48 Ways to Meditate on Scripture fter publishing three Bible Explorer

Guides in the past month, I found

myself suffocating in my studies. Don’t

get me wrong. I enjoy having a semi-circle of

reference books around me as I gather facts

and information to discover the relevance of

the biblical text. And I enjoy the challenge of

finding ways to convey that relevance to you.

But I don’t want to force-feed you facts about

the Bible. You’ll spit it back in my face like a

baby rejecting creamed peas. *blech*

For the past few weeks, I have been missing

time to meditate on God’s Word—to enjoy it

and engage with it in a personal and casual way.

You see, we have to engage God’s Word with

both sides of our brain or we’ll probably reject

it like creamed peas. *blech* Yes, we need the

left brain to study, organize, and analyze the

Bible. That’s how we learn the substance of

God’s Word. But we also need to engage the

right brain to meditate on God’s Word.

Christian meditation is not weird, creepy

spiritual exercises designed to empty our minds

or our navels. Christian meditation is simply

allowing our minds some breathing space to

take the things we learned with the left brain

and let them have time to dance and play in our

head and heart. It allows the right brain to turn

the truth over in our minds, looking at it from

different angles.

The problem is that we’re too busy and we

often lack the focus to let our minds dwell on a

passage of scripture for very long. Most of us

think of meditation as a static activity in which

we stare at a passage of the Bible and think

about it. That is oh-so-far from the truth!

For example, I’ve made writing Bible stories a

part of my personal meditation practice. It’s a

way for me to look at the story from different

perspectives, sometimes from the perspective

of a different character. It allows me to see how

I would feel if I were in the situation. When you

put yourself in the text, it comes alive. It’s no

longer dry, boring history; it’s a drama that

remarkably resembles the drama of your own

life.

Christian meditation can take many forms. I’ve

compiled a list of 48 below, but there is no limit.

Apply your own creative interests to the Word

of God and see what you come up with. If

you’re thinking it looks like a list of craft

projects and creative ventures, you’re right.

Here’s the thing: while we are working on a

craft project, it gives our minds time to think

about the Bible passage, deciding the best way

A

to express it in our own way. It builds in the

time we need to meditate and it feels so much

more natural than staring at a page of scripture

and trying to maintain our focus. It also engages

the kinesthetic principles of maintaining our

focus by coupling it with a physical activity.

Consider which of these methods appeal to you.

1. Write a story.

2. Write an essay.

3. Draw a picture.

4. Paint a picture.

5. Make a collage.

6. Make a “ransom” note.

7. Create a scrapbook page.

8. Rubber stamp a scripture card.

9. Make a bookmark.

10. Create a graphic design.

11. Make a video.

12. Sculpt with clay (or PlayDoh!).

13. Take photos that capture the essence of the

passage.

14. Tell the story from a different point of view.

15. Write the story in first person.

16. Write the text in your own words.

17. Write it as a prayer.

18. Write a song.

19. Design a book cover for the text.

20. Write it like a newspaper story.

21. Write a news headline for the text.

22. Put the text in your art journal.

23. Use mixed media to convey the idea.

24. Express the emotion of the passage through

sounds.

25. Express the emotion of the passage through

scents.

26. Express the emotion of the passage through

tastes.

27. Express the emotion of the passage through

visuals.

28. Express the emotion of the passage through

textures.

29. Use needlecrafts to express the text.

30. Do a physical act of obedience.

31. Write a skit.

32. Express the idea through dance.

33. Write out the passage and color-code key

words.

34. Construct a diorama.

35. Create a shadowbox display.

36. Create the scene in miniatures.

37. Build the scene in Legos.

38. Make a crossword puzzle with clues from

the text.

39. Create a word search using key words.

40. Write a poem.

41. Write a verse as haiku.

42. Cook a recipe that relates to the text.

43. Create a costume or mask of a character.

44. Record a dramatic reading of the text.

45. Record a dramatic re-telling of the text.

46. Make a poster.

47. Design a banner.

48. Draw a map of the place.

©2012 Christy Bower. The author grants permission

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www.ChristyBower.com (Pink ©iStockphoto.com /

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