Meditation upon God’s Words and Daily Prayer

By Dianne D. McDonnell

Introduction: In these times shocking events and bloody crimes follow one another like out-of- control, ravenous wild animals chasing each other! A newspaper headline or a television newscast can suddenly overwhelm us with the horror of the evil around us, leaving us deeply discouraged and even afraid. (Read aloud 2 Tim 3:1, and Romans 8: 34-39). Every day we need to be strengthened and renewed. Jesus found it necessary to turn aside every single day to a private, quiet place and in prayer and meditation be restored and renewed with the Holy Spirit-God's own power, strength and courage! In our modern world we need to do the very same thing! We need to have a quiet place to pray and also to deeply digest and savor God's words to us-we need to really think about them-we need to meditate on the words of the Bible. We need our spiritual food just as much as we need our physical food, yet we tend to only "eat" a spiritual meal one day a week! We will starve spiritually if we don't get in the habit of daily prayer and daily Bible reading as well as thinking and meditating about the words written in the Bible designed to be our spiritual food. We must make contact with God, receive spiritual food, and digest that spiritual food. Often we starve ourselves for spiritual food, finally say a few words of prayer, maybe wolf down a couple of verses and then never give ourselves time to digest anything! Let's look at the example of Jesus:

Jesus spent a lot of time praying privately every day.

Luke 9:18
18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" (All quotes from New International Version unless otherwise noted.)Matt 14:22-23
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.

Matt 26:36
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Luke 6:12
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

Luke 9:28-29
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

Peter also prayed regularly.

Acts 10:9
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

We are to pray daily and also to meditate-think about God's words!

1 Timothy 4:15
15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. NKJV

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Conclusion: This month why not try to DAILY meditate, digest and really savor God's spiritual food. Find a private spot in your home, and set aside a certain time every day just as you would for your favorite television program, and decide how long you will spend. I suggest you allot a minimum of 30 minutes. Remember, you can make time for anything that is important to you! Find the time. Slice it out of your television watching time or your time working on your computer-wherever, but find the time and set it aside as your time to renew yourself spiritually. Start out in prayer, then read a line of scripture aloud and then just think deeply about it. Picture it or think how it could be acted out. Tie it into some aspect of your life right now, or visualize yourself in the future enjoying whatever promise you are reading about. Say a prayer relating to what you have just read. Then read another line aloud, and also fill your mind with that scripture's meaning and implications. In this way you can have your mind constantly renewed, regenerated, refreshed and be strong, sound and prepared for whatever comes-- for you will feel closer to God. As this becomes a habit, you will find yourself looking forward to each day's quiet time of prayer, Bible study, and meditation as the best part of your day! And, as Paul reveals in Romans 12:2, you will also have a better grasp of what God's will is in your life and future.

Some Psalms for Meditation

Psalms 5	Before Bedtime
Psalms 7	God defends us against the wicked
Psalms 19	Looks forward to the time of Christ's return and rule
Psalms 49	Relying on God, not on wealth
Psalms 64	Asking protection from evil men
Psalms 86	Prayer for Mercy and Protection
Psalms 104	God's Creation and how He maintains it, beautiful images
Psalms 119	The wisdom of God's laws and precepts, excellent in truth and expression