September's Spiritual Discipline is the Inward Discipline of Meditation. In The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Richard Foster describes what the Spiritual Discipline of Christian Meditation looks like.
We need silence at times in order to hear from God. We need times set aside for contemplation as well. Contemplative prayer has been important to many Christians over the years.
Part of meditation involves taking time to listen to God's Word. Another aspect of it is to reflect on what God has done. Verbs that are tied into meditation include rehearse, ruminate, reflect, and listen. Meditation "done right" leads to changes in our behavior because we have encountered the one true God. There should be signs of both repentance and obedience as we practice this Spiritual Discipline.
Hear God's voice. Obey His Word. At its heart, this is what meditation is. God wants to interact with us. He interacted with people as recorded in the Bible then and He's still interacting with people today. When we meditate, we give Christ space emotionally and spiritually to take root in our hearts and lives. We cannot have Christ at work within us and remain unchanged. He will be a refining fire burning away the sinful in us as He makes us in His likeness.
Foster specifically notes that Eastern meditation and Christian meditation are worlds apart. The goal of the former is to empty one's mind. The goal of the latter is to fill the mind with Christ. Yes, there is an aspect of detachment in Christian meditation, from the busyness and confusion around us, but this is so we can have a stronger attachment to God.
Christian meditation is what empowers Christians to interact with our world from God's perspective. We can receive guidance, as we listen to the Spirit on how to talk to and relate to the people in our lives.
The first step in Christian meditation is to pray for the desire and grace to meditate. Mediation is intimate conversation with God and that can be very threatening to us, especially when we are living in a way that appears to be highly similar to the way non-Christians live.
In Christian meditation, we give our imagination to God for the use of His glory. Yes, our imagination. God can use this to anchor one's thoughts and focus one's attention on Him. With this discipline, we seek "to think God's thoughts after Him" as we spend time with Him.
Foster goes on to give practical suggestions for those who are beginning to practice this discipline.
1. Learn to meditate by practicing this discipline.
2. While we can eventually do this discipline anytime and any place, it will be helpful for us to set aside a specific time and place to practice.
3. Try to be in a state of "Holy Leisure". Holy Leisure is a state where we are in a balance. It is a peace that accompanies us throughout our day's activities. It helps us rest and enjoy beauty. It is pacing ourselves so we have energy to spend time with God.
4. Set aside a quiet place that is interruption-free to meditate in. We don't need to bring our phone with us. Places out in nature are welcome. New places can be good, but having a go-to place consistently will help.
5. There are many postures that could be used. Our body language can telegraph our inward state of mind, but we can also use our body language to influence our inward state of mind. Foster recommends finding a comfortable position that won't distract us.
Foster ends the chapter with a description of a few of the many types of meditation.
1. Meditation on Scripture: This is different from a Bible Study. When we meditate on Scripture, our goal is to internalize and personalize the text. We can save analyzing the text for another time; this is a time to accept and ponder the Word. This is not a speed-reading competition. We might spend a week looking at one event, parable, paragraph, verse, or even just one word.
-Apply our senses to the text as we picture ourselves there observing the story. Indeed, we are to be more than observers, we are to be actively participating in the story. We can imagine ourselves as Mary Magdalene or the rich, young ruler.
2. Centering Down/Re-Collection: This is popular among the Quakers. This involves setting aside time to sit in silence and become still.
-Palms Down, Palms Up: This is a Centering Down exercise that goes like this: I place my palms face-down and imagine giving over my concerns and stressful situations to God. Give all my cares to God. I then place my palms face-up and imagine receiving what I need from God to get through my situations. Do I need love in order to better love someone? Ask for it. Do I need peace for a situation I are anxious about? Ask for it. Once I are done giving and receiving, sit in silence before God. Listen to God. Just be present with Him.
3. Meditation in Nature: Look at creation in order to better praise and know the Creator. Study and marvel at God's created works.
4. Meditation on World Events: As we read, watch, or listen to the news, we can ponder over the news with God. We can ask Him about their significance. We don't even need newspapers themselves to wrestle over the events of our time. We can ask God for His perspective on world events. We can also take this time to ask God to guide us and reveal to us what we should be doing in order to better be salt and light in His world through these events.
