Meditation

Among some Christians today, meditation has negative connotations. It makes them think of New Age gurus and yoga classes. Actually meditation is as old as the Old Testament. People have always meditated, and always will.

Meditation is simply this—it is sitting quietly and listening for what God has to say to us

Before we learn to pray, we must first learn to meditate.   We need to seek out a quiet place to spend time alone with God.  If we want to hear God, we need to listen.

So find a time and a place to be alone with him, away from the distractions of the world.  Don’t allow yourself to be put in a position of constant business. Take the time and the place to be alone with him.

This week, before we pray, we will meditate on what God says about prayer in His word.  Get alone in a place with your Bible and spend time learning from His word.

Then, get in a comfortable position—sitting, kneeling,  prone, are all the same as far as God is concerned. Think of your position in prayer as a kind of dance—physical posing for spiritual results.  Don’t be shy before God. Remember, he is the One person before whom you can be completely yourself.

Then, take a moment to quiet yourself before Him.  “I have composed and quieted my soul” Psalm 131.  One way to do this is to breathe slowly and deeply a few times, allowing your mind and body to relax. Once you have done this,  begin to concentrate on who God is, this is called praise.  We will talk more about that next week. But for today, let’s just look at the following Scriptures.
  

Read Psalm 131.  What does this passage tell us about the attitude of the heart when we pray?

Read 1 Kings 19:7-13. Where did Elijah hear the voice of God?  How did he prepare himself to hear it?

Read Matthew 6:5-8 What two pieces of advice does Jesus give about praying in this passage?

 Prayer

Lord as I pray today, teach me how to calm and quiet my soul before you. Rid my thoughts of all distractions. Focus my thoughts on Your Love and Grace.  As I go through the day today, let me continue to keep that calm that you give me this morning so I can trust you moment by moment with the affairs my day without being worried or overwhelmed.

In Jesus’ Name,  Amen