Proclaimer Blog
Lost art of Biblical meditation
Last week I was in the US which meant that I was up at the crack of dawn, literally. I’m not a late sleeper anyway: not for the want of trying but I simply am unable to lie in: I’m a lark not an owl. So, push me forward four hours (and thankfully it is only four hours at this time of year) and I was awake very early indeed.
I tried to use the time well: more time, in particular, to read and pray. Which got me thinking about biblical meditation. I think it’s a lost art. Our forefathers did it all the time. It’s taking a phrase or word and thinking it through from every angle; thinking of other Scriptures that inform or clarify it; praying it in; using it in prayers for others.
It is still an expository way to read the Scriptures because in order to be able to understand the word or phrase, you need to read it in context and so on. But it enables a depth that most of our Bible reading struggles to obtain. I’m not saying this should be the only kind of Bible reading and thinking, but it should certainly be in our armoury.
Take last week. As it happens, I have been using McCheyne’s reading plan which means I’m up to John 14. One phrase is astounding. “He [The Father] will give you another helper”. It is those last two words that got my mind racing: another paraclete (with all the meaning loaded into that word). What a promise! What a phrase! I spent some delightful time reflecting on it, worrying it around my mind like a dog with a bone, connecting it to other truths and understanding it in its context; praying it in and praying it for others.
I don’t think I’ve had such a sweet time for a long time. Don’t lose this art. Rediscover it. Or discover it.