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How to meditate on God's words

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tonychanyt

tonychanyt

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Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
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H1897-meditate occurs 25 times.

Brown-Driver-Briggs:
1 of inarticulate sounds:
a. growl, of lion growling over prey
b. groan, moan, in distress (like dove)

2 utter

3. a. (soliloquize) meditate, muse
b. imagine, devise
Click to expand...
It was an active verb with the mouth or mind. Even with our eyes, Psalm 119:
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
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Is it okay to empty for mind when meditating?

No, Matthew 12:
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
Click to expand...
By emptying the mind, I mean you create an empty spot in the mind, waiting for it to be filled by anything while quieting the mind means to fill your mind with peace. Quieting the mind is okay.

Instead of emptying your mind, Philippians 4:
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
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1 Corinthians 2:
16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
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We engage our mind and spirit to meditate on the word of God so that we will act according to his words.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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tonychanyt said:
Is it okay to empty for mind when meditating?

No, Matthew 12:
By emptying the mind, I mean you create an empty spot in the mind, waiting for it to be filled by anything while quieting the mind means to fill your mind with peace. Quieting the mind is okay.
Click to expand...
The quote from Matthew refers to a persons who has been delivered from possession. Does it not? It does not speak to meditation.

"Emptying" the mind would have to mean complete unconsciousness.

Quiet awareness, on the other hand, can involve inner silence. What do I mean by that? Lack of discursive thought. Silencing that inner voice we talk to ourselves with.

There is a wide variety of mental states. We can either focus on something, like a word of scripture. Or sit in an open awareness of God's presence, resting in quiet.
 
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tonychanyt

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Akita Suggagaki said:
The quote from Matthew refers to a persons who has been delivered from possession. Does it not? It does not speak to meditation.
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Right.

Akita Suggagaki said:
"Emptying" the mind would have to mean complete unconsciousness.
Click to expand...
Not according to some Buddhists.

Akita Suggagaki said:
Quiet awareness, on the other hand, can involve inner silence. What do I mean by that? Lack of discursive thought.
Click to expand...
Right.

Akita Suggagaki said:
Silencing that inner voice we talk to ourselves with.
Click to expand...
Something like that :)

Akita Suggagaki said:
There is a wide variety of mental states. We can either focus on something, like a word of scripture. Or sit in an open awareness of God's presence, resting in quiet.
Click to expand...
Right.
 
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Maria Billingsley

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tonychanyt said:
Joshua 1:8

H1897-meditate occurs 25 times.

Brown-Driver-Briggs:

It was an active verb with the mouth or mind. Even with our eyes, Psalm 119:


Is it okay to empty for mind when meditating?

No, Matthew 12:

By emptying the mind, I mean you create an empty spot in the mind, waiting for it to be filled by anything while quieting the mind means to fill your mind with peace. Quieting the mind is okay.

Instead of emptying your mind, Philippians 4:

1 Corinthians 2:


We engage our mind and spirit to meditate on the word of God so that we will act according to his words.
Click to expand...
Comming out of Eastern mediation practices in the 80's I am well aware of the types of meditations out there. When I read the word meditate in scripture I only understand it to mean " think about it".
Thanks for sharing !
Blessings
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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tonychanyt said:
Not according to some Buddhists.
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Right. But when Buddhist says almost anything we don't really know what they intend to mean.. At least it seems to me.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

Akita Suggagaki

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Maria Billingsley said:
When I read the word meditate in scripture I only understand it to mean " think about it".
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I think you are right. More specific inner practices don't seem to be mentioned much in the Bible.
But stillness and quiet and rest and vigilance, sobriety and alertness are mentioned and I think are inner practices much like the "Meditation" techniques now popular.

Buddhist Mindfulness and Christian Vigilance.

It is my understanding that apophatic theology would tend to reject God as an object. Both the Cloud of Unknowing and Eckhart talking about "letting go of God", for instance. There are different forms of Buddhist meditation. The one I am familiar with, is simply putting ones attention on...
www.christianforums.com www.christianforums.com
 
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tonychanyt said:
Joshua 1:8

H1897-meditate occurs 25 times.

Brown-Driver-Briggs:

It was an active verb with the mouth or mind. Even with our eyes, Psalm 119:


Is it okay to empty for mind when meditating?

No, Matthew 12:

By emptying the mind, I mean you create an empty spot in the mind, waiting for it to be filled by anything while quieting the mind means to fill your mind with peace. Quieting the mind is okay.

Instead of emptying your mind, Philippians 4:

1 Corinthians 2:


We engage our mind and spirit to meditate on the word of God so that we will act according to his words.
Click to expand...
It is referring to when someone is reading God’s word and they are quietly say what they are reading as they are reading it.
 
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