Every day we pray and study God’s Word, but if we are not using an additional daily tool God has given us, Scripture will not change us to the extent it could. This tool helps us recognize how God’s law applies to us personally. It helps maximize real value in our daily study.
This tool is meditation—focused thinking on a particular subject led by God’s Holy Spirit.
“If you want a really wonderful, rich, rewarding Bible study, then stop and think—and do something about it,” Gerald Flurry wrote in “Selah—Stop and Think!” (Royal Vision, January-February 2024).
All the great leaders of the Bible have done it. God commands we do it too.
God instructed Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). Studying God’s law was always intended to go hand in hand with meditation. Note the specific instruction here: Meditate on God’s law to “observe to do according to all that is written therein.” Studying God’s law is not enough. To live by that law, we must meditate on it.
The fact that God commands meditation shows that it doesn’t come naturally. We need to actively engage our minds, day and night—not just while we study or fast once a month.
Meditate to Understand God’s Law
“This isn’t just saying how to have prosperity and good success,” Mr. Flurry writes concerning Joshua 1:8. “God is also saying, It’s not enough just to know the Bible, to have certain scriptures written on your wall or in your wallet. You won’t get what I’m trying to teach unless you meditate on these things and work to understand them deeply!” (The Former Prophets).
Consider the Eighth Commandment: You shall not steal. You might think, I don’t steal. Check—self-examined! But pray about it. Take all the material on that subject you can find and really study it. You will learn that this command not only prohibits the explicit act of taking someone else’s property, it also requires us to live the way of give.
Think further: How does this law apply to me? For example, you may realize that if you waste someone’s time, you are really stealing their time. That causes you to think, Where else have I been selfish with my time? How have I failed to give more of my time to others? It takes deep thought to identify all the areas in one’s life where a particular law applies.
“Nothing is attained in war except by calculation,” Napoleon wrote. “During a campaign, whatever is not profoundly considered in all its details is without result.” Unless we profoundly consider how God’s law applies to us, we may be studying God’s Word in vain, with no lasting results.
Meditate on How We Break the Law
Now that we see how God’s law applies to us, we have to realize the consequences of breaking that law. Once again, we have to engage our mind.
David kept his sin always before him (Psalm 51:1-3). “He had a clear mental picture of his problem—kept it right before his eyes—and never let it happen again,” Mr. Flurry writes. “And any time that old man—that carnal nature—began to rise up, David went on the offensive and smashed it! That is how he was able to avoid that sin and become a man after God’s own heart” (How to Be an Overcomer).
By keeping his sinful past before him, David reminded himself again and again that he had sinned against God (2 Samuel 12:13). He did not ever want to repeat his mistakes. That’s why he deeply meditated on what sin does to God. Thanks to David’s example, we all have a deeper understanding of what it means to repent toward God.
Why do we need to repent toward God personally? The Prophet Nathan told David that he had “given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (verse 14). “When we sin, we give people the chance to blaspheme God. We can bring all kinds of problems into the Church. The reason is that we represent God” (ibid).
That’s part of the reason why our repentance must be toward God. When we sin, we not only fail to obey God, fail to do His Work, and fail to fulfill our calling—but we also give people the chance to blaspheme God.
If we meditate on what damage our sins do to God, His Work and His great plan, we begin to see why we need to repent toward Him. Furthermore, as David noted, because of our sins, we are guilty of the very blood of Jesus Christ (Psalm 51:14). When you find yourself tempted, think about the price paid for sin. Remember Christ’s sacrifice and how He and God the Father observe the decisions we make in moments of temptation. Remember that they are sitting on a throne that they promise to share with us if we overcome! (Revelation 3:21).
Meditate on How to Apply the Law
If we really meditate on how our sin caused the suffering and death of Christ, we certainly wouldn’t want to repeat it. Godly meditation can also help us apply God’s law.
Take, for example, a recurring sin that you struggle with. Visualize yourself in the moment of your recurring temptation. Consider how God looks on you in that situation. Consider how Christ gave His life so that He can live in you to overcome this problem. Consider how He wants you to act in that situation, and then visualize yourself doing the right thing. The next time you are in that situation, you are prepared to overcome!
Jesus faced temptation. How much did meditation on Old Testament prophecies concerning Him help when those tests came? He fully trusted God and used God’s power to overcome, just as He rehearsed in His mind. We must do the same.
God’s Holy Spirit will bring your God-inspired meditation back to mind in your moment of need and give you the knowledge and power to overcome! That is a promise from God. Christ said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy [Spirit], [which] the Father will send in my name, [it] shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).
Meditate on How to Teach
There is yet another aspect of meditation we need to consider. In Psalm 51, David wrote, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (verses 12-13).
As we overcome, we are preparing to teach obedience to future generations. We need to meditate on that. If you imagine yourself teaching God’s law to countless others, you certainly wouldn’t want to break it today.
It has often been noted that you don’t really understand something until you are able to teach it to others. An effective teacher thinks about how he can communicate something he has learned to others. Once again, meditation is our tool to prepare for this task. Consider how you would teach one of God’s commandments to a group of schoolchildren in the Millennium. What examples would you use? How would you explain to them how God’s law applies?
When we imagine ourselves in the role of a teacher for God, we will have greater motivation to keep God’s law today.
Through God’s power and with the tools He has given us, we can break sin’s hold, conquer recurring problems, and master obedience. Meditation will transform what we read to what we think and do, and, ultimately, to what we are!