’s no doubt we need that. But knowing information about God isn’t the end goal. In John 17:3, Jesus makes the goal clear: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (emphasis added). Familiarity and relationship with God Himself is the end goal. Meditation is the bridge between Bible intake and a rich, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.