Meditation Chapel
The following is an example of the normal meditation chapels we do here at Northern Michigan Christian School. This particular chapel is based of Psalm 63.
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Good afternoon. Today we’re going to do an excursion into the devotional reading of Scripture. One of the goals of the Christian life is to nurture a relationship with Jesus. Now this relationship is not built on emotions but it has to include your emotions. My marriage with my wife is not based on emotions it’s based on a covenant agreement we made with each other. However if emotions are never part of that relationship something’s wrong with my marriage. So, today our interaction with Scripture is based on nurturing those emotions for Jesus. This is not manipulation. This is not revivalism. This is none of those things. This is basic Christianity. We’re supposed to be in love with Jesus. More than that, we are supposed to love Jesus like God the Father loves Jesus (John 17:26).
How do we begin nurturing our emotions for Christ? There are no quick ten steps to loving Jesus. Just like everything else in the Christian faith, it’s a process. There is no magic formula, but there are principles by which we abide.
1) We learn to value to the presence of God.
The Bible talks about God’s presence in two different ways. There is the omnipresence of God--the concept of God being everywhere at once. This is the presence referred to by the psalmist when he said “Where can I go from your presence?” Then there is special presence. Over and over in Scripture we see God showing up in a way different from his omnipresence; at least we become aware of him in a special way. This is why David writes, “Do not cast me away from your presence” in Psalm 51.
2) We live in personal holiness.
This brings us to the next aspect of nurturing our relationship with Jesus; we are expected to live holy lives. David is crying out for God to not leave him because he just sinned. In Acts 3:19-21, Peter says if the people repent then God will come and refresh them.
3) We worship both corporately and when we are alone.
We enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. When we worship, God’s presence often comes and our perspective changes. We see things differently. Rarely do our circumstances change but we have grace to bear them (Psalm 73).
4) We value his voice.
God speaks to us all the time: Scripture, prayer, church, friends, circumstances, etc. We have to learn to listen and discern his voice.
5) We learn to wait on God.
We cannot make God show up. We can’t make him answer prayers. This isn’t some incantation for controlling the spiritual world; He is sovereign. We can only position ourselves in such a way that when he comes we are ready. (Parable of the 10 virgins)
How do we listen?
Of course, this brings up another question: How do we listen? The simple answer is “faith”?
-Absolutely everything in the Christian life is based off faith.
-We understand after we believe.
-We receive God’s grace through it.
-We come into his presence through it.
-We are justified through it.
-We receive God’s promises through it.
-Faith is the plate off of which everything in the Christian life is eaten.
-Without the plate, you can’t go through the buffet line.
-We have faith in the nature of God.
-We have faith in what he is like and what he has done for us on the cross.
-Not blind wishful thinking.
Our actions are based off what the Bible says, not our situations or our emotions.
-In the Bible, God says that we know his voice.
-It says that he desires to have relationship with us.
-It says that we are the priests and prophets to this world.
-It says we are the saints of God, not because of anything we did, but because of what he did for us.
-Because we believe the Bible is true, we use it, not our circumstances, as the basis for how we live our lives.
-You may not feel like a saint but you are. You may not feel righteous (and you may not be acting righteously) but, in Christ, you are.
-You may have never heard God before in prayer, but the Bible says you can;
-it says you already do.
Not presumption or divination
-When we pray and listen for a response, we are not entering into presumption. We are stepping into the promises of God by faith. We are coming boldly before the throne of our heavenly Father who is madly in love with us. We come respectfully, but we make no apologies because Christ’s work on the cross is complete. We do not need to crucify him anew.
Our ability to hear
-Your ability to hear can be hindered but not God’s ability to speak.
-The noise in your head and heart can drown out God’s whisper to you.
-There are ways you can increase your ability to listen.
-You can fast and pray regularly.
-You can fill your mind with good, pure, and holy things.
-You can read your Bible regularly.
-You can practice listening.
-Your ability to hear God’s voice is almost like a muscle.
-Your faith is like a muscle.
-If you use it continuously, it will grow strong and work well
-your ability to interact with the Holy Spirit will increase.
-If you do not use it, it becomes weak and does not work well
-your ability to interact with the Holy Spirit decreases.
-Doing your devotions, praying regularly, reading your Bible—those are not means to earn anything from God.
