May 2019 - Meditation
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night; and He shall be like a tree that’s planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalm 1:2,3
The Hebrew word for meditate in verse 2 is “hagah.” The Spirit Filled Life Bible has this note: “Hagah represents something quite unlike the English “meditation,” which may be a mental exercise only. In Hebrews though, to meditate upon the Scriptures is to quietly repeat them in a soft, droning sound, while utterly abandoning outside distractions. From this tradition comes a specialized type of Jewish prayers called “davening,” that is reciting texts, praying intense prayers, or getting lost in communion with God while bowing or rocking back and forth. Evidently this dynamic form of meditation-prayer goes back to David’s time.”
Most blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green, It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7,8 Amplified
In 1 Timothy 4:15, Paul said to “meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all.” When a tree is well watered, it is evident to all because you can see the fruit and the green leaves. In the same way, those around you can see the results of the Word working in your life. The fruit of blessing, health and peace is very tangible!
HOW TO MEDITATE
The dictionary defines the word meditate as this: to talk with yourself, mutter, cogitate; it is an inward and outward conversation; it means to study, chew over, think over, ponder, excogitate, muse, reflect, mull over, speculate. The word “cogitate” means to think deeply, think out, think up, dream up, and to hatch. Excogitate is to invent; create mentally. Christian meditation is NOT sitting on the floor with your legs crossed, humming to yourself and emptying your mind. Meditation is a relationship with the Word of God.
If you know how to worry or if you have been offended, then you know how to meditate. You constantly think about what could happen, what is happening and speculate about the results. It even affects your body and emotions! The Bible originated in the East where the culture is given to meditation and it has much to say about this exercise. Philippians 4:6,7 says not to worry about anything, but to turn those worries into requests followed by thanksgiving. God promises to surround your heart with His peace. According to verse 8, our part is to do something with our thoughts. We are to meditate or think about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and begin praising instead of worrying.
According as His divine power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2 Peter 1:3,4
As Christians, we do not have to participate in the corruption around us. There is an escape! Because of the new birth, you are a partaker of God’s divine nature and have in you everything you need to overcome in life. Through meditation, the Word becomes engrafted in you and is able to save or restore your soul which is your mind, will and emotions (James 1:21). When you are speaking the Word of God, pondering, muttering, turning it over, digesting, and dreaming about all of these great promises that are given to you, you begin to draw up divine power, just like a tree draws water out of the soil it is planted in.
DELIGHT IN THE LAW OF THE LORD
David said his delight was in the Law of the Lord. What are those laws? They are His Word. They are the Law of Faith (Romans 3:27); the Law of Love (1 Corinthians 13); the Law of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2); the Law of Sowing and Reaping (2 Corinthians 9:6-11). Every Christian must be personally responsible to tap into the power of God in these areas in order to live above the corruption in the world. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, overflows with David’s love for God’s Word. He mentions meditation seven times. When you sing psalms like David, it is a form of meditation. He said, “I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord,” Psalm 104:33,34.
PARTNERS IN CHRIST
This month we are offering six powerful messages entitled, Meditation: Moving from Information to Revelation and Trina’s teaching, Biblical Meditation – God’s Medication. These messages will stir you up to make the Word of God your meditation - day and night. We also want to offer you our Spirit-Filled Scripture Study Guide. This is a powerful tool that will help meditate on the Word of God. As you do this, you will see supernatural results in every area of your life.
We are getting ready to preach at a great church in Lusaka, Zambia and also at a wonderful faith conference in Nairobi, Kenya in May. We love being in Africa and are expecting powerful times in the Word and the Holy Spirit. Not only will we be ministering but we will also be distributing hundreds of books in these meetings. The Word is multiplying around the World AND your faithful WORLD MISSIONS PARTNERSHIP is making this possible! Thank you for being faithful to pray and also to give as we continue to train and equip believers around the World. We pray you will prosper and be in health as your soul prospers with every need met according to God's riches in glory!
In Christ,
Mark and Trina Hankins