His
delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
Meditating
on God’s word is not reading it, memorizing it, or even studying it. It’s
chewing on it, turning it over in the mind, allowing it to percolate and become
part of us.
St.
Benedict (A.D. 480-547) is credited with giving us the meditative practice of lectio divina. Lectio divina begins with
a slow, purposeful reading (lectio)
of the word combined with an attitude of attentiveness to God’s voice. We
progress to meditating on the word (meditatio),
which is a pondering and simmering time. From there we transition to prayer
(oratio), centered in what we have
been reading and what God has been speaking. This is followed with the final
segment of lectio divina, contemplation
(contemplatio), in which we joyfully
rest in the presence of God.
On
what are you meditating? Scott Wenig writes that the mind wanders every seven
seconds. [1] When idling at a red light, standing over a sink full of dishes,
or sitting at your desk, where does your mind go? Answer that and you’ll know what
you’re meditating on.
It
is in meditating on the law, God’s Word, that it really becomes a part of us.
Where
does your mind go when it wanders?
[1]
Scott Wenig, “Using Scripture in Our Lives,” PreachingTodaySermons.com
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