Читать книгу When I Meditate: Reclaiming a Key Facet of Prayer - Art Toalston - Страница 4

“What do you mean?” we sometimes ask in the midst of a conversation.

One person has been trying to describe an experience, an opinion, a feeling, and the other person is trying to comprehend it. Depending on the importance of the topic, some of these exchanges can stretch beyond a few moments toward an hour – or numerous hours over the course of time.

A definition can help clarify what someone is trying to describe, but at times, more is needed. Conversations sometimes require an explanation of motives, a list of reasons, an openness or courage to reveal one’s beliefs and emotions.

Meditation’s intimate connection with God, though it transcends the confines of human language, nevertheless merits every effort to put into words.

For me, though the words on these pages may seem relatively straightforward, this effort has entailed numerous hours in prayer, in Scripture, and in front of a computer, fine-tuning these thoughts about meditation to reflect the reality of my experience alongside the context of biblical truth.

As best I can express them, my ever-deepening reasons for engaging in prayer and meditation – often starting with a Scripture verse or passage that I have sought to memorize and internalize – include:

* A sense of desperation.

It seems to be my best hope, in tandem with new birth, of seeking to be a redemptive person in my heart, in my relationships, and in the midst of life’s normalcy and its turmoil. When negative or impure thoughts jump into my mind, it seems to be the most effective way to push them aside, particularly by inwardly repeating such Scripture passages as Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, / for they will see God.” Going to church for worship, interacting with other Christians, and reading and studying the Bible certainly have been important in my life, but an unexpected, extraordinary amount of inner transformation and responsiveness to God seems to be unfolding through memorizing, re-memorizing, and internalizing Scripture for prayer and meditation. (Note: Various poetic forms in Scripture will be rendered in this book by insertions of / notations.)

* A heightened immediacy and clarity of faith.

On a moment’s notice, wherever I may be, Scripture often helps me think more quickly and clearly about God’s counsel for the basic issues of life, and then apply it to the circumstances at hand. It yields a mobile, vibrant faith, rather than one that requires me to return home and search through the Bible for guidance regarding the problems at hand (though, certainly, this is a good practice as well). One of the most helpful Scriptures has been James 3:17 in helping me think through decisions in tune with “the wisdom that comes from above,” which is “pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

* The joy of living in a personal milieu of God’s revelation and love amid the world’s callousness and tumult.

Like breathing fresh air instead of polluted air, the cumulative effect of memorizing/internalizing various passages of Scripture for prayer – even engaging them in a fledgling way – seems to surround me with a godly, spiritual environment wherever I may be. As Psalm 139:7-10 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? / Where can I flee from your presence? / If I go up to the heavens, you are there; / if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. / If I rise on the wings of the dawn, / if I settle on the far side of the sea, / even there your hand will guide me, / your right hand will hold me fast.” While the Christian faith relays God’s redemption to all mankind, it takes root and blossoms person by person, heart by heart.

* An inner need for accountability to God.

Each passage of Scripture carries me to a direct encounter with the God and creator of the universe, my Lord and Savior, the true source of life. Hebrews 4, for example, says, “… the word of God is alive and active. … [I]t judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (verses 12-13). While it is good to be accountable to other Christians for how we show forth our faith among those who see our daily behavior, our innermost accountability to the Lord can lift us toward godly wisdom. When needed, it can stir us to repentance at any juncture during the day. And it can nurture the courage to meet life’s challenges in a spiritually sensitive manner rather than one of worldliness and godlessness.