The right time had come, and Moses had the word of the Lord: in just a short while the Lord God would wonderfully and supernaturally deliver the children Israel out of the clutches of Pharaoh and Egypt.
What a promise.
Meditation consists of seven diverse, distinct human faculties that all together comprise the principle of meditation.
1. CONCENTRATION
The first phase of meditation is CONCENTRATION. Concentration is vital because it gives us focus and control in our thought life. Without it, our minds are weak and a weak mind is an easy target for Satan’s temptations. I Timothy 4:15-16 tell us to
Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
The Greek word for “take heed” is “epecho” and it means to “pay attention, to retain.” You must pay attention and concentrate to enter into the principle of meditation. Social scientists tell us that the average adult has an attention span of less than twenty minutes and the average child, less than five minutes. Our capacity to pay attention needs to be developed and disciplined.
One way is through prayer. Prayer is conversation with God. That means we worship and pray to Him. We then wait upon His leading and guidance. This waiting upon God is the place of meditation in His Word. When Jesus would pray He would find a quiet, secluded spot. In this private place He could fully concentrate as He waited upon God.
CONCENTRATION IS CRITICAL! IF YOU CAN’T FOCUS YOUR THINKING AND CONCENTRATE, THEN YOUR MEDITATION WILL BE SHALLOW AND SUPERFICIAL.
But, as we learn to shut out the world and the business of life and give God quality time and attention, we enter into the first phase of meditation in His Word.
2. REPETITION
The second component of meditation is REPETITION. Learning experts tell us that the more times you hear or see something, the greater you will understand and remember what you’ve seen or heard. Repetition has been called “the mother of learning.” That is why God asks us to meditate on His Word day and night, so that by the process of repetition, it becomes a part of our life.
Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. (l Timothy 4:15)
The Greek word for “meditate” means to “revolve around in the mind.” Many times I have been reading and studying God’s Word, when a verse I’ve read dozens or hundreds of times suddenly comes alive with new meaning and insight. Repetition gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to give us REVELATION. Like a miner hitting a rock over and over with a chisel, eventually one of those blows will open up the rock.
AS WE REVOLVE AND REPEAT GOD’S WORD OVER AND OVER IN OUR MIND, THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPEN UP VALUABLE TREASURES OF UNDERSTANDING, WISDOM AND REVELATION.
It is here that many believers make a major mistake in regard to the study of God’s Word. It is more beneficial for you to just take one verse of Scripture, truly concentrate and repeat that verse over and over and allow the Holy Spirit to bring it to life, than to read several chapters at one sitting. Reading several chapters is like a person having a fifteen course meal before them. Instead of slowly chewing and digesting the food, they take a bite out of each course and then spit it out. Although they tasted a lot of variety, they received no nourishment. It is better to only take a few bites of only one thing and carefully digest it and receive its nourishment.
As you digest God’s Word through meditation, it gives you life and power. The Lord said to meditate day and night in His Word.
That is the principle of REPETITION. Jesus would often repeat His teaching verbatim, word for word, to whom He spoke. As the greatest teacher in the history of the world, He knew that repetition is the mother of learning.
3. COMPREHENSION
The third ingredient of meditation is COMPREHENSION. Comprehension means “to understand.” Understanding is essential to meditation because understanding is the basis of strong faith.
Faith is not blind and ignorant, but is the result of revelation and understanding. Satan will steal God’s Word from your heart when you don’t comprehend it. Matthew 13:19 reads:
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
When you don’t understand something from God’s Word, the devil steals it from your heart like a seed that never penetrates the ground upon which it has fallen. It is either blown away by the wind or eaten by birds. What you don’t comprehend will be taken from you. It is important for you to receive understanding, but understanding requires patience and effort.
Proverbs 2:2-6 declares:
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding…
Only those who search for and diligently pursue understanding will find it. Revelation knowledge from God is our right and inheritance as the children of God. God gives us revelation through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit who opens our understanding that we might comprehend His Word and will.
To read or hear something and not understand it is to not experience the power and potential of that information. When oil companies search for oil, they dig deep into the ground hundreds and hundreds of feet until they strike oil. When miners search for precious minerals, they dig and dynamite until they find their mineral.
To understand God’s Word, you must dig and search until you find understanding. Ephesians 1: 17-18 tells us
…the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…
Never let the devil tell you that you can’t understand the Word of God. Understanding is the basis of strong, unshakeable faith. Understanding is your right as a child of God. The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible and He lives inside you as a believer. When we lack understanding, we call upon the Author to “enlighten our eyes” and according to James 1:5, He promises to do so.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
ise, and what joy followed, and rightly so: they were getting out of bondage.
We all know what happened next. God miraculously intervened by ten plagues to deliver His people from slavery. They left with the wealth of all of Egypt. The Bible tells us that they “spoiled” the Egyptians and that God supernaturally destroyed the entire at my of Egypt in the Red Sea.
What a great deliverance! They sang God’s praises and celebrated their freedom.
Everything was looking up for the Israelites. Now God was ready to unveil the next phase of His plan for His people. He had prepared a “new day” for His people.
Moses stood up before the congregation of Israel and told them they were to cross over the river Jordan, engage and dispel the enemies of God from there, and take possession of their promised land of Canaan.
The people’s joy came to a screeching halt. Everything was going just fine, and then God mixed things up with unexpected challenges and commands.
Their response to Moses and to God was the wrong one, and it sealed their future outside of God’s purpose. They said to God and to Moses, “We’ve now got a serious problem here, Mr. Moses. We liked yesterday’s word better than today’s. In fact, we’ve decided to STAY IN YESTERDAY’S PROMISE. We feel that we don’t need this new word and all the hassle it would bring into our lives. So, thank you, but no thank you on this promised land business.”
