Chewing with our Hearts Open

"And, on His Law he meditates day and night."

Meditation gets a bad rap in contemporary Christian culture. We have been so thorough in our repudiation of any word, concept or idea that might be confused with another religion, that we have done great harm to the commandments of God in the Scriptures. I have read Christian authors who are so phobic of being "new age" that they have killed every Biblical practice that incidentally uses the same verbiage.

We must keep in mind that much that is written about meditation is not new age, but old age. It dates back three thousand years to a man name David who wrote much about the importance of setting the mind on the LORD and his Word. As Christians, we may need to re-define and refine terms we use so as to be thoroughly Biblical and not be confused with the practices of other religions. However, to repudiate these terms simply because they have been borrowed by other religious traditions is ridiculous.

In my reading of the Psalms the word meditate pops off the page often. The Hebrew word for meditate has connotations of "ruminating" or "chewing on" God's law. The word picture here might be one of letting God's Word sink inside the mouth of the mind and not simply taking a quick taste, but chewing on it. Sucking the flavor, the significance, the meaning and the personal application out of it. And, keeping that God-food in our mouths long enough for it to begin to digest deep down inside our person bringing life, wholeness and direction into our lives. If we are feasting on the Word in this way, I believe we've begun to learn how to meditate.

In a fast food culture where our own tasting, chewing and eating habits leave something to be desired, I assume that our meditative habits need some reformation to.

How do you meditate? When do you meditate? Do you see this as a counter-cultural practice in an "eat and run" society? I'm interested to hear your reply.