Meditative Prayer

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 (NASB)

What is meditative prayer? In Jewish tradition, meditating on Scripture is to quietly repeat it, while giving oneself totally to God and avoiding outside distractions. The two main things to meditate on are God’s Word and God’s goodness:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Philippians 4:8-9

Notice the difference between the task-oriented Martha and the contemplative Jesus-focused Mary in Luke 10:38-42. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to Him, while Martha was distracted with “much serving.” Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better way because she sat at His feet and was not distracted. This does not mean we avoid the “kitchen.” But there are times when we need to pause, sit down and listen without the distractions of normal life.

Meditative prayer is exactly that—sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing and listening to His words. We take time to let the Lord speak to us through meditating on Him and His word in prayer.

Guidelines for Meditative Prayer

• Schedule it. Meditation requires planning. Try spending at least 30 minutes once a week in meditation. You can do it while commuting to work by car, bus or train. Or take a walk over the weekend, perhaps a Sunday afternoon; or sit down in a public park, near a lake, in a garden etc.
• Choose a quiet place. In our distracting world, we need a quiet place where we can allow God to speak to us. The most effective place to pray is where you are least likely to be disturbed.
• Allow at least 30 minutes. Many people only spend a few minutes each day in prayer. Very few people actually spend time in meditative prayer. It takes time to drown out the cares of the world, sit, prayerfully meditate on God’s Word and allow Him to speak to us.
• Choose a Scripture to prayerfully meditate on. Select a passage of Scripture that is especially meaningful to you. Perhaps it can focus on God’s goodness, His promises or on worshiping God. For example, start by writing out Philippians 4:8 in a journal. Underline words that stand out to you. Leave some lines open for notes.
• Allow God to speak to you. This is the hardest part. Many people never hear the Lord speak to them simply because they don’t allow Him to. We need to sit and listen for the voice of the Lord. Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). One effective way to capture what the Lord is saying to us is to write down what we hear Him telling us. Prayerfully wait on the Lord to speak to you about each word you underlined. Use a concordance to look up cross-references for more clarity on what the Bible says about that topic. You might wonder whether it really was Him telling you these things or your own thoughts. In time, it will become clearer.
• Conclude with thanksgiving. It is important to speak to the Lord regarding what He has shown you. Start by asking that each aspect He has shown you be in your inner being. Ask Him to make you more sensitive to the voice of the Spirit and to become more obedient. Conclude your time of meditation by giving thanks to the Lord for His Word, for being faithful and for touching your heart through His living Word.