Some Christians are wary
of or reject meditation, on the grounds that the roots of meditation lie in
non-Christian influences such as Buddhism. Whilst meditation has been
widely used in eastern spirituality for centuries, there is nothing inherently
non-Christian about the practice of meditation, and it is increasingly being
accepted as a mainstream practice in the promotion of wellbeing and mental
health. Christian meditation can be described as a peaceful focus on God.
Christian meditation can focus on a single word (as in the example below), or on
a verse from the Bible for example. The
Bible makes many references to meditating.
May my meditation be pleasing to him, as
I rejoice in the LORDPsalm 104:34
May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORDPsalm 19:14
Choose a quiet place and time where you will
not be disturbed. Sit down.
Sit still and upright, comfortable and alert, with your back straight.
Close your eyes lightly.
Breathe calmly and regularly.
Silently, interiorly, begin to say a single word.
We recommend the prayer-phrase
maranatha.*
Recite it as four syllables of equal length - ma-ra-na-tha.
Listen to it as you say it, gently but continuously.
Do not think or imagine anything - spiritual or otherwise.
If thoughts and images come, these are distractions at the time of
meditation: keep returning to simply saying the word.
*Maranatha is an ancient Christian
prayer word. It means 'Come, Lord' from the Aramaic language of Jesus'
time, and is found in the New Testament. When meditating, use it simply
as a focus for your attention, without thinking about the meaning of it.
