What is mindful worship? Another name for it would be the more popular term called “meditation.” Meditation has gotten a bad rap, particularly for Christians because a lot of is identified with Hinduism or Buddhism. Let us examine first what meditation is not. Some say meditation is closing your eyes and emptying your mind. In actuality, true meditation has very little to do with such things.
These kinds of meditation is a cheap copy of something God has made. Have you ever heard of a counterfeit one-dollar bill? Most likely not because they’re not very valuable. Why would you counterfeit something nobody ever counterfeits or it is too cheap. Satan counterfeits those things that God has that are valuable. Just pick a Godly topic and Satan has a counterfeit for it. Sex, for example, is something God meant for good and Satan makes it something perverse and destructive. Another topic would be peace in our lives. God’s peace surpasses all understanding but Satan tells people that after a turbulent day, in order to forget your troubles, you should turn to alcohol. Satan likes to copy stuff that God has but when Satan does it, he changes them in a couple of different ways. Usually, Satan makes it easier or more accessible. It also seems cheaper but eventually, it destroys your soul. Satan just gives you a little bit of truth in it so you will think it is harmless and you can justify it to yourself. The best lie has some truth in it.
The Jewish people were a meditating group before there were Hindus. One of the things that mindfulness and especially mindful prayer do is it brings you in the present moment. Meditation is not an emptying of the mind but is teaching your brain to be focused and when you’re focused on something, (especially in our case wherein we will focus on divine truth), we will go deeper into God’s Word. When you are focusing with intensity, you’re in the moment and as a result, your brain begins to experience some changes. You are more aware of the life and spiritual issues around you. Here is what the Bible says about meditating on God’s Word.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:5
The battlefield is in your head. Whatever you’re going through your fight is there. Satan will pick on you but the real reality is that he has to submit to the name of Jesus. It’s our minds that cause the problems. This is why God wants to renew our minds.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
Joshua 1:8 it says that we must meditate on God’s Word and on God’s truth to succeed in our spiritual life.
What separates us from Buddhism and Hinduism is that in the latter two, the teachings a more centered on the self. Rather than being self-centered, our interaction is going to be and should be God-centered. We need to be focused on the Lord and on our relationship with Him.
Some of the benefits that meditation has given me since I’ve been doing this were that there’s now less striving and more of being. I’m not working so hard, I just get to enjoy interacting with my family or with the church on Sunday. There is less stress and I have more peace. I just tell God that I know that I am really nothing but I’m just going to serve you well.
I also have more acceptance of reality. We usually like to delude ourselves as regards the world we live in. But when you are focusing on God, in the intensity of that moment, it’s very difficult to hide. In those moments, you get to see reality more clearly because you are so focused. Whether it’s an emotional, financial issue or whether it’s my own lack of faith, I’m more focused on reality. I have more acceptance of my limitations and I know who I am and when I am like that there’s no insecurity there. I can just be with God.
In numerous books and in multiple places they said that people freak out when they begin to meditate because they get along with their thoughts and they get to see themselves and it freaks them out. Sometimes they even have to go to counseling. Multiple people said that because you see yourself in a pure way, who you really are, but hear me again, God loves you and He made you. The honest examination does not result in insecurity when it’s combined with the grace of Christ. He has a purpose for you whatever it is going on in our lives. So we need not be depressed.
Neuroscience studies show that mindfulness decreases stress. People acquire an enhanced ability to deal with illness, they recover faster after such an illness, they have decreased depression, they have improved general health, and they have less alcohol use. Such a study was done for kids from grade school through college. College kids who learned how to be mindful drank less had more self-acceptance and improved academic success.
Why is this so? According to Neuroscience, mindfulness trains your neural pathways to focus on what you’re telling it to focus on. The same muscles that require willpower are the same muscles you’re exercising when you’re being mindful. The notion that old dogs cannot learn new tricks has been disproven in this manner. Scientists say that the brain has the ability to change and adapt over time (Neuroplasticity).
Going back to meditating on God’s Word and truth, I usually use a four-line prayer which I find to be the most effective. The method is to breathe in and out and as we do this while saying a prayer and meditating on Godly truth. An example method will be to pray this prayer:
Lord, you’re a Good father (breath in)
that’s Who You are (breath out)
I am loved by you (breath in)
and that’s who I am (breath out)
That’s a powerful truth! How would your life be different if you lived every day knowing that your self-worth doesn’t come from what people say about you? Truth doesn’t come from those who you think likes you or doesn’t like you. Truth is not about your job performance. It’s not about anything you could ever produce. Your value comes from one place, the God of the universe Who loves you.
Another great one is the prayer of Jabez:
Oh Lord (breathe in)
bless me (breath out)
indeed increase my territory (breathe in)
and keep me from evil. (breath out)
A young Buddhist guy once said that the most powerful meditation he ever had was called the Jesus Prayer. I thought I have to find out about this prayer since it affected an unbeliever. Apparently, this prayer has been used in ancient eastern churches. I find this prayer to keep us grounded and to always realize that we are sinners saved by the grace of God. That we need God’s grace moment by moment to sustain us.
Lord Jesus Christ (breathe in)
Son of God (breathe out)
have mercy on me (breath in)
a sinner (breathe out)
The idea, of course, is not to memorize a prayer but to focus on the truth. The benefit is cumulative. It’s something that you need to do in practice and it’s going to take some time. In order to make it work you need to find your motivation and your intention in why are you doing it. You might want to do it for example if you’re going through depression or you are moody or having trouble with habits in your life.
Some of the tools that you can use for meditation would be some kind of music. My favorite will be the sound of waves or you can use white noise.
As for how long the meditation should be, I suggest go for five minutes in the beginning then gradually increase the time.
Mindful prayer convinces my heart and mind of truth that I know but I don’t believe it all the time. God is a good Father. We know who He is. We know He loves us. We all know that truth but we don’t live in that truth at times. Hopefully, this method will be of help to you to get closer to God and live in His truth.
Rock Church serves the communities of Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead. We meet at West Acres Cinema, Sundays at 10 am. At the Rock, you can belong before you believe.
