Meditate – percolate (5)

‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…More to be desired are they than gold…sweeter also than honey…by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer’ (v.7-8, 10-14 NKJV). This prayer shows that the psalmist thought of meditation as an absolute necessity to his spiritual life. That was true for him in his day, and it’s just as vital for us today. We need to bathe our minds each day in the waters of God’s Word so that our words and our thoughts are pleasing to Him. We can use any scrap of time we have – the start of the day, at break time, during lunch, travelling home, before falling asleep at night – to reflect on the truth of God’s Word. The process of meditating on the Scriptures – just letting the Word of God filter and percolate through our minds and into our lives – can bring about immense changes within us. The most effective Bible reading doesn’t call for snapshots, but for long exposures.