James M. Tour,
Professor of Chemistry, Computer Science,
Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science,
Rice University
[April 22, 2013] —
In view of today’s pluralism in our country and talk of meditation in more than one context, I want to clarify what I mean when I speak of meditation. It is not an ethereal state where my mind is out of touch with reality. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind;” (Luke 10:27). So my mind is always with me and I am quite conscious of all my thoughts and feelings when meditating.
In this context, meditation is the contemplative reading and reflection upon God’s word. It’s a slow and deliberate, sometimes repetitive, reading of a passage as I ask God to confirm it in my life and to speak to me through the passage, a pondering upon His thoughts, as recorded in the written word. And it is the application of that passage to my life as God speaks to me through the very pages of those ancient writings. And He does speak, as I will share here regarding situations in my own life.
Moreover, in the cases where I find a particularly compelling passage, I write it down and put a copy in my pocket. I re-read it many times throughout the day and try to commit it to memory. I often meditate upon a passage and memorize it in the process. We also made this a family affair. Along with my wife and four children, we rise daily to recite, from memory, the passages upon which we are meditating. In that manner, I find that the text becomes a part of my thought process, a part of my life.
Some view my practice of carrying scripture texts in my pocket as being childish. Well, they can think as they like, but it is not childish for me. It is a practice that I have maintained for nearly 25 years and I will continue that practice until the day I am promoted to the presence of Jesus.
I’d like to simply share my discoveries of God’s speaking and blessing me from the pages of the Bible. Through that text, God speaks. Certainly God can speak in many ways including through people, through experiences, and through a “still small voice.” However, for me, I often find myself hearing what I want to hear through that “still small voice” because my discernment is poorly refined. Therefore, unless I use the Scriptures to gauge the authenticity of God’s voice in a situation, I may find frustration. When God speaks through the Scriptures, it becomes a bastion of God’s voice of counsel and direction.
From personal examples that will be shared in a follow-up Ministry Minute, I hope you will want to embark on the practice of hearing God’s voice through the Bible. God does speak. And obedience to His speaking brings great blessing for us who hear Him.
I will meditate in Your precepts, and have respect unto Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. (Psalm 119: 15, 16)
(c) Jim Tour 2013