“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.” Psalm 19:1
Praying the Bible (see the book by Don Whitney) is a wonderful way to enrich your time with the Lord. Almost any passage of Scripture can be turned into a prayer, but the Psalms are especially well designed for this discipline. Psalm 1 exhorts us to “meditate on His law day and night.” Reading a Psalm slowly and reading it again, verse by verse, praying those ideas and phrases back to the Lord enables you to practice Biblical Meditation (come Sunday 7/10/22 for more!).
Eastern meditation is about emptying the mind. Biblical meditation is about filling your mind with God’s truth.
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
Significantly, this verse comes immediately after Philippians 4:6-7 where Paul exhorts believers not to worry but instead to pray, thereby experiencing the peace of God that passes understanding. In other words, the progression is:
- Stop focusing on your worries and fears (that’s meditating on the wrong things!).
- Instead bring those worries and fears to the Lord in prayer.
- And fill your mind with the truth about God from His Word.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:1-2
Central to the Christian life is this process of “being transformed by the renewal of your minds” (Rom. 12:2) and “taking every thought captive, making it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
“Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24
Meditating on God’s Word is the key discipline for this kind of mind-renewal. Our thoughts are naturally set on earthly things, and if we aren’t careful, on sinful things. It takes effort throughout the day to set our minds on things above. We need to resist and reject old forms of thinking that keep us captive to our pre-Christian habits. And we need to replace those patterns with new channels in the brain that know and delight in God’s Word.
Psalm 19 is a beautiful invitation to meditate on both God’ World and God’s Word. And don’t miss how the Psalm concludes:
“How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.“ Psalm 19:11-14
How can we keep our thoughts and words pleasing to the Lord? By meditating on His Word! May the Psalms we study this summer serve as catalysts for your personal prayer time – leading you to read and reflect on a Psalm every day. Dr. Don Whitney came to our church in Louisville one time to lead his seminar on praying the Bible (before he had published the book) and he shared this method for choosing a Psalm every day. Whatever day of the month it is, flip to that Psalm. If it’s the 10th, start with Psalm 10. Skim it. Then add 30 and skim Psalm 40. Add 30 again, chapter 70. With this “add 30” method you will have five Psalms to choose from every day. One of them is likely to speak to your heart and your need that day.
Pray the Psalms and as you grow in that habit the whole Bible will become a guide to your prayer life!