-They are a means of increasing your ability to have a relationship with the God of the universe.
God’s language
-God’s first language is not English or Hebrew or Greek.
-Often he speaks to us in our imagination.
-Pictures, images, ideas, songs, impressions.
-The usual way people experience the still small voice of the Spirit.
-Expect to get it wrong sometimes. That’s a normal process in learning.
-Even the Old Testament prophets had schools they went to.
-We always interpret our impressions of what God said with humility and we subject them to the interpretation of the community.
-This keeps us from going off the deep end.
-God will never contradict Scripture.
Meeting Jesus in Scripture
Reading the Bible is great; it’s a good book. However, reading the Bible doesn’t mean you are letting God speak to your heart. The Pharisees knew the Bible inside and out. There are plenty of unbelievers who know the Bible.
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)
“To have faith in the Word, Scripture must not grasp us in our critical thought, but in the life of the soul” (Abraham Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit p84).
Remember, meditation is simply the art of thinking deeply. So, when we meditate on a psalm today, we are going to reflect on, contemplate and think deeply about that passage of Scripture and what the Lord wants to say to us through it.
[Hand out the meditation questions worksheet and go over the questions with the group.]
-This is simply a tool to help you as you begin the practice of meditation. Once you become more adept, feel free to use whatever tool works best for you.
Do #1 together as a group.
Use the imagery of psalm 63 to focus our imaginations on Christ.
-God pulling us close to him under the shadow of his wings.
-God satisfies our hearts like good food.
Meditation Questions—modified Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) by Graham Cooke.
1) Begin by finding a place of stillness before the Lord. Use your imagination to help calm your heart and focus your mind on Christ.
2) Read through the passage once, slowly.
a) Underline the verses that catch your attention. If a word or phrase seems to jump out at you, underline it.
b) Interact with the Scripture; pray it back to the Lord.
-Pray that your life and desires would line up with the passage.
-Thank him for the truths you find and ask him to reveal them to you.
3) Read slowly through the verses you underlined. Like waves crashing onto a shore, let the words of the Scripture crash onto your spirit.
a) What are you hearing? What are you feeling? What impressions do you have? Write them down.
4) Read the passage again for the final time.
a) Meditate on it. Turn the words and ideas over and over in your heart.
b) Is there something God wants you to do with this passage? Is there something to which He is calling you? Write it down.
c) Pray silently. Tell God the thoughts this Scripture is bringing to your mind. Ask Him for His thoughts. Write down your conversation—as if you and God were sitting in a coffee shop—two good friends, sharing.
Psalm 63
1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
How do we begin nurturing our emotions for Christ? There are no quick ten steps to loving Jesus. Just like everything else in the Christian faith, it’s a process. There is no magic formula, but there are principles by which we abide.
1) We learn to value to the presence of God.
The Bible talks about God’s presence in two different ways. There is the omnipresence of God--the concept of God being everywhere at once. This is the presence referred to by the psalmist when he said “Where can I go from your presence?” Then there is special presence. Over and over in Scripture we see God showing up in a way different from his omnipresence; at least we become aware of him in a special way. This is why David writes, “Do not cast me away from your presence” in Psalm 51.
2) We live in personal holiness.
This brings us to the next aspect of nurturing our relationship with Jesus; we are expected to live holy lives. David is crying out for God to not leave him because he just sinned. In Acts 3:19-21, Peter says if the people repent then God will come and refresh them.
3) We worship both corporately and when we are alone.
We enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. When we worship, God’s presence often comes and our perspective changes. We see things differently. Rarely do our circumstances change but we have grace to bear them (Psalm 73).
4) We value his voice.
God speaks to us all the time: Scripture, prayer, church, friends, circumstances, etc. We have to learn to listen and discern his voice.
5) We learn to wait on God.
We cannot make God show up. We can’t make him answer prayers. This isn’t some incantation for controlling the spiritual world; He is sovereign. We can only position ourselves in such a way that when he comes we are ready. (Parable of the 10 virgins)
How do we listen?
Of course, this brings up another question: How do we listen? The simple answer is “faith”?
-Absolutely everything in the Christian life is based off faith.
-We understand after we believe.
-We receive God’s grace through it.
-We come into his presence through it.
-We are justified through it.
-We receive God’s promises through it.
-Faith is the plate off of which everything in the Christian life is eaten.
