Meditation for Christians: Prayer of Stillness, Surrender & Revelation

MEDITATION

FOR

CHRISTIANS

Prayer

of

Stillness, Surrender and Revelation

A Spiritual Handbook by:

Bradley Dean Stephan

WATCHFULNESS

Publishing ~ Mark 13:37

Copyright © 2001

by

Bradley Dean Stephan

Published by: Bradley Dean Stephan at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission in writing from the author.

WATCHFULNESS

Publishing ~ Mark 13:37

Stephan, Bradley Dean.

Meditation for Christians: Prayer of Stillness, Surrender & Revelation : A Spiritual Handbook by: Bradley Dean Stephan. – 2nd ed.

p. cm.

LCCN: 2001126452

ISBN: 0-9706517-0-8

1. Meditation-Christianity. I. Title.

BV4813.S74 2001 248.3'4

QBI01-200250

Revised digital edition: June, 2010

facebook: Brad Stephan

http://www.meditationforchristians.org/

Cover photography copyright © 1997 by Morris Press

Original June, 2001 paper edition:

Morris Publishing

3212 East Highway 30

Kearney, Nebraska 68847

1-800-650-7888

www.morrispublishing.com

Dedication

To fellow Christians who desire a closer walk with Christ, enhanced receptivity to the Holy Spirit and a deeper experience of God's divine presence in their heart, mind and soul . . .

"As the rain and the snow come down from Heaven,

and do not return to it without watering the earth and

making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the

sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes

out from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty, but

will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose

for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10-11

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1) What is Christian Meditation?

2) Why Should I Practice Christian Meditation?

3) How Do I Practice Christian Meditation?

Eight Steps –Description

Eight Steps –A Summary

Watchfulness

4) Godward Bound: The Journey Home

Closing Comment

End Notes

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my deep appreciation to Pastor Stan Murdock, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Kearney, Nebraska, for his intensive review and recommendation in the shaping of this handbook. His Godly advice was critical in achieving whatever benefit this handbook may provide its readers. I would also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to Pam Witter, church secretary at First Baptist Church, and to my brother Kirk Anthony Stephan, for their incisive review and suggestion, which also contributed to the betterment of this handbook. Lastly, I thank my wife, Cindy Ann Stephan (9/27/1959 – 5/13/2006), for her love, support and prayerful critique, and without whose holy presence in my life – this handbook would not have been written.

***

A special acknowledgement to Buster Brown (1997-2001), who taught me devotion, servitude, compassion and watchfulness.

Introduction

"May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord." Psalm 104:34

The primary objective of this spiritual handbook is to introduce Christians to the art of this ancient and holy form of contemplative prayer – and to encourage the practice of Christian Meditation as an integral part of daily worship.

This book is written expressly for the 'beginner.' Even though some readers may have enjoyed a lifelong walk with Christ and some may command an in-depth understanding of the Holy Bible, most will have little or no exposure to Christian Meditation. However, for those readers with previous knowledge or actual experience with meditative prayer, I hope they find the instruction and scriptural application in this handbook beneficial and inspirational in their continued practice.

In one form or another, meditation has been practiced by all the world’s major religions. For some religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, meditation has been given a higher importance than for others. For Christianity, meditation is referenced 18 times in the Old Testament, so it appears to have been a common practice among the ancient Hebrews. Although the New Testament does not specifically reference meditation, the teachings of Jesus, Paul, Peter, James and John clearly represent the concept and the benefit of worshipping, surrendering and listening to God through meditative prayer. I believe meditation was a normal part of daily prayer in the early Church, following the descent of the Holy Spirit fifty days after the crucifixion (see Acts 2). The complete surrender of one’s heart, mind and soul to Christ, and the resulting gift of the Holy Spirit, were natural and intrinsic components of the early Christian experience. Therefore, meditative prayer did not require instruction or documentation.

Since that time, however, except for certain monastic communities, this form of Christian prayer has largely been 'forgotten.' This is primarily because meditation was not expressly taught within the scriptures. Instead of the 'method' or 'technique,' the Bible teaches us the 'benefit' or 'outcome' of meditative prayer – holy lives spent listening to and serving the will of God, rather than their own. Also, the practice of meditation was simply not 'passed on' in any organized manner over the years, either through the Church, within the family tradition or by word of mouth.

Only in recent years has meditative prayer been re-discovered by a broader Christian base, consisting of both clergy and lay people. They have found Christian Meditation to be an appropriate and highly effective way to worship God and surrender worldly pride and desire, as well as a means to directly experience the inner presence of His Kingdom. I believe and pray the 'resurrection' of meditative prayer at the dawn of the 21st century will, once again, cause it to become a natural and intrinsic component of the Christian experience.

