Christian Meditation

Meditation for Christians

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Some Christians are wary of or reject meditation, on the grounds that the roots of meditation lie in non-Christian influences such as Buddhism.

Whilst meditation has been widely used in eastern spirituality for centuries, there is nothing inherently non-Christian about the practice of meditation, and it is increasingly being accepted as a mainstream practice in the promotion of wellbeing and mental health.

Christian meditation can be described as a peaceful focus on God. Christian meditation can focus on a single word (as in the example below), or on a verse from the Bible for example.

The Bible makes many references to meditating.

May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD Psalm 104:34

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD Psalm 19:14

The World Community for Christian Meditation in the United Kingdom offers this example:

How To Meditate

Choose a quiet place and time where you will not be disturbed. Sit down.Sit still and upright, comfortable and alert, with your back straight.
Close your eyes lightly.
Breathe calmly and regularly.
Silently, interiorly, begin to say a single word.
We recommend the prayer-phrase maranatha.*
Recite it as four syllables of equal length - ma-ra-na-tha.
Listen to it as you say it, gently but continuously.
Do not think or imagine anything - spiritual or otherwise.

If thoughts and images come, these are distractions at the time of meditation: keep returning to simply saying the word.

*Maranatha is an ancient Christian prayer word. It means 'Come, Lord' from the Aramaic language of Jesus' time, and is found in the New Testament. When meditating, use it simply as a focus for your attention, without thinking about the meaning of it.