Guidelines for Personal Meditation

Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, September 30 a believer's ability to live a life of holiness is directly connected to the time spent with the Lord. Stay tuned for some simple guidelines for personal meditation. If I could tell you this morning you help to alleviate some of the pressure a lot of attention. All the stress. The quiet euro turbulent storm inside and to give you a little different perspective on life. I wonder if you'd be interested enough that you would listen and then you'd be interested enough to get yourself a pencil and a piece of paper. The guidelines for your personal meditation money I give you little background of what's happening. The first verse of chapter 7 of second Samuel says it came about when the king lived in the house, the Lord had given him rest on every side from all of his enemies. So David spent most of his life fighting had now come to rest Atlanta been conquered and now he's living in this beautiful see the house that he has provided for himself and he begins to think about the fact of the ark of the covenant is still in the Big Ten so he talks to Nathan who is the prophet, and also his friend and also shares with them his concern then the Scripture says that Nathan spoke with God about David and God gave to Nathan a message to give to David and beginning in verse eight it says now now therefore, thus usual say to my servant David thus says the Lord of host and then versus eight down through verse 17. Many times he says I have done this and I will do this and so forth for David and he starts off in verse eight in a beautiful way saying, tell him this, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheet that you should be ruler over my people Israel, and then he talks about all the things that he's done so when Nathan goes to David and shares with him what God says David's response is to be found in verse 18, then David, the king went in and sat before the Lord, and he said who MIO Lord God and what is my house that thou has brought me thus far. So here is David sitting before the Lord, and he wasn't sitting in a chair like you and I would sit in, but he was kneeling on his knees and sitting back on his heels like you would normally do and just sitting before the Lord and listening and talking to him. That is David was meditating on David meditation was nothing new to him because all of his life, since he'd known God Jehovah. He knew what it meant to meditate for example you read in the Psalms. How many times he's listening and talking to the father out in the fields oftentimes running from Saul running for his life, dodging javelins, fleeing for his life, but David knew how to meditate upon God, it is the one activity that all the be the number one priority in the life of every believer, but it is the one activity. Satan will do all of you to death to keep you from doing what you see when you begin to examine and think about the rewards and the results of meditating. Then you begin to realize that it can't be something secondary in your life, but something primary so I like to do is not like.

First of all to make for recommendations to you about your own personal private meditation before the Lord first recommendation is that you review the past, it may be what happened that day or that week, or maybe a series of incidences that happen in your life because you seek one of the reasons that God wants us to review the past is if you will review the past that God's work in your life you will see patterns. There's something about reviewing your past medicine not not majoring on the things that are not right about the past, but majoring on the way God has operated in your life in the past. Number two.

Reflecting upon God is one thing to review the past that must be followed by reflecting upon God. Listen to what David said here as he begins to talk to the Lord, he says. And yet this was insignificant in the eyes. Oh Lord God talking to Advair than verse 20 and again. What more can David say to the about Norstar 70 Lord God for the sake of thy word, and according to thine own heart, thou has done all this greatness to let thy servant know that when you begin to reflect upon God. The three things that you not reflect upon first of all, we all reflect upon the greatness of God. Secondly, the grace of God and third of the goodness of God while the greatness of God.

Listen when you begin to reflect and meditate upon the greatness of God's very name Jehovah Yahweh everlasting Elohim, infinite in power. Absolute and faithfulness and when you begin to meditate upon all the names for God or many of them guess what happens. This gigantic mountain Kilimanjaro mountain of trouble and heartache before you as you meditate upon the greatness of God. You know what happens. That thing grows smaller than an anthill. You begin to say what happened to the problem. Where's the burden where's the obstacle because you see in light of the presence of the greatness of God.

There is nothing impossible in your life so reflecting upon him is vital if your time of meditation is going to be profitable because you see why major all the difficulties majoring on difficulties. You know what happens when you major only get larger and larger and larger and grander and greater and more threatening all the time as you major your focus your attention upon God, they become smaller in the light of the omnipotence of a loving God, whom as you review your past does not approve of the that he is accepted you the way you are. He loves you has forgiven you, and is good and gracious and kind.

