Scriptural Meditation - Take One

 

 Today was the first day of my offering of Scriptural Meditation to the church that I am serving as a student minister.  The meditation is sculpted around a Lectio Divina style reading of scripture, but like my mandala drawing, there is no real interaction with the people present.  The reflection and consideration of the scripture is supposed to be personal between you and God.  Our reading today was based on Psalm 1, but you can choose any short passage.  Here is the structure of the meditation as I walked participants through it. After we have gathered, welcomed each other, and lit the candle to symbolize welcoming God into our presence, the facilitator can begin.  Be sure to encourage everyone to find a comfortable position.  I personally sit cross legged on the floor, but I arranged some chairs also.

"Listen first to the reading .  Hear the word of our Lord.  After I finish reading it, we will pause for two minutes to reflect silently on what we have heard."  Read scripture of choice. Find a way to time two minutes so that even you are not interrupted.  I found a great Tibetian bowl timer as a free app on my phone. After the two minutes, read the following.

  

"Listen again to this reading.  What phrase or word is call to you.  Grab a hold of the phrase as I read the Psalm again.  Keep the word or phrase in your heart.  After I have finished, hold your word or phrase in your mind.  Let the word or phrase wash over you.  Mull on it.  Contemplate it.  Repeat it within your mind.  We will sit with our individual words or phrases for 5 minutes." Read the scripture again slowly and clearly. After the five minutes, take a deep breath and return.

"I am going to read this passage one more time.  You have heard the words.  You have found a word or phrase that is calling to you.  Now reflect on what God is saying to you.  These verses have been read by many, but the Spirit that is speaking through these words is speaking only to you.  Feel the words as I speak them again.  Feel God within you, moving you.  Hear the message you are meant to hear within these words.  Sit with this feeling for the next 12 minutes.  Let the Holy Spirit guide your thoughts." Read the scripture again.  Time 12 minutes. 

  

"Slowly finish your thoughts.  Bring your mind back to the present.  Let your body feel the ground below you.  Hold on to  your thoughts on this scripture.  While our time to meditate together is ending, you should carry this time, these thoughts, God’s words with you throughout the day.  Let the mediation of God’s words never be far from you."  Remind people that part of a spiritual practice is exactly that "practice".  It may have been very difficult to be still that long or keep focus.  They may not have "felt God" over the ache in their hip.  Encourage them though to continue with this practice multiple times before judging it.  Close together.

"Let’s take three full breaths together and then together, 'Thank God for being with me today.  Amen'"

I hope you will try this practice, if not with a group then within the quite time of your life.   We do a lot of talking to God, rarely are we quiet enough to listen to His response.

Devotionals - a great way to touch base with God daily

Most of us that are seeking a connection with God already incorporate prayer in our daily lives, but there are other ways to improve your conversation with God.  I consider my time with God to be like fostering a friendship.  God is around for everyone, just like people you pass in your everyday life.  It is up to you to start a conversation and get to know Him better.  Most people start this greeting in prayer.  Some add a weekly time set aside for growing this relationship; we call this time worship.  But there are so many other ways to foster this relationship (I will be exploring several over the next months with you).  Today, I'd like to introduce to devotionals.  Devotionals can be religious or not, but they are generally daily readings that focus on a particular topic for you to ruminate on during the day.  The daily readings are usually short and can be read in less than 10 minutes, but are usually rich enough to offer a much longer contemplation time.

I have used Upper Room devotionals for several years as they are available at my church, but you can also access them online or even have daily thoughts emailed directly to your in box.  Recently I have actually been using Tough Minded Faith for Tender Hearted People by Dr. Robert H Schuller.  Yes, this is the Robert Schuller of Crystal Cathedral Ministries.  And I must admit that his name alone made me question this as a choice, but as this book came to me and I did not search it out, I thought that I would give it a try.  I must admit that I'm glad I did.  This is a wonderful devotional.  It is uplifting, scripturally based, and honest.  I would recommend it for those of you that are Christian and looking for a devotional to try this practice.

Do you use a devotional?  What devotional might you recommend?  How have you found using a devotional helpful in your spiritual practices?  If you don't currently use a devotional, how about committing to trying it for a week or a month and see if you find this a helpful way to grow your relationship with God.

A Challenge to Non-Believers

My brother and I often have conversations about God's existence.  He is definate a skeptic who believes that the rest of us have created a being to satisfy our need for answers.  Certainly, when someone has such an anti perspective there is no logical agrument that is going to change their mind.  So I have asked him to try an experiment (whether this will work or not I do not know, but I know that if we take one step toward God, He'll take at least two toward you - so I am hopeful):  I have asked him to talk to God everyday for 40 days.  He needs to tell him his concerns, his faults, his questions.  I believe as this conversations unfolds, he will see that it moves from a one sided to a two sided conversations. 

It will be interesting to see if the skeptic is willing to give it a try. I encourage you to pose the same challenge to other non-believers.  I would live it if they would comment and let us know how the experiment unfolds.