Okay, before you start reading I want you to close your eyes and think of your favorite meal. Or perhaps a meal that you would love to have right now, depending on what time of day you’re reading this. Okay close your eyes and picture that meal…. Have you done it? Okay good!

Okay now imagine your significant other is making the meal. (Wives I said imagine!) You can hear them working their magic in the kitchen and before you know it the aromas of your favorite dish begin to waft to your nose. The smell increases until your mouth begins to water and you can practically taste it. Finally, they say, “It’s ready! Bon appetit!” You hop up and run to the kitchen to see your favorite dish arrayed on the table. There it is! Steam is still coming off the homemade ______ you just envisioned. You rush to say the blessing and quickly grab your knife and fork ready to dig in. When all of a sudden, the unexpected happens. The phone rings- it’s work. It’s an emergency and they need you to come in immediately. Your significant other already knows and gives you a hug and you head out the door.

You heard the clanging of dishes in the kitchen as your favorite meal was made, you smelled the increasing pleasant aroma of your favorite delicacies and your mouth even began to water as you thought about how wonderful this meal was going to be; but, it never happened. You never got to dig your fork into that favorite dish. You never had the chance to savor that first bite, chew it slowly as you enjoy the flavor rushing over your taste buds. You never got all the joy and nutrients that meal had to offer. This is the Christian life without meditation.

How often are we guilty of this as Christians? How often do we go to God’s word or read our daily devotions and then as soon as we are done close God’s word, get up and set about our tasks for the day. Or even worse, as we sit there reading God’s precious word our minds wander and we are too busy thinking about all that we need to accomplish that day. Our checklist slowly creeps to the forefront of our mind and before we know it, we don’t know it. That is, we don’t know what we’ve just read because we were too busy concerning ourselves with what’s important to us.

Far too often Christians are guilty of this. Daily devotions becomes part of the checklist. We simply read God’s word as part of our daily agenda and it doesn’t effect the way we act or think. Let’s face it, we live in a fast-paced society where the amount of information and entertainment that comes our way is far more than any of us need. We hardly think original thoughts. We simply google what we’re looking for and find someone who had already thought about it for us. I’m a seminary student and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done this with God’s word! Ooops, did I just say that aloud? Instead of taking the time to sit back and think deeply about what God just said in His word I quickly look to see what my favorite Bible teachers say about this passage. This is hardly communion with God and simply filling my mind with knowledge. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying we shouldn’t listen to the wisdom of past generations but that these old friends shouldn’t replace meditation and prayer on God’s word. Because of the fast paced world and the easy and quick access to pretty much anything we desire, the art of Christian meditation has been lost. In part, I also believe this is because Christians don’t pray with any longevity. They rush through their prayers like some sort of checklist because they have to get to their own checklist and can’t be bothered with presenting their checklist to God. God already knows it so why bother telling him? Right? Maybe because prayer isn’t about presenting a checklist to God, but rather more about communing with Him.

Instead, after reading one should always turn to prayer and meditation. God has just spoken to you— now its your turn to speak to him. Allow what you have just read to dominate your thoughts and prayers. Ask God questions and seek understanding. When you are finished with your devotions this does not mean that you are now done meditating on what God has taught you. You have read it, you have prayed through it, now it’s time to seek to apply it to your life through meditation. Oftentimes the Holy Spirit will remind us of something we read or heard in last Sunday’s sermon that we should apply in that moment but we fail or neglect to do so. We ignore His prompting and go about our business. How do I know? Because I do it. This week don’t hesitate to apply the simple yet profound truths that Pastor Jeff and Pastor Steve taught on Sunday.

You have been commissioned into God’s family, you are a good soldier of Jesus Christ who does not get entangled in human affairs but instead fishes for men. God has called you to make disciples; therefore, cast your gospel net! Share the gospel with the barista at the coffee shop or your coworker and see what the Spirit of God does.

Likewise, don’t fail to mediate, pray about, and apply what the Holy Spirit is teaching you in your daily devotions. May the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col 3:16) and may we seek to be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).

Growing up, my mother taught me to consume the word of God like a cow. You say, “What?!” Yeah, that’s exactly what I used to say until I understood what she meant. This was Mom’s simple, country way of telling me to meditate on the Scriptures. You see, dairy cows have two parts to their stomach and they need to break down their food quite a bit in order for them to get the most nutrients and protein out of that delicious grass. First, they eat the grass, chewing it and swallowing it where it is stored in the first part of their stomach. The bacteria in this first part of their stomach softens the food and then sends it back up to their mouth where they continue to munch. This second snack is called “chewing the cud”. Here the dairy cow chews away to further break down the cud before swallowing one last time and starting all over again. Some dairy farmers estimate that healthy cows chew the cud for up to 8 hours a day to include over 30,000 chews! And guess what? The more cud they chew, the healthier they are. Well, like Momma said, when it comes to reading Scripture, don’t just read it, consume it like a cow.

For further study on meditation see the following: 

“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)

“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)

“I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:12)

“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)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)