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Thursday, January 28, 2016

A Meditation Exercise


In God’s Book, references to meditating on God’s word do not follow the world’s idea of emptying one’s mind so the devil can fill it with what he pleases. Rather, it refers to giving God’s words such serious and prolonged thought that the devil can’t get a word in edgewise, so to speak.

When the first Psalm declares, 
Blessed is the man    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way of sinners,    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;but his delight is in the law of the Lord,    and on his law he meditates day and night.[1] 
the writer is not talking about someone who is blessed because of the way he zones out on the word of God. Rather, he is blessed because the word of God is so central in all his thoughts and ambitions that he avoids friendship with those who despise the words of God. His delight in God’s words, and his constant consideration of God’s will, keeps him walking in fellowship with God day after day.

One way to meditate on Scripture is to take a verse that stands out and consider it with an emphasis on each word or phrase. Meditation is then thinking hard (prayerfully, of course) about why God chose to breath-out that particular wording.

Please take serious note of the fact that meditating on God’s breathed-out words is hugely hindered by using one of the contemporary modern paraphrases (the Message, NLT, new NIV), since they actually change God’s choice of words into something more humanly palatable. We are now stuck meditating on someone’s thoughts about God’s words, rather than on God’s words themselves. Did I say, a HUGE loss to God’s people?

So, using a reliable translation (ESV, NASB, are two of the best IMHO), here is a Scripture that has been ministering to my heart this week. The whole verse says, 
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”[2] 
What follows is an example of how to focus on each part of a sentence of Scripture to consider different ways it speaks God’s truth to your heart, and how it would apply to wrong thoughts you have about God, situations you are going through, or how you view your relationship to God through his Holy Spirit.

I encourage you to either pray your way through each phrase with its distinctive emphasis, or to copy/past the following into a word processor and prayer-journal your way through it. Either way, give this some serious thought (meditation), and see how the Spirit of God leads you to pray.


“…HOW MUCH MORE will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”



“…how much more WILL the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”



“…how much more will THE HEAVENLY FATHER give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”



“…how much more will the heavenly Father GIVE the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”



“…how much more will the heavenly Father give THE HOLY SPIRIT to those who ask him!”



“…how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit TO THOSE who ask him!”



“…how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those WHO ASK HIM!”



© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)





[1] Psalm 1:1-2
[2] Luke 11:13

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