Can Christian meditation transform the Church?
As I sat in church last week listening to the pastor talk about clarity and contemplation, I wondered if the congregation really understood the meaning of what he was sharing. He talked about prayer and spending time with God, but did it register or was it just another Christian ideal that sounded good but had no real practicality? Knowing what I have learned about contemplation, meditation, and prayer, it takes discipline to carve out time each day to spend time with God in quiet, reverent solitude. As I continued to listen, I wondered if mere words would be enough to demonstrate the magnitude of such a practice. Was a sermon on contemplation and meditation enough or should additional steps be taken? Do pastors not only need to talk about reverent silence, contemplation, and Christian meditation, but also practice them as a body? And if so, how?
The service I attended consisted of praise and worship, scripture reading, teaching and ended with gospel music playing so loud it would be hard to hear your neighbor talking to you. Where was the contemplation in that thought? If we are going to talk about meditation (or words like it), isn’t it just as important that we teach and practice it as a body of believers?
In the course of our church services, I envision believers entering the main sanctuary in silence and with holy reverence for God as they surrender their hearts to Him and enter into His presence. This would be followed by 10 to 20 minutes of closed-eye scripture meditation as we slowly skimmed through the selected scripture passage for the day. Christian meditation would allow the word of God to wash away all worries and dissolve all weight that we carry with us, the act of hiding the word of God in our hearts. As we mentally replayed the scripture passage, following the principles of meditation, whenever we found our minds wandering to thoughts, we gently turned our attention to the verses, thus creating more space for hearing from God and fellowshipping. with him from within. . For those who attend church for the entertainment factor or an emotional experience, this might not be so great.
And as the congregation saw the real effects of true contemplation and meditation in the service each week, they were able to do the same practice in their homes. Once they tasted a true spiritual connection with God, not based on doing, but rather “being” and “dwelling” in his presence, I think it’s something they couldn’t live without. Many believers would discover their own link to God, the source of all their power and strength. This is the basis of when Jesus said that “when the Spirit comes, you will not need a man to teach you, for the Holy Spirit will teach you all things.” The problem for most believers is that we don’t know how to access that Spirit that lives within us because it is continually displaced by distractions, noise, thoughts, and delusions. We are often like Samuel, who kept hearing the voice of God calling him in the middle of the night and continuing to say, “Is it you, Lord?” But unlike Samuel, who had the Prophet to guide him and tell him that it was the Lord calling him, go and listen, we have no one to do the same for us. So we just discard the voice and continue to live on the same earthly plane and miss out on the intimate fellowship we can have with God.
Through Christian meditation and contemplation we experience transformation from the inside out. We learn that true blessings come from within, in the form of peace, joy, and contentment, rather than without, which we are often taught, even in many churches. They say your blessing is just around the corner or over the next mountain. God says you already have them, because God has given us everything we need for a life of holiness and piety, but we must access them from within. It will never be in the next relationship, spouse, house, new car, job, or some external desire or perfect circumstance. These things do not satisfy the real emptiness in our hearts. They only mask them for a short time.
Jesus said that “the kingdom of God is within you,” and that is the only place where we will find lasting joy, satisfaction, purpose, and peace. But keep in mind that entering the kingdom of God, this holy place, has nothing to do with more dancing, shouting, preaching, or doing. We enter into him through stillness and silence, “being still and knowing that (He) is God.” We enter by quieting our minds and excluding or eliminating all the distractions that keep us from touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak: fears, illusions, and doubts. “Because if I can only touch the hem of his cloak, I will be saved,” the women said as she crawled along the ground, maneuvering through the crowd, singularly focused and intent on reaching out and touching the only one that gave her any hope of hope. be healed and whole. And in an instant he was transformed. Jesus responded by saying, “Who has touched me, because I see that he has come out of me?” Although he was being pushed and pushed by many and on all sides, just the touch of one with the sole intention of knowing Jesus made an impression.
Jesus said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart,” but for many believers that means attending a weekly church service and an occasional Bible reading. They do not understand that walking with God is giving of life itself, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. And they don’t know why it’s not what they’re taught. Most believers live their lives on the testimony and teaching of others without investigating for themselves. Job illustrated this clearly when he said: I have heard of your power, but now I have experienced you for myself (paraphrased). They are told to join more committees, or attend more groups, and if they miss a church service, they may be on the verge of turning away from God. Could not be farther from the truth. Yes, these are important, but as Jesus told the Pharisees when they paid their titles but refused to show mercy and faith, they should have done this and that.
Seeking God with all your heart, soul, and strength begins with prayer, contemplation, and meditation, but not the kind of prayers that ask God for more. Instead, the kind of prayer and meditation that demonstrates that God is enough, where we abide on the vine, where we become one with the Lord, and where we put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that “God is a Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth, for these are the worshipers the Lord seeks.”
I understand that church is a time for corporate celebration, fellowship, and worship and that these are important functions, but what better place to teach corporate meditation and contemplation. Many Christians don’t even know what it means to be still before the Lord or avoid it altogether. Because stillness shines a neon light of what is really in our hearts and what is missing from our lives. The good news is that we can bring this awareness to God for inner healing. Shouldn’t the church be the perfect place to teach this? What would happen if during our church services we created a special time of silent worship, meditation on the Scriptures, and inward contemplation? I can only imagine the transformation that would take place at shrines around the world. Because when we allow God’s light to flood our hearts and minds, it will dispel the darkness: hate, worry, and fear.