The Atlanta Airport at 5am

A day or two after posting this article about meditation, it occurred to me I left out the most important part. You don’t just empty your head of thoughts, no matter how hard that part or how pretty your imaginary bowl. As the voice says, “Inner emptiness is not the goal but the preparation.” The goal is to be filled with Godly truth.

After you’ve gotten all relaxed and quiet and rid yourself of most of your distracting thoughts (do I really need to wash the dog, can I make that yummy roast beef in my InstantPot?) then you need to fill yourself up. 

May your mind be as "un-busy" as the Atlanta airport at 5am.

Before the meditation even starts you choose what Bible passage you want to focus on. There are categories like “Who is Jesus?” or “Praying.” From the category you narrow your choices to something like “A prayer to God the Father, Matthew 6:9-13” or “God answers, Luke 11:5-10.”

Here the real blessing begins. You listen to the voice read the scripture a bit at a time. There’s silence in between the phrases and repetition. I’ve noticed parts of very familiar passages because I never slow down enough to truly listen to each word. In the practice of meditation, I do. 

After all that quiet and stillness and Words of Truth, the voice invites you to “take a moment and come back.” At this point I’m ready to get moving or try to get back to sleep. But, I’m definitely feeling more relaxed and focused on the Lord. 

If you haven’t tried meditation before, I recommend Jesus Centered Meditation. If you have, I’d love to hear what you think.