Individuals detach themselves from their thoughts and feelings when they meditate. It has the potential to be the most accessible instrument for personal development in terms of both its ease of learning and availability.
As per Health Line, meditation is practiced in various ways across the world's different faiths and societies. Some people do it to relieve tension and unwind, while others do it to get their thoughts organized, and yet others do it to awaken and develop their connection to something higher than themselves.
Fewer scientific studies have focused on meditation's spiritual impacts, even though several studies have investigated how meditation can deliver relaxing advantages.
Christian Meditation
Grand Canyon University stated that Christian meditation involves immersing oneself in Scripture and contemplating God to conform one's personality more closely to that of Jesus Christ. The purpose of this practice is opposed to that of Eastern meditation. Attachment, not distancing yourself from the environment, is the focus of Christian meditation. It is about tying oneself to God, keeping one's attention fixed on His word, and developing a more profound love for God and others.
Even if the Holy Spirit dwells within a Christian and causes them to become more like Jesus, there is still a clear distinction between the individual and God. Here are some of the things that you should know about Christian meditation.
Meditation begins, but by no means ends, with thinking on Scripture.
According to Crosswalk, for us to meditate effectively, our hearts must find joy in what our souls have grasped, and our souls must find reflection in what our minds have absorbed. While reading slowly, relying prayerfully and humbly on what God has made known to us in his word, we can say that we have genuinely focused on what He has given us. All of this is done in mindful dependence on the energizing activity of the Holy Spirit.
Meditation, then, is being attentive to God.
It is one of how we "keep seeking the things above where Christ is." (Col. 3:1). It is a deliberate and ongoing connection of the human brain with God. This process of renewing the mind is a component of the procedure through which the word of God permeates the spirit and soul with the illuminating light of revelation and the transforming power of remaking.
Also Read: Anxious? Hold On To These Bible Verses During Uncertain Times
Christian meditation differs from Eastern and new age meditation.
In contrast to Eastern meditation, which encourages one to clear one's mind, Christian meditation encourages one to fill one's mind with God and the truth that he has revealed. There is not a single place in the Bible where the "mind" in and of itself is defined as being sinful or unfit to be the channel through which God speaks with us. However, arrogance in intellectual pursuits rather than intellect itself is condemned b the Bible. We need humility, not stupidity, more than anything else. On the other hand, this is not the same as making use of the mind that God has given each of us, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the Bible, to examine, discern, and critically appraise what is happening in both the church and the world.
Summarized in four words: pray, personalize, praise, and practice.
It can be difficult to tell whether one has moved from meditating to praying. It doesn't matter all that much. However, at some time, you will need to take the truth as the Holy Spirit has enlightened it and pray it back to God through a plea, thankfulness, or intercession.
Put your name in place of proper nouns or pronouns that refer to people. There was never any intention on God's part for his word to be left aimlessly floating around in impersonal abstractions.
Then you ought to worship the Lord because of who he is, what he has done, and how it has been written about in the Bible. The practice of meditation ought always invariably bring about devotion and joy to God.
Moreover, decide to obey what the Bible instructs you to do. Meditation's purpose is to effect a change in one's character. The ultimate goal of contemplation is submission. And the delight of obeying the Lord is beyond description and filled with glory.
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