Jewish Roots
Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.- Psalm 119:27
I used to live in Gateshead in the North-East. On my way to the train station I would pass the Yeshiva (an orthodox Jewish school). Looking through the windows I could see young men moving their heads and murmuring over religious texts. They were following in a long tradition in Judaism. The word ‘meditate’ occurs 15 times in the Psalms and several other times in the Old Testament. The idea behind Jewish meditation is to write the word of God in the heart of the believer. This is done by prayerful repetition.
So, when Jesus talks about prayer, as a Jew, He is including the practice of meditation. He is critical of those who pray in public by repeating prayers but gives us a new, and very short, prayer to meditate on in our rooms with the door closed.
Early Christianity and the Desert Fathers
By the end of the 2nd Century many followers of Christ had retreated to caves in the desert in Syria to live a simple life. By the 4th Century this group had grown to many thousands. They were known as ‘The Desert Fathers’ (there were also some women who were known as the ‘Desert Mothers’). Their aim was to draw closer to God by living a simple life, denying themselves material comfort and embracing prayerful meditation. One of the forms of prayer they used is the ‘Jesus Prayer’. In English the words are:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me, A sinner
This was repeated, over and over to clear the mind and allow a closer connection with Jesus.
The discovery of the Jesus Prayer in the 20th Century
In the later part of the 20th Century a quiet movement promoting Christian meditation was led by Anglican Bishop Simon Barrington-Ward and Baptist Pastor Shaun Lambert. They linked this to the practice of ‘mindfulness’, an intentional calming of the mind. But there developed a definite difference between the secular and Christian version of mindfulness. Secular mindfulness focuses mainly on the self and Christian mindfulness on the persons of Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. Recommended books on modern Christian Mindfulness are:
- Praying the Jesus Prayer Together by Brother Ramon and Simon Barrington-Ward
- A Book of Sparks by Shaun Lambert.
Why Christian Meditation?
Reaching into the Kingdom of God is not easy. We live our busy structured lives. We also have ways of controlling our emotions and keeping ourselves calm. God can speak into our mind but our minds are very busy places and it is often not easy for him to get a word in.
Meditating on the word of God allows our minds to calm and our defenses against God to melt. Once we get used to it, we will find ourselves spending time with God, speaking and listening to Him.
How to do Christian Meditation
1. Find a place where you will not be interrupted. You do not have to be silent or alone. I have meditated in the middle of a busy office or park. But make sure that no one will speak to you during the time you want to meditate.
2. Get comfortable. Sitting or lying down is good.
3. If you can, set a timer. When I first learnt the Jesus Prayer I read some advice to go through it 25 times. If you can keep count that is fine but I find it is easier to set a timer on my phone so you won’t be distracted. 10 minutes is good to start off with but you want to increase this as time goes on.
4. Start saying the words inside your head and breathing slowly in time with them. Keep going.
5. If you feel your thoughts intruding don’t worry, don’t reset the timer, just notice it and bring yourself back to the rhythm of the words.
6. You may experience the following:
a. Sorrow, guilt or tears. By slowing down thoughts in this way you are opening yourself up to God. It may well be He wants to allow you to let something go. Don’t worry, just let it flow and return to the rhythm of the words.
b. A strong feeling or words suggesting you should pray for something or someone. Listen to this. Just interrupt your repetition to say the prayer suggested.
c. A tingling or shaking. Don’t worry. This is the Holy Spirit beginning to work. You can carry on with your words or just relax and experience this.
d. Sleep! I have never fallen asleep while meditating but I know people who have. Maybe this is God’s way of telling you to relax and take a nap.
e. Yawning. Yawning is the brains way of getting some extra oxygen to keep going. You are asking your brain to do something unusual so it may well need extra fuel so don’t worry about yawning.
7. When you have finished your time relax for a few minutes then carry on with your day.
Some notes on Breathing
Try to breathe by using your tummy muscles rather than your upper chest. This is how singers control their breath and provides more control over the process.
Start your meditation by blowing out slowly twice and relaxing your shoulders. This will allow you to start relaxing.
Words and Breath.
The Jesus Prayer (Original and amended version)
(In) Lord Jesus Christ
(Out) Son of God
(In) Have mercy on me
(Out) A sinner
(In) Jesus Christ
(Out) Son of God
(In) Have Mercy on me
(Out) A Sinner
The Lords Prayer (modern version)
A prayer of praise
(In) Our Father
(Out) In Heaven
(In) Hallowed
(Out) Be your Name
A prayer asking for change according to God’s will.
(In) Your kingdom come
(Out) Your Will be done
(In) On Earth
(Out) As in Heaven
A prayer for material security
(In) Give us this day
(Out) Our Daily Bread
A prayer for forgiveness
(In) And forgive us
(Out) our sins
(In) as we forgive those
(Out) who sin against us
A prayer for protection from ourselves and the enemy
(In) and lead us not
(Out) into temptation
(In) But deliver us
(Out) from Evil
A prayer of praise
(In) For thine is
(Out) The Kindom
(In) the Power and
(Out) the Glory
(In) For ever and ever (out) Amen
A Prayer for Peace – John 14:27
(in) Peace I leave with you
(out) My peace I give you
(in) I do not give to you
(out) As the world gives
(in) Do not let your hearts
(out) be troubled
(in) and do not
(out) be afraid