The time we spend with God is called prayer. I do not believe that prayer and meditation are the same. Prayer is a time we empty ourselves before God and ask him for direction. It is a time focused on a relationship with Him.
I won't go into the various meditative methods but some use mantras and chants to reach a 'state of being' and usually a 'oneness' with an ultimate reality. My question is, what is the source?
We must consider these things:
When one prays, God is sought to reveal, heal, and direct.
When one meditates, self is sought to reveal, heal, and direct.
This is the danger...self. If one is not seeking the divine God for inner peace, there is a danger in using self as god.
To this point, here is a quote from Deepak Chopra who is a very popular teacher in transcendental meditation. (from his book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success) "Success in life could be defined as the continued expansions of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals... Even with the experience of all these things, we will remain unfulfilled unless we nurture the seeds of divinity inside us. In reality, we are divinity in disguise, and the gods and goddesses in embryo that are contained within us seek to be fully materialized." (emphasis mine)
God should be and IS the source of morality, reason and peace. If we use self to guide us through life there can never be a true, lasting peace because the direction does not come from God, the divine source.
How do we know if it's self or God directing us?
Christians are told to delight in the law of the Lord and 'meditate' on it day and night. (Psalm 1:2) This means we are to study the Bible and seek God's will and direction through prayer.
In summary, I'll share this quote from Ravi Zacharias where he explained the difference between meditative prayer and New Age meditations to a caller:
“There is no I/You in transcendental meditation,” Zacharias told her, going on to clarify that if her husband was “looking inward in order to transcend himself,” rather than “meditating on the Word of God” for his direction and help then that was the error." (source)
11 comments:
This was a great post. Sometimes we lose track of who is really in charge of things and think we can do it on our own.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but I grew up with periods for prayer AND meditation - a time to worship and ask for guidance (prayer) and to keep our minds open for answers from God regarding a sermon we've just heard, a Bible passagr, etc. (meditation). I agree that some people's form of meditation isn't God-seeking, but I don't feel we can totally disregard the part meditation can/should play in the Christian life. Just something to consider!
You are so right. That is what scripture says, to meditate on God's word. Meditation as a connection to God is vital...to rest in his peace, to empty ourselves before him...that is the good meditation.
I agree totally when people look to self when meditating it is dangerous especially if they believe they are becoming divine. Satan wanted to be God and to be worshipped and that's what got him kicked out of heaven. He used to be one of Gods best angels until he decided he should be God too. Meditating on Gods word is good but that's all we should ever meditate on:-)
We don't meditate but we do spend time with God and focus on our beliefs. It is important to us to remember we are not in charge but we have choices. Hope you have a super Sunday.
Best wishes Molly
I've always found prayer most effective when it was asking "for others" and not for me.
Meditation (but not in the "Om" or yoga sense) is a time of quiet where God's quiet voice can be heard over the day-to-day tumult.
Never really thought of the two together. Who do I thank for all that I have or who do I ask for healing or direction? Certainly not me!
So perfectly stated! Today people get confused over terms like "spirituality" and "religious"! I am just a faithful servant of Our Lord Jesus Christ and it is what I pin my hope. my faith and my salvation on. Thanks for sharing your words today!
Parsley,
I agree with the above comment, this was a GREAT post! I think the absence of GOD and focus on self is the root of today's problems.
Your Friend,
Deborah
You hit a nail on its head here. I used to worry about whether it was really God's direction or my own. And I agree, prayer and meditation are not the same. Unless you meditate WITH God. Its an ancient concept... since some believe there is a spark of God within everybody... if they could reach that spark in themselves, they would instantly connect with God. I think you can connect with God without reaching that spark. There are so many ways.
Wonderful post.
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