How To Meditate on God's Word

Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE daily confessions, but something I’ve learned over time is confessing the Word is only as powerful as meditating on it.

So how do we go from hearing the Word to truly believing what it says? Or really seeing transformational change in our lives?

If you’re just starting out with daily confessions, I’d recommend starting here. But if you already know the power of confessions, have some type of Biblical understanding about it, but want to learn how to meditate on God’s Word and witness change, then keep reading.

Meditating On God’s Word

First, it’s important to know that meditating on the Word of God is a biblical principle. There’s scripture like:

I meditate on your Word both day and night. – Joshua 1:8
But whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. – Psalm 1:2
I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. – Psalm 77:12

In each of these instances, the original Hebrew uses the word, hāḡâ, which means to murmer, ponder, imagine, meditate, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, utter. Some lexicons use the translation, “growl” in the same way that a lion growls over their prey.

To ponder or meditate on something requires active, intentional thought. When lions growl as they wait for their prey, it requires them to be slow and patient, focused on their target. Maybe that’s how God wants us to approach His Word? With hunger, patience, and focus.

The reason why confessions are so powerful is because they are a simple way to meditate on the Word of God. When we meditate on God’s Word, the Holy Spirit provides the wisdom and revelation we need that allows us to grow closer to Christ and become more like Him.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. – Ephesians 1:17

A Word of Caution

One of the problems of living in this technology-driven world is that there is content EVERYWHERE. We can hear an encouraging sermon at church on Sunday, read a powerful caption on social media on Monday, and then hear advice from a parent or mentor on Tuesday.

I mean think about your own life. How many times have you been bombarded with a ton of different messages in one given week whether it’s from a sermon, podcast, YouTube video, your parents, friends, mentors, etc.? If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves in a place where there are so many messages surrounding us that we actually miss what God is saying to us.

This is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. We can know and quote all of the Scripture (head knowledge), but none of them will penetrate our hearts enough to bring revelation and transformation (heart knowledge) until we meditate on them.

What Should I Meditate On?

So how do we avoid this? More times than not, there is a specific message or theme that God has for you in this season and it most likely applies to every area of your life. For example, a core message for me has always been learning to rest in God’s love.

In my personal life, it looked like giving myself grace whenever I didn’t do something that met the expectations that I had for myself. In my work life, it looked like not trying to prove my worth through my efforts and recognizing that God’s love was enough (not my work). In my spiritual life, it looked like sitting at God’s feet and not always having something to say, but allowing His love to wash over me. In my relationships, it looked like being patient and giving others grace as an extension of the love I had for myself when they did something that hurt my feelings or got under my skin.

So I had to find, meditate, AND confess scripture about resting in God’s love. Scripture like:

The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing (Psalm 23:1).
I make every effort to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:11).
God’s grace is sufficient for me. His power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God has equipped me for every good work. He performs all my work for me (Hebrews 13:21).
His perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
Nothing can separate me from the love of God (Romans 8:39).

The point being that wherever you are right now, there’s something that God is trying to say to you about your life and if you look with spiritual sight, you will recognize it everywhere.

All of this to say that my encouragement to you would be to spend time with God to listen for the Word He is speaking to you in this season whether it’s having more patience, loving yourself the way He loves you, or learning to rest in Who He is rather than what He does.