Desert Wisdom: Meditation

Bunge rightly deals with meditation at this stage of his presentation (pp. 44-47).  Meditation is the single word most often used to describes our response to God during our time of prayer.

Literally, meditation is speaking in a hushed undertone, usually reading a passage from Scripture.  Speaking out loud helps prevent distractions and helps keep our minds from wandering as much as they do when we simply reflect on something.  Furthermore, meditation has an objective base—a text—it is not free-wheeling or stream of consciousness.

Meditation enables us to “drill down” into something as we ruminate upon it.  Years ago, Dr. John Oswalt gave me the image of a cow chewing its cud as a description of meditation—a slow, repetitive pondering in order to get maximum nourishment from the spiritual food we are eating.

The goal of meditation is God, which means that the goal of prayer is an I-Thou experience, not an I-it one.  Even when we learn something factual, it is a revelation of Who God is—a doorway into deeper intimacy with God.  Meditation disposes our hearts to greater conformity to God, the source and sustainer of very lives.

About Steve Harper

Dr. Steve Harper is retired seminary professor, who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of 45 books. He is also a retired Elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.
This entry was posted in Desert Wisdom. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Desert Wisdom: Meditation

  1. I like a simile about meditation I heard of a lion preparing to seize his prey.

Comments are closed.