Mention the word meditation today, and most people will think you are sitting cross-legged, humming in a deep tone, and emptying your mind of all thoughts. That perception is a product of false religion from the false god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9).

Meditate is mentioned 14 times in the Bible by Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah and Jesus Christ in the book of Luke. The word meditation is addressed six times, all in the book of Psalms. We can know the truth about meditation because God reveals it in His Word.

Mr. Flurry asked in The Last Hourbooklet, “How do you manage your time? How urgent are you in organizing your time? We all need to get motivated to do more. We have less than an hour left!” If we are not overcoming certain character flaws or sins, our lack of daily humble, contrite, God-centered meditation may be the cause.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

God set the example for us in this. Following the first six days of re-creation, God rested on the seventh day and created the Sabbath, meditating upon that which He termed “very good” (Genesis 2:1-4; 1:31). Yes, the Sabbath is a vital time to meditate on all of God’s goodness (Psalm 143:5). Additionally, the other six days of the week can be used powerfully for meditation on the laws and commandments of God, in conjunction with prayer and Bible study (Psalm 1:2).

Herbert W. Armstrong recounted the application of meditation in his life as a key component of fasting: “Then I meditated for one hour, searching my mind, to understand wherein I was wrong. This was followed by one hour of searching the Bible to see if God would reveal to me, there, the answer” (Good News, January 1980).

Do we see why Mr. Armstrong meditated? He was comparing God’s goodness to his own—which inspired Scripture calls “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). He wanted to change from his own human carnality to God’s perfect righteousness, “knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4).

The Prophet Jeremiah rightly surmised, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). We need God to reveal the true path to His spiritual wisdom, understanding and discernment (Proverbs 2-3).

King David considered it a wonderful honor to be able to use his mind and human spirit, combined with the Holy Spirit imparted by God, to meditate deeply and frequently upon God. This greatly contributed to his spiritual growth. He wrote: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas” (Psalm 8:3-8).

The ancient builder Job had to repent and overcome self-righteousness. His mind was forcibly turned away from meditating on himself to meditating on the perfect architectural, engineering and design genius of his righteous Creator (Job 38-41). From his thoughts on this supreme divine mind, Job saw the greatness of God, and it brought lifelong changes and multiple blessings into his life (Job 42:1-6, 12-17).

“Meditate on this,” Mr. Armstrong wrote in Mystery of the Ages. “We humans sometimes speak of how wonderfully God made man, with his brain and the marvelous physical components of his body all functioning together. But without this spirit, imparting the power of intellect to the brain and also opening a channel of direct communication with the mind of the great God, man would be no more than the dumb brutes. But with the spirit in man, man’s creation becomes all the more awesome to contemplate. It is this human spirit in man that makes it possible for man to be united with God, so that man may be begotten of God by God’s Spirit uniting with the human spirit, thus impregnating the human person as a child of the Supreme Creator God.”

Our minds were fearfully and wonderfully made to be united with God’s mind (Psalm 139:14). Yet, in this world of awesome advancement, the minds of men are snared amid appalling evils. Science postulates a creation without a creator. Education indoctrinates students with its unproven theory of evolution. Religion is captive to a counterfeit god and gospel, enshrined in the closed godhead of the trinity.

We are royally honored to have the human spirit “imparting the power of intellect to the brain and also opening a channel of direct communication with the mind of the great God” with His Holy Spirit imbued in us. Meditating and thinking on the way of give—of outflowing concern toward others—brings true peace of mind. How blessed we are to be granted the privilege to daily consider God’s greatness.