It’s one of the most powerful tools in our spiritual life, yet we often neglect it. Although it takes just a few minutes, it can provide lasting strength and motivation for the whole day. Meditating on Scripture can transform our lives because it allows the Holy Spirit to teach us truth from God’s Word. At our prison ministries, we want to learn as much as we can about the Bible. Not sure where to start?

Here are 3 steps to meditating on Scripture.

1) Pray.

In order to learn from God’s Word, prepare your heart by confessing any recent sins to the Lord and asking for His forgiveness. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you from His Word. Jesus promised in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things…” When we study the Scriptures, we need the Holy Spirit’s help to understand spiritual truth and apply it to our lives.

2) Ask questions.

Choose one or two verses to focus on, and write them out. Next, ask questions about the verse. One helpful method of meditating on a verse was developed by Dr. Nell Collins. It’s called the “ABC Method.”
 
The letters “ABC” stand for Attitude, Behaviour, and Communication. First, ask yourself what this passage teaches about God. What are His attitudes and thoughts? How does He behave? What has He said? Next, apply this to your own life.
 
Attitude: What attitudes should you have? How and what should you think?
Behaviour: What should you do? 
Communication: What should you say—both to the Lord and to people around you?
 
This is just one of the many methods you can use to meditate on Scripture. The goal of asking questions is to understand the Word more deeply and apply it to your own life. You can also ask the following questions about the verse:
 
Are there sins to avoid?
Are there actions to take?
Are there examples to follow or avoid?
How does this verse reveal God?
What commands or promises of God are given?

3) Choose to obey.

If you read the Scriptures with a humble heart, the Holy Spirit will reveal truth to you. He may show you sin in your life or something you ought to do. At that point, you have 2 choices.
 
-Ignore His voice (and distance yourself from Him.)
-Obey Him, even if it’s difficult.
 
Which choice would bring us closer to Him? If we are serious about growing spiritually, we need to obey the truth He reveals to us. The apostle James reminds us that it is pointless to read God’s Word and not obey it.
 
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:23-25)
 
Will you be a doer of the Word or only a hearer? At our prison ministries, we want to be doers of the Word. God only promises blessings to those who hear AND obey His Word. Let’s seek to know God better through meditation and obey the truth that He teaches us.
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For more information, call (306) 940-9554 or email anchorofhopeheb@gmail.com