9 Ways to Meditate Right and Right According to Christianity - Spiritual Meditation
We certainly often hear the word meditation. Meditation is a process of thinking deeply and focusing for a certain period in silence. The three main keywords of meditation are focus, a period, and stillness. People who meditate usually go to a quiet place like a hill or a cave for some time, like a day or even a month, to get some 'enlightenment. Meditation itself is usually done for spiritual activities or just for relaxation.
However, do Christians know meditation? Most Christians don't think meditation is necessary. This is because another religion introduced meditation. However, it turns out that Christian culture itself knows what is called Christian meditation. Christian meditation has a very striking difference from the meditation that most people commonly know. Meditation is generally understood to empty oneself, empty the mind. On the other hand, Christian meditation aims to fill the mind with thoughts of Christ. Christian meditation must be fully aware of and in synergy with the work of the Holy Spirit.
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| Spiritual Meditation |
Meditation According to Christianity
As Christians, we need to seek "the things above," namely the thoughts of Christ. How we think should be the same as how Jesus felt. How we act should be the same as how we work. Therefore, it is necessary to meditate to understand the mind of Christ.
Remembering God's deeds and His miracles
In Christian meditation, we need to remember God's deeds, how God has blessed us so wonderfully, how God has forgiven all our sins and mistakes. By remembering God's actions, we again remember that we are only human. The God we praise and worship is greater than anything else. He can do everything. We must keep ourselves humble during meditation. Remember the Bible verse about humbling yourself.
Mention all His works
Not only do we remember it, but we also need to "mention it." Mentioning all of God's work becomes the real action that we want to humble ourselves. We make an effort to praise and glorify God for what He has done in our lives. The critical thing to remember is the sincerity and gratitude that we want to convey. Mention all His works with gratitude.
Reflecting on His deeds
After we remember, admit it, we also need to meditate on His deeds. Reflecting on His actions means that we reflect on what God has done in our lives. We reflect on why God did this to us. We try to explore what we should do next after all the things God has done for us. We conclude what concrete actions we will do after finishing meditation by God's will with these reflections.
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| Spiritual Meditation - Meditation According to Christianity |
Steps of Meditation According to Christianity
With these three basics, the Christian way of meditation was formed. Here are some steps you can follow to meditate.
1. Prepare physically, intention, and time
The critical thing to remember is that while meditating, we should not be distracted by anything, whether notifications from cellphones, relatives who suddenly approach, or even hunger. Therefore, it is essential to prepare the physical, intention, and time as the first step in the Christian way of meditation. Prepare physically by first getting enough sleep and eating enough. Eat healthy and clean foods to avoid the urge to go to the toilet. Also, drink enough. In addition, prepare the right time.
Ensure during meditation time; we don't have appointments with other people or important things that need to be done. Free up time as needed for meditation. Set your meditation duration as required. Usually, beginners will start with 10-20 minutes. Over time, the course of this meditation will continue to increase. Next, most importantly, prepare the intention to do meditation. Calm our hearts and minds in various ways to calm our hearts and minds, according to the Bible.
2. Finding the right place and time and how we will do meditation
Christian meditation does not specify a specific place and time. We are free to do it anywhere and anytime. However, recall the primary keys to meditation: focus, a period, and stillness. Of course, you need a quiet and undisturbed place.
Most easily, we can do it in our private room. In addition, also determine the right time to avoid distractions during meditation. Certain That's also how we will do meditation. The Christian way of meditation does not define a specific posture during meditation. Find a position as comfortable as possible because an uncomfortable position will only be a distraction for us.
3. Determine the 'mantra' or focus of the reading for meditation
There are different thoughts in determining the way of meditation according to Christianity. Like John Main, one of the spiritual teachers, he suggests during meditation, we only mention one' mantra,' which is 'Maranatha.' 'Maranatha' means 'Jesus, come.' For John Main, this mantra invites the presence of Christ, and we don't need to involve our feelings which might even become a distraction.
Some people feel that we need a mantra for meditation, but it doesn't have to be 'Maranatha.' We can determine the spell ourselves. The mantra in question is a word, sentence, or even text that we think about and repeatedly chant during meditation. Mantras can be in the form of biblical verses about worship.
However, some think that we do not need the spell. Christ knows our hearts best. He is always present, and we can feel His presence at any time without any particular period. Before meditation, we need to determine a reading that we want to understand and deepen. We hope that through meditation, we can interpret the task according to God's will, such as explaining Bible verses.
4. Focusing your mind on God
Remember that Christian meditation aims to get to know Christ better. Therefore, the essence of the Christian way of meditation begins with focusing the mind on God. We can start by chanting the mantra that we have set repeatedly until we are focused.
If we don't prepare a mantra, we can start by singing hymns to God and doing proper worship according to the Bible. While chanting a mantra or singing praises, pray for focus from God.
5. Asking for help to be able to hear God's voice
We are only human. We will never be able to hear God's voice without His power. Therefore, sincerely pray for help to be able to hear God's voice. Ask Him to give you the Spirit of Understanding. Ask Him to open our ears. Ask Him to make us sensitive to God's voice. Humble ourselves and exalt God in this meditation.
6. Asking God for forgiveness
We are sinful human beings while God is holy, holy. He hates, hates sin. We must not forget to ask forgiveness for all the sins we have committed. As much as possible, mention our sins specifically. By asking for forgiveness, we are once again expressing our humility.
We are once again proclaiming the majesty and omnipotence of God. Remember that Allah has a will for everyone who comes to Him. Don't forget to give thanks to because we believe in the promise of salvation in the Bible. We can also do this by reading and mentioning Bible verses about repenting.
7. Saying mantras / Studying Bible reading
If we choose to chant a mantra, keep chanting the mantra over and over during meditation time. We can sing hymns in between the mantras we mention. Keep chanting the mantra until we feel able to communicate with God. Communicate with Him until we can understand His will.
If we do not prepare a mantra, study the Bible reading that we have prepared. We can deepen it by reading it, repeating it, writing it, and rewriting it. Meditation is not done to make us memorize the reading. Could you not focus on learning it? Focus on continuing to be shaped through the task. As we study the Bible, we can pray or sing hymns. By repeatedly reading and writing them, our minds can be opened more and more to understand what God wants. A sense of imagination can help us to understand better. For example, imagine the hunger felt by 5000 people when they followed Jesus and the feeling of fullness when they ate five loaves of bread and two fish.
8. Determine the action to be taken
Before ending this Christian way of meditation, decide what action we will take. This action must be a real action that we will do. Of course, we do not want the results of this meditation to be in vain. Again, meditation aims not only to open our minds but rather to become like Christ.
Therefore, do not stop meditation at any given time. Would you please continue with the concrete actions that we have determined and do in everyday life? Ask the Holy Spirit for help to keep reminding and enlightening us in doing it.
9. Giving thanks
When we can understand God's word, we should give thanks when we can communicate with God. Remember that we are sinners, and God is a holy God. We are not worthy of appearing before Him. However, He is willing to forgive all our sins and talk to us.
Whether it's meditation with mantras or Bible reading, the most important thing is the attitude of our hearts. Don't forget to keep humble yourself and give thanks. I hope this article blesses you.