Bible Reading Meditation

The daily practice of reading the Bible is a long-established Christian practice. There are a myriad of Bible reading programs that suggest a text for each day. Bible reading and meditation go hand in hand, but they are not the same. In Bible reading, you seek breadth of exposure; in meditation, you go slowly and deeply.

You can either pause to meditate as you read or go back and ponder a passage after you finish your reading. To help develop a pattern of meditation that works well, you may want to limit the amount you are reading at first. Perhaps read short passages or stay with a rich passage like Psalm 23 or Galatians 5 for an entire month. The Psalms are an excellent place to begin biblical meditation. The Psalms have long been the go-to place for Christian meditation. They require imagination to see and unpack the images. Using your God-given imagination is critical to the open-hearted reading foundational to meditation.

The process of meditation is quite simple. Through prayer, remember that you are in God’s presence and invite him to show you what is essential for you to see. Read the passage through and come to a settled sense of what the passage is about. You may find it helpful to use a study Bible to remind you of the context and answer questions you have about words or images. Next, read the passage out loud. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of vocalizing your reading and writing down the portions you are drawn to. Again, the Hebrew words for meditation denote active engagement through speaking, singing, or muttering. After you have read the passage out loud a few times, settle on a portion that has caught your attention. You focus on this selection by seeking to savor it, take it into your heart, and ask personal questions about it. Tim Keller writes, "Meditation consists in large part of asking the right questions.” (Keller 2015, 180) The process of questioning should be gentle, done with curiosity, and with a quest to learn from God about God and yourself.

Pray, sit in God’s presence, read out loud, gently ask questions, write notes, and end with prayer. It is as simple as that, and it will change your life.