The third thing is remembering God's promises. Listen to what he said in verse 28 having sat before the Lord, meditating upon them.

He says now Lord God, thou art God, and thy words of truth, and thou has promised this good thing to the server.

That is, that his family and his name would be an everlasting name of the nation of Israel. So he's reminding God of his promises.

Here he's recalling remembering the promises when you and I are kneeling before the Lord of sitting before him and just meditating in being quiet before him. It's good to review the past grade to reflect upon him but likewise, to remember the promises of God. He says he's promises PCs promises provisionally's promises protection and these promises belong to every single one of his children. You see what happens when we begin to meditate and we focus upon the problems we become less and less secure, more and more threatened when we remember and reflect upon God, and remember the promises that he's given to us in his word. What happens all the things that threaten us begin to dissipate right in their presence. David understood that as he focused upon God his fears, his frustrations, his anxieties, something began to happen to. He knew what it meant to sit before the Lord and be quiet in his presence, but likewise the Bible says that he may request and so that's the fourth thing that is as you sit before the Lord in meditation before him. It isn't all just listening, though that's part of it but there is a time to make a request. In verse 29 he says now therefore, may it please the need to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before they not think about that. What a tremendous request. He made here is David sitting before the Lord. He's not saying, Lord, would you just bless my family, he says, would you bless five servant that it may, that is, that the house of our servant may continue for up before the the house of David King David was still talking about the nation of Israel still sees him as the great King. So God answered his prayer. So if you are going to have a time of meditation.

It's going to be profitable for you. You can't rush you in a hurry and senility jump then want to things here to prepare request to three versus right quick quick prayer and own the supper that's not what God wants, he says he sat before the Lord and as he sat before he reviewed the past and for you. It may be just that they just reviewing how God's work in your life just would not be easy. Every time he review and see what God is in the past.

Notable CFA or you may have had a very difficult day. You may be asking Lord why so many difficulties today.

It may be the trying to say something. Reviewing the past, reflecting upon has his greatness, his goodness and his grace toward youth. Remembering the promises he's made to you and then making your request to him are the second thingamajig notice there is this that is the requirements. One of the requirements for sitting before the Lord and meditating upon him so I want to give you seven of them. If you just jot these down and I'm going to give you the Scriptures, and I hope you jot these down beside the first one is this what you think about meditating upon the Lord, the first requirement is a season of time.

It may be five minutes. It may be 30 minutes.

It may be an hour about how long.

Listen, the time will be determined by your purpose. If you keep in distress about something. It may be longer if you just want to get quiet for a few moments just sort of balance yourself out leveled yourself out in a given situation. It may be just a matter of minutes.

It depends upon your purpose for that period of meditation, but first of all, a season of time and ability says in Psalm 62 five my soul, wait there only upon God for my expectation is from him and him alone time. Secondly, and that is stillness, the stillness does what the stillness brings me to a point where I can concentrate a little time set apart just to concentrate.

You see, we set a few moments ago reviewing the past. Reflecting upon God is difficult for me to reflect upon him with a lot of interference about doing that driving down the expressway on the middle of a whole lot of other folks who talking and making lots of noise but just being still. You see, for some people that would be a great challenge you made to sit still live still what you mean. I'm talking about just what he said. He said they still and know that God you know why sometimes we miss God's most beautiful interventions in our life because we are so busy and so distracted by other things we can't seem we can hear and we can feel it when not sensitive to it. The stillness, the Bible says that Jesus, if you look at the pattern of his life. He understood what it meant to be still before his father. When is the last time you ever set aside a little time just to sit meditate upon the Lord just focusing upon him and a lot of the things that you're facing in your life you may have 25 things that pop up in your mind, but what you do in meditation. As you bring each one of them against the background of God's greatness and goodness and grace toward youth and after a few moments he was there with. Thank you Lord you take care of that next you bring that up against his greatness and goodness and grace is thank you father take care that you see you can ever bring anything up against the greatness of God. That will leave you worried horrid in your spirit fearful and anxious if you see against the background of God, the greatness, the omnipotence, the omniscience, the omnipresence the holiness the righteousness dialogue and tender mercy he has for you.