The practice of Christian Meditation is also an effective answer to the concern raised by A. W. Tozer in the Preface to his 1948 classic, The Pursuit of God: It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God’s children starving while actually seated at the Father’s table . . . for it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the Truth.

Indeed, many Christians are starving while sitting at God’s table. Weekly church attendance, Christian fellowship, Bible study, even our daily prayers may leave us with our 'spiritual glass' half full, because we have not yet achieved our full potential in three, important areas of our spiritual life:

1) We lack a direct and personal experience of our Heavenly Father, our Savior or the Holy Spirit.

For many of us, most of our Christian beliefs and experiences have been obtained indirectly, through listening to or reading the words of others. This may increase our scriptural knowledge, but not necessarily our Christian spirit, as Paul counsels: For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (1st Corinthians 4:20 KJV). Jesus teaches us that the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21), and calls us to take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). Therefore, our spiritual journey requires that we implement His teachings ourselves, by actively seeking God’s truth and glory that forever reside inside our own soul. We should not be satisfied with our spiritual growth until we experience the fruit and blessing of our Christian faith personally, intimately and abundantly for ourselves.

2) We are too attached to the pleasures, the possessions and the relationships of this world.

Christ teaches us that No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). When our heart is filled with worldly cares and desire, our words and deeds may have the outward appearance of being religious and faith-based, but God can see into our heart. He knows the inner sincerity behind our words and what truly motivates our actions – even though we may not know.

3) We are too attached to the worries, the fears and the suffering of this world.

It is ironic, but like it or not, when we place importance on worldly treasure, we open ourselves to worldly evil. When we live for the world, we must take the good, along with the bad. However, when we live for God, whether we encounter worldly pleasure and success during the course of our life, or worldly suffering and failure, we can experience them all with grace, with peace and with love – because we place no importance on them. Our happiness and contentment are based solely on our love and desire for God and not for the world. In John 16:33 (KJV), Jesus teaches us to follow His example: be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Christian Meditation is a simple, but highly effective means to help rid us of our worldly baggage – our attachments, our desires, our fears and our bad habits. These worldly entanglements block our pathway to the Kingdom of Heaven that is within each of us. Through meditative prayer and God’s grace, we become God’s fellow workers (1st Corinthians 3:9), which brings greater understanding and deeper fulfillment to our participation at church, to our fellowship with other Christians, to our Bible study and to our prayers. Meditation is merely a means – while a direct and intimate relationship with God is the solitary aim.

It is important to understand there are different types of meditative prayer being practiced within the Christian faith, e.g., contemplative prayer, centering prayer, Jesus Prayer, Prayer of Quiet, Rosary Prayer, lectio divina and so on – as well as different types of meditation being practiced in other faiths, e.g., vipassana, koan, zazen, dhyana, etc. Therefore, the technique for Christian Meditation taught in this spiritual handbook might differ from another Christian (or non-Christian) method you may have learned. Of course, the crucial difference between the various forms of Christian Meditation and all non-Christian forms of meditation is the gateway of Jesus Christ: I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (John 10:9).

Some Christian writers believe that techniques and methods for Christian Meditation are not necessary, as God desires to be in direct and intimate communication with His people. Therefore, any and all sincere methods will attain His response. To this I answer, Amen! God is not interested in technique, but intent – the faith, surrender and love held in one’s heart. However, I believe there are two reasons why I was led to write this handbook on meditative technique:

1) Our faith, surrender and love for God may be strong and sincere, but their depth and breadth may not be sufficient to overcome the weakness in our natural selves (Romans 6:19). Therefore, we are not able to wholeheartedly obey (Romans 6:17) Paul’s teaching to not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2); and

2) Without some method or knowledge as a guide, most of us overlook meditative prayer as a form of worship and spiritual exercise – because we are not aware that it exists, because we have concerns about its scriptural authority or because we simply do not know how to begin.

In addition to meditative prayer, I have also described a prayer method I refer to as Watchfulness (see Page ___) that allows us to follow Jesus’ command to always be watching (see Luke 12:37), as well as Paul’s teaching to pray continually (see 1st Thessalonians 5:17). Again, the Holy Bible is very precise in recording these commands and teachings, and it clearly shows us the benefit we will receive when we follow them, but it does not provide us with the specific methods to practice this challenging form of continuous prayer. I don’t believe this is because methods and techniques are not important or valid. Instead, I believe it is because the New Testament authors were inspired to focus on the value and importance of the spiritual 'relationship' between mankind and its Savior, and not on specific spiritual practices or rituals, which were such an important part of the Hebrew faith.

In recent years, meditation has also been found to be an effective, non-spiritual tool for relaxation, stress-reduction and health improvement. In secular meditation the sole objective is physical, mental and emotional health, with no religious or