-Without the plate, you can’t go through the buffet line.
-We have faith in the nature of God.
-We have faith in what he is like and what he has done for us on the cross.
-Not blind wishful thinking.
Our actions are based off what the Bible says, not our situations or our emotions.
-In the Bible, God says that we know his voice.
-It says that he desires to have relationship with us.
-It says that we are the priests and prophets to this world.
-It says we are the saints of God, not because of anything we did, but because of what he did for us.
-Because we believe the Bible is true, we use it, not our circumstances, as the basis for how we live our lives.
-You may not feel like a saint but you are. You may not feel righteous (and you may not be acting righteously) but, in Christ, you are.
-You may have never heard God before in prayer, but the Bible says you can;
-it says you already do.
Not presumption or divination
-When we pray and listen for a response, we are not entering into presumption. We are stepping into the promises of God by faith. We are coming boldly before the throne of our heavenly Father who is madly in love with us. We come respectfully, but we make no apologies because Christ’s work on the cross is complete. We do not need to crucify him anew.
Our ability to hear
-Your ability to hear can be hindered but not God’s ability to speak.
-The noise in your head and heart can drown out God’s whisper to you.
-There are ways you can increase your ability to listen.
-You can fast and pray regularly.
-You can fill your mind with good, pure, and holy things.
-You can read your Bible regularly.
-You can practice listening.
-Your ability to hear God’s voice is almost like a muscle.
-Your faith is like a muscle.
-If you use it continuously, it will grow strong and work well
-your ability to interact with the Holy Spirit will increase.
-If you do not use it, it becomes weak and does not work well
-your ability to interact with the Holy Spirit decreases.
-Doing your devotions, praying regularly, reading your Bible—those are not means to earn anything from God.
-They are a means of increasing your ability to have a relationship with the God of the universe.
God’s language
-God’s first language is not English or Hebrew or Greek.
-Often he speaks to us in our imagination.
-Pictures, images, ideas, songs, impressions.
-The usual way people experience the still small voice of the Spirit.
-Expect to get it wrong sometimes. That’s a normal process in learning.
-Even the Old Testament prophets had schools they went to.
-We always interpret our impressions of what God said with humility and we subject them to the interpretation of the community.
-This keeps us from going off the deep end.
-God will never contradict Scripture.
Meeting Jesus in Scripture
Reading the Bible is great; it’s a good book. However, reading the Bible doesn’t mean you are letting God speak to your heart. The Pharisees knew the Bible inside and out. There are plenty of unbelievers who know the Bible.
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)
“To have faith in the Word, Scripture must not grasp us in our critical thought, but in the life of the soul” (Abraham Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit p84).
Remember, meditation is simply the art of thinking deeply. So, when we meditate on a psalm today, we are going to reflect on, contemplate and think deeply about that passage of Scripture and what the Lord wants to say to us through it.
[Hand out the meditation questions worksheet and go over the questions with the group.]
-This is simply a tool to help you as you begin the practice of meditation. Once you become more adept, feel free to use whatever tool works best for you.
Do #1 together as a group.
Use the imagery of psalm 63 to focus our imaginations on Christ.
-God pulling us close to him under the shadow of his wings.
-God satisfies our hearts like good food.
Meditation Questions—modified Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) by Graham Cooke.
1) Begin by finding a place of stillness before the Lord. Use your imagination to help calm your heart and focus your mind on Christ.
2) Read through the passage once, slowly.
a) Underline the verses that catch your attention. If a word or phrase seems to jump out at you, underline it.
b) Interact with the Scripture; pray it back to the Lord.
-Pray that your life and desires would line up with the passage.
-Thank him for the truths you find and ask him to reveal them to you.
3) Read slowly through the verses you underlined. Like waves crashing onto a shore, let the words of the Scripture crash onto your spirit.
a) What are you hearing? What are you feeling? What impressions do you have? Write them down.
4) Read the passage again for the final time.
a) Meditate on it. Turn the words and ideas over and over in your heart.
b) Is there something God wants you to do with this passage? Is there something to which He is calling you? Write it down.
c) Pray silently. Tell God the thoughts this Scripture is bringing to your mind. Ask Him for His thoughts. Write down your conversation—as if you and God were sitting in a coffee shop—two good friends, sharing.
Psalm 63
1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