Stillness is a key number three seclusion and that is not only just being quiet, being still.

But seclusion Mark chapter 1 verse 35 says that early in the morning.

It was the habit of the life of Jesus to get up early before day and go away alone and talk to the file. You see, he felt the need for seclusion just to be away and listen everybody needs to get by themselves totally alone at times. That's wonderful for husbands and wives of love each other. The Fellowship of HMS would all be but there are times when even the need to be alone and separate from each other because if there alone and separated meditating before God, nothing will. So drive them closer. The deeper oneness of intimacy with each other as meditating separately before God.

You see, the reason sometimes God wants us alone idling your favorite prayer partner, not even there to be around. God wants your absolute undivided complete unhindered attention focused just on him. That's why whoever you are, the Lord Jesus Christ deserves your time some of your time.

All to him self. The next word is silence.

And in Isaiah chapter 30 and here is surely one of those verses that you are the mark down your Bible somewhere because it's such a precious verse about at this very thing that we're talking about.

He says in this particular passage, Isaiah chapter 30 and verse 15 he says in quietness and in confidence is our strength in quietness and in confidence is our string that is when you and I meditating upon the Lord. Sometimes we will talk to them. As we said before is review the past reflect upon him remember his promises then will make some request, but oftentimes he wants us to sit before him in quietness. Listen stillness, seclusion and silence before God. I think about this quality, save you, he said to glorify him. The process of doing so. It is his desire to develop a relationship with you, which he began the moment USA and so he's in the process of growing as a building relationship into our lives so that we will love and understand who is as he loves and knows us perfectly and clearly living in us because he loves us to live his life out lives of the people because that's the way he shares his love through you and me so he wants your undivided attention. The next word is self-control and that is the first time you so I think I'm gonna try that you may be fidgety and you may feel foolish you so here I sit is nothing going on all yes there is self-control.

He says that Paul says in verse review chapter 9 verse 27 he said he had to work at keeping his body under control and when you begin to meditate. The biggest problem you may have is keeping your attention upon God.

If you have that problem turned to the Psalms and say Lord now.

I just have a hard time keeping my mind on what's going on here so I just want to get in the Psalm here just to get my attention on you and what you will be able to in a few moments is to start reading and and and begin.

Just think about him. Let me ask you something.

Can you name me a bigger subject. Think about this. Can you name any subject.

Of all the vocabulary that that is encompassing the whole world with all the locations and all the tribes all the nationalist can you think of any word that has ever been in existence or ever will be. That has as much depth and meaning behind it is the word God, no, well then if that's true, don't you think that's enough to meditate on to his just how great he is in his goodness and his love and his mercy. But you have to work together bit the next word is sensitive in Proverbs chapter 8 and the verse 34. A beautiful verse.

Listen to what he says in this eighth chapter of Proverbs. He's is blessed is the man who listens to me.

Blessed is the man who listens to me, stillness, seclusion, silent on this. His body under control, listening to God. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, watching at my doorpost.

A man whose heart and life is focused upon God. God is the supreme obsession of his life. God is the priority of his life and spending time being quiet before him is the number one part because you see a wise man knows that's the priority time of his life with. He spends it that we are not the next word is submission that is a submissive spirit. Humble yourselves under the hand of the Lord God and he will exalt you and he says in James chapter 4 verse seven. Speaking of having a submissive spirit, which is submit ourselves to God. I think about this. If you are rebellious in your heart and you are insisting on having your own way you want.

Meditate. Because think about it.

If you are in stillness and silence in seclusion and being quiet before God.

You know what's happening. God has your attention of all the things that Jesus Christ wants above everything else in your life. You know what he wants. He just wants you loving him, focusing your attention upon him believing him so that you may follow him know that all he's prepared for you. You will be able to receive. Thank you for listening to guidelines for personal meditation if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley more intense ministries and have started writing this podcast is a presentation of intense ministries Atlanta, Georgia