Monday, July 13, 2009

Meditation is Easy! - Week 1

Day 1 is here! We start this week with a great verse from the book of Jeremiah. You may know this verse but don't let that stop you from learning to meditate on it. Even if you have spent time on this verse in the past, let God reveal new things to you when you meditate this week.

I am using the New International Version, but feel free to use what you prefer.

Jeremiah 29:11,12 NIV

11"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."

Did you hear that? God has plans for us. They are not just any plans. They are plans to prosper us, plans of hope and a future. He promises that we can call upon Him and pray to Him, and HE WILL LISTEN TO US! These scriptures just purely excite me! It is so exciting to know that God has the plan, it's not up to me to come up with something. Do you understand that God, your Creator, wants you to prosper and succeed. He has your future figured out! And to top it off, we only have to call his name and He is listening. God said "call upon me and I will listen to you." This is absolutely the best scripture! I can't wait to hear what fantastic things come from your meditating venture on these words from God.

But hold on. We are only starting with Jeremiah 29:11 and only a portion of the verse. I just wanted to let you know what lies ahead when I revealed the 2 verses.

Start here:
Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord--------stop here.

Yes, this is it for the first week girls. We are only meditating on these 12 words. Trust me, it will be well worth it. So resist the urge to move ahead. I am not telling you to do anything that God did not direct me to do. Trust Him.

Read this several times this very minute. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. Know that God is speaking to you when you read this each time. Imagine God sending you a personal note in the mail that states, "For I know the plans I have for you." Love, God.

Or imagine God's email to you that says, "Hey ________, I know the plans I have for you. From: God." Hear an imaginary message on your cell phone that says, "Hi ____________, just wanted to let you know that I know the plans I have for you. Love you, God"
Or get really bold and see Him face to face saying,

"I know the plans I have for you ____________"

The plan for the week is to start with this one statement. Try to avoid the desire to move ahead too quickly. I don't care how well you know the scripture, this is about meditation. We are learning how to experience meditating on God's Word, not going full speed ahead. Remember God is teaching us a simple way to spend time with Him and learn about Him. This is for us to slow down the push and desire to hurry for the answer. This is meditating and spending time with God despite our busy schedules.

Step 1 is super easy!
Write it down. Only write the one statement and it's location, Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord.
I highly recommend you write it down on an index card(s) to easily take it with you in the car or to work or wherever you go. Keep it in your purse. Just remember to take it out when you arrive at your destination.

Step 2
Recite it out loud. You can read it out loud at home, in the car, to the kids or anywhere. But be sure to say it out loud at times.

Step 3
Include it in your prayers
. Say, "God, I thank you that you know the plans you have for me. Thank you that you have plans for me. I look forward to the plans you have for me. I am so glad that you have plans for me because I am not sure of the plans I have for me." You get the idea. Every time you pray include this scripture, or just pray this scripture only to increase your prayer life.

Step 4
Take it slow
. Read each word slowly. Think about what each individual word means to you. Go deep inside yourself as you ponder on each word. When you start getting the hang of it, you will begin to get in touch with your spiritual side. And let me tell you, this is a place inside of you with inner peace.

Step 5
Pray that God will reveal his will to you while meditating.
Give Him your complete permission to reveal what is needed. Be open and vulnerable. If you ask God to reveal his desires for you, watch out! Expect! God loves to reveal his will for you. And you can only greatly benefit from it.

OK. That's it. Not so hard. You don't have to read a chapter in the Bible, a study guide, or answer a lot of questions about your reading. You don't have to prepare for the next day or study time.

However, yes the "however" has arrived. You do have to take the verse and meditate on it throughout your day. You don't have to set aside quiet time or go off by yourself. But you do have to use the scripture. Meditate on it by reciting it in the car, as you clean house, cook dinner, at breakfast, lunch.... Pray it anytime. Busy is not an excuse when it comes to meditation. I know it sounds quite spiritual and all. But it really means just keeping it in your mind often and thinking about it. I have great confidence in you. I know that you can do this. We will forget sometimes. We may even forget for a day. But it is not going to stop us. We can do this. Why? Because it was designed just for us.

I love you all, and I will be praying with expectancy of your great results. Please feel free to share with me in comments or by email.

Walk today knowing that your God, your Father, your Creator, knows the plans He has for you!!

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