At our annual Fall retreat, i had a chance to share about Christian meditation for a few minutes and send us all out for a spiritual exercise. A surprising number of people found that very helpful and have asked me about solitude and meditation. So, I will share a few thoughts.
1. Getting still and centered in our inner person is a good bit of work, but once you get the knack, it becomes pretty easy. There are barriers of “to-do” lists, body discomfort, emotional issues and many other types of distractions that come knocking the minute we try to enter solitude. Yes, those things do come knocking. But, don’t answer the door. This antsy stage passes quite quickly if you just hang in there.
2. Don’t read or write. Both of these activities, while helpful, don’t help meditation. Solitude is action free.
3. Don’t try to empty yourself of desires or beat yourself up for your shortcomings. Instead, fill yourself with God. To do this, I suggest the positive and heartfelt repetition of a prayer or scripture. I often use the Jesus prayer to center: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me.” Other times, I pray, “Jesus I am so glad that you are here and that I have this time to be with you.” Or, pray something like, “God, help me to be full of you. Fill me with your Spirit.” slowly and meaningfully repeating prayers like this help you dial into God’s forever presence and appreciate it more fully.
4. Finally, just relish the deep state of belovedness you hold with God by the grace of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Try just “being” in the presence of God and absorbing God’s being with you. You may not hear any great prophetic word or get guidance. But, I guarantee that 30 minutes of solitude with Christ a couple of times a week in addition to your daily prayer, scripture reading and Sunday morning worship will deepen your connection with the Lord and give more weight to you daily discipleship.
5. Don’t be afraid to try. God is present with you. You can’t fail. If you are distracted, you will eventually tune in. If you fall asleep then you had a nice and holy nap!
Love you lots,
Randy