Music, Meditation and the Word
taken from the series A Call to Prayer.
Christian meditation is not about emptying our minds, but about filling them with one thought. As you read the scriptures, choose one of the verses to concentrate on.
Focus on this for 3 minutes, asking God to speak to you.
Set a timer, and then you won't be thinking about the time!
Then listen to the accompanying music.
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait on the lord; Be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!
Psalm 27 v 13-14 NKJV
If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 130 v 3 - 6
Our Soul is Waiting for God - Taize
As we wait, we learn patience.
As we wait, we put our hope in His word.
As we wait, we remember God's forgiveness,
we feel His love and we see His redemption.
As we wait, we learn to trust Him again.
He strengthens our hearts,
He changes us.
How Long?
In the article Waiting on God, we looked at the recent events in the United States.
Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, over 50 years ago.
Yet only recently George Floyd was killed by a policeman in Minneapolis, USA.
How long must we wait, O Lord?
A Change Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
This next song and passage from Scripture is a different sort of meditation.
It is a reflection on society. A contemplation on the state of the world.
Sung by a talented father and son duo.
A moving, inspirational, relevant commentary on society.
First listen to the song.
Then read the passage.
Then I invite you to say a prayer with me.
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and to untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –
When you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer, you will cry for help, and He will say: Here I am.
Isaiah 58 v 7 - 9
A Prayer
Dear Lord, is there anything that you want me to do? Amen
The series A Call to Prayer was not just about drawing closer to God in prayer,
not just about waiting before him in stillness,
not just about abiding in him,
but also about how spending time in His presence changes us.
And how we cannot say we love God, and ignore injustice and poverty.
chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke
In the article A Call to Listen there are 6 books recommended, 5 videos from different influential black leaders and 5 commonly asked questions answered about racial tensions in the US and elsewhere. Great resources!
The passage in Isaiah is discussed more in the post called True Fasting.