The thing you need most is often the hardest thing to come by; at
least fifteen or twenty minutes (and preferably much more) of peace. The more
you need meditation in your life, the harder it will be to obtain it. That’s
what “stress” means. Do what you have to. Jesus is patiently standing by, longing
to talk with you.
Once you have a comfortable spot and some quiet time to yourself,
you’re ready to begin. Meditation can be done anywhere; a comfortable chair,
the floor, even a tree branch outdoors is great if you can manage it. Just don’t
lie down; you’ll go to sleep. (Meditating is a great way to go to sleep in the
arms of God, but that’s a different goal!)
You have already asked the Lord to clear your mind of the
cluttered, worried, and (let’s face it) self-centered thoughts that usually
live there. But you’ll find it’s not as easy as you wish to cooperate with Him.
Your mind is so used to scrambling, on six levels, at ninety miles an hour,
(remember the “chatter”?) that it takes practice to shift into neutral. An
almost universal complaint of beginners at meditation is, “I can’t do it. My
mind just wanders!” Remember, this is not a performance. No one is grading you
on how perfectly or how quickly you can free your mind from turmoil. Don’t get upset
or impatient with yourself. Tense meditation is a contradiction in terms; it
can’t be done! As in every other facet of Christian life, we must pray for the
faith to let go and let God do it for us.
Remember the old saying about “not thinking about the green-eyed
monkey”? As soon as someone says that, what do you think of? It is impossible
to “not think” about anything. Remember our Bible study on meditation. Others
may try to meditate on nothingness or empty their mind, but Christians must
meditate on something, actually, Someone. Fix Jesus’ face in your mind’s eye.
Don’t worry, He knows you don’t know what He really looks like, and He doesn’t
mind how you imagine Him. Apparently in Bible times, people meditated out loud.
So you could say, or murmur, or whisper one of the names of God. Or you could
sing. It is well known that music goes to the heart as nothing else can do. If
you’re a visual person, gaze at a lake or stream, or a lit candle. The
important thing is to think of something that will help you to concentrate on
Him. Not on thoughts about Him or to Him or from Him, not yet, but just on Him. This is where the
breathing exercise above can come in. You can concentrate on your breathing
going in and out. When intruding thoughts come in, (and they will), calmly and
patiently turn your mind back to its focal point. “In the strength of God the
imagination can be disciplined to dwell upon things which are pure and heavenly.”
(White, Mind, Character, and
Personality Vol 2. 1978, p 595)
One more point. The healthfulness of our lifestyle has a bearing
on our devotional life. Not only can a clear mind pray better, but it can
listen and obey much better as well. But if you are not living as healthfully
as you might, certainly don’t let that stop you from meditating. How else will
He enable you to overcome that appetite—or whatever the problem may be? Here’s
something you can do every day, especially before meditating, that will help to
clear your mind even if the bloodstream is a little more sluggish than it ought
to be. Take several deep breaths, (preferably outside or in front of an open
window), inhaling from the abdomen, not from the chest. Exhale slowly and
completely, to clean stale air out of your lungs and get your circulation
going. Then with eyes closed, begin to breathe slowly and evenly, consciously
relaxing your body, especially the muscles of the face, neck, and shoulders,
where tension collects. Take God at His word when He says He’ll grant you His peace;
feel your tension, anger, depression, busyness, or whatever, all drain away.
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