Continuing our mini-series on Quiet Times (see here), we're moving on to look at something we mentioned in one of the earlier articles, meditation on scripture:

Meditating on scripture
The sort of meditation we’re talking about here is not mystical or transcendental. Biblical meditation is basically about focussing one’s thoughts on, pondering, thinking on, musing on a particular scripture. Its all about reflective thinking or contemplation on a specific subject to discern its meaning, significance or to form an action plan.

How do I meditate on Scripture?

• Start by choosing or locating the next passage in your plan.

• Read around the passage, read the sections before and after it to get an idea of it's setting & theme.

• Write down a summary of its content

• Write down in your own words what it is saying

• Look at some key words in the passage and write out their opposites to reveal more about what the original words mean.

• Implement it - make it personal, apply it to a need, challenge, opportunity or an area which you find difficult. How does it relate to your life?

• Pray back its content / promises to God

• Parallel Passages - look at the passages which directly relate to it in other parts of scripture - most Bibles have linked passages in the footnotes.

• List things you don’t understand - discuss them with a trusted friend or leader

• Helping others - how could you use this scripture to help / encourage others

• Further study - write out what you could do to further study this passage - read a book on the same theme etc.

Ask yourself some further questions

Is there:

a command I need to obey?
a promise I need to request?
a sin to avoid / repent of?
a lesson to learn?
a new truth to remember?

...next section coming tomorrow...