Day 18 - Thursday, October 29th
LIFE Journal
This Week's Memory Verse
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18
Devotional
When you hear the word meditate, what is the first thing that comes to mind? A Yogi with eyes closed, legs crossed and finger tips touching while chanting ommmmmmm? Often we think of Eastern practices instead of Christian ones when it comes to meditation, but simply put, to meditate just means to “engage in thought or contemplation.”
One picture used to describe this habit is that of a cow chewing its cud. In case you’re not familiar with farm animals, let me break this down for you. Cows are known to eat their grass and chew on it for awhile. Then, they swallow at which point, how do I say this? They regurgitate it up and start chewing it again, stripping every ounce of nutrients out before swallowing it again and starting the process all over again. It may be a little graphic for your taste, but think about this in relation to Scripture. Sometimes instead of going for quantity, it’s best to get some quality nourishment from what we are reading. We know God’s word is active and alive, so when a verse or two start jumping off the pages, we take the time to really think about it like that cow-chewing cud.
Meditation may mean you write down the verses and put it somewhere you can see it so that your mind can keep coming back to it. Maybe you look it up in a few different translations to get different ideas of what is being conveyed. Maybe you take some time and journal about it, what it means and what it reveals to you about God and what He is asking of you. This may go on for awhile as you attempt to squeeze all the spiritual nutrition out of the verses that you are meditating upon. You’ll be surprised that as you sink your teeth into Scripture, you’ll start to feel a fullness unlike anything you’ve ever felt before and yet it will make you hungry for more.
Think On This Verse:
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8 NLT
Ask and Answer:
How can you incorporate meditation on God’s word into your daily life? Can you write out a verse that speaks to you and place it on your desk at work or in your car? Can you write about it in your prayer journal? Can you discuss it with a friend? How can you think deeply on scripture today?
One picture used to describe this habit is that of a cow chewing its cud. In case you’re not familiar with farm animals, let me break this down for you. Cows are known to eat their grass and chew on it for awhile. Then, they swallow at which point, how do I say this? They regurgitate it up and start chewing it again, stripping every ounce of nutrients out before swallowing it again and starting the process all over again. It may be a little graphic for your taste, but think about this in relation to Scripture. Sometimes instead of going for quantity, it’s best to get some quality nourishment from what we are reading. We know God’s word is active and alive, so when a verse or two start jumping off the pages, we take the time to really think about it like that cow-chewing cud.
Meditation may mean you write down the verses and put it somewhere you can see it so that your mind can keep coming back to it. Maybe you look it up in a few different translations to get different ideas of what is being conveyed. Maybe you take some time and journal about it, what it means and what it reveals to you about God and what He is asking of you. This may go on for awhile as you attempt to squeeze all the spiritual nutrition out of the verses that you are meditating upon. You’ll be surprised that as you sink your teeth into Scripture, you’ll start to feel a fullness unlike anything you’ve ever felt before and yet it will make you hungry for more.
Think On This Verse:
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8 NLT
Ask and Answer:
How can you incorporate meditation on God’s word into your daily life? Can you write out a verse that speaks to you and place it on your desk at work or in your car? Can you write about it in your prayer journal? Can you discuss it with a friend? How can you think deeply on scripture today?
Prayer
Father God, help me to think deeply about your word. Let me roll scripture around in my mind and in my heart. Teach me to practice meditating on the things you’ve said day and night. Amen.