First Christian Voices: Practices of the Apostolic Fathers

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First Christian Voices

Meditation in Scripture Jesus spent thousands of hours meditating on Scripture. His life and teaching flowed from deep meditation on texts like Daniel 7 and Isaiah 53. Jesus embodied the kind of life described in Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man” whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps 1:1–2). When people hear the words “meditate” or “meditation,” their minds are often drawn to an emptying of the mind characteristic of the Hindu or Buddhist religious practice. However, biblical meditation and various types of Hindu and Buddhist meditation have different goals. While many forms of Buddhist and Hindu meditation value emptying the mind, biblical meditation is about filling the heart with Christ and his Word. The Lord commands Joshua, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night” (Josh 1:8). A tired David tells God, “I meditate on you in the watches of the night” (Ps 63:6). The psalmist repeatedly declares his intention to meditate on the Scriptures’ statutes, precepts, and promises (Ps 119:15, 23, 48, 78, 148). Biblical meditation as a practice emphasizes increasing intimacy with Christ (John 15) and the storing up of God’s words in our heart (Ps 119:10). The fruit of Christian meditation is a mind centered on God in relation to his Word, works, and world. Thus, the content of Christian meditation is not limited to Scripture. Christians have biblical precedent for meditating on God (Pss 77:3; 145:5), God’s mighty deeds in history and in one’s own life (Pss 77:12; 78; 105; 106; 143:5), creation (Gen 15:5; Pss 77:12; 119:27; 143:5; 145:5; Matt 6:25–30), and wisdom (Ps 49:3; Prov 2:1–15). Each of these subject