How to meditate on scripture
 

I find that I am always interested in improving myself when it comes to meditating on scripture.  I’ve used so many different methods but this one seems to help me the most.  Of course, my hope that you will be helped by this method as well.  Here are the 3R’s to meditating on Scripture.
 

Read

 
I know right?  It’s the most obvious step, but it does begin with reading the Bible.  When started Bible meditation, some say start with the Gospels, other says the Book of John.  I didn’t follow either one, I started in Genesis.  Which ever you decide to start with, the main important thing to do is start.  Pray to the Holy Spirit to help you.  There are countless times that I have stopped mid-read to ask for guidance.  I also pray to get out of my scripture reading what the Holy Spirit wants me to get out of it, and not what I want it say.
 

Reflect

You read until something reach something that pops out at you.  This passage, phrase, quote will grab your attention and this is where you will stop reading.  

  • Re-read the passage.  
  • Try to stop and every word and get as much out of it as you possibly can.  
  • Think about why this passage stuck out at you.  What is going on in your life that makes this passage stand out to you.

All these things are taken into account when reflecting on Scripture.  What grabs your attention may not be the same thing that grabs someone else.  This part of Scripture stopped YOU because there was something in it for YOU!
 

Resolution

 
This is where things gets really interesting.  There was a reason why that passage stopped you when it did.  There was a message in the Scriptures just for you on this day.  There was something the you needed to do, at least for that day, and finally figured it out what that was.  Take it as Scripture is giving you a call to action.

Write down your todo for the day.  You can write it on an index card, or a piece of paper, or even set it as your phone wall paper!  The point is it keep it with you for that day and remind yourself constantly what it is you are supposed to be focused on.
 

The Best Time To Do This

 
I have found that mornings and early afternoons are the best time to meditate on Scriptures.  I do my best to wake up before the household and take my few moments to myself to do this alone.  I usually do it in the morning because this gives me the most time throughout the day to carry out my resolution.

When I have slacked off and did this in the evening, I felt that I missed out an a great opportunity to learn and live that day with mindfulness. This occurs when I think about the events of the day in hindsight.  But if evenings is all you have to work with, then you must do what’s best for you.
 

The Purpose

 
Recently, I am reading this book, Fire Witin by Fr. Dubay and here is what he eventually says about prayer and meditation.

We enter into God through no human means, no methods, no ideas. We must pass “beyond everything to unknowing. . . . A person who reaches this state no longer has any modes or methods, still less is he—nor can he be—attached to them.”

 

There is no hard or fast rule to meditation, but all of these ways can help us form a discipline to learn how to listen to God’s voice.

How do you meditate on Scripture?

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