Reclaiming The Lost Art Of Biblical MeditationSample

Digest the Thoughts of the Bible

Reading and hearing the Bible is like eating it—it enters into our bodies, our spirits. When we meditate on what we’ve read and heard, we’re chewing and digesting the material until it’s assimilated into our systems, disseminated throughout our personalities, and actually becomes us.

In Luke 24, Jesus joined two of His disciples as they trekked from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It was the afternoon of the first Easter, and the two were perplexed by the brutal death of their Messiah and the puzzling rumors of His resurrection. They heard footsteps behind them, and a mysterious Stranger drew near and engaged them in conversation. He listened to their queries and began telling them what they yearned to know.

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

After arriving at their home and breaking bread with them, Jesus vanished from sight. But later, as the two disciples discussed their never-to-be-forgotten walk, they said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (verse 32). Verse 45 goes on to say that Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the Scripture.”

Notice how Jesus opened the Scriptures to their minds and He opened their minds to the Scripture. What Jesus did for them, the Holy Spirit does for us. The apostle Paul said, “We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12).*

Bible study was never meant to be merely academic. It’s relational. Transformational. It’s not simply studying a book; it’s fellowshipping with a Friend.

Today’s Tip

Keep a meditation journal. Every day list the date and write down the verse or reference the Lord gives you. As you study the passage, jot down your thoughts about it. Over time, you’ll develop your own informal Bible commentary.

* James M. Gray, How to Master the English Bible (Edinburgh and London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1907), 53.