The Neglected Practice of Bible Meditation
Living On The Bread Of God
Which is more commended by Scripture?
A) A daily 15-minute quiet time with Bible reading.
B) A throughout-the-day reflection on Scripture.
Take a pick.
Here’s my answer:
In support of A, you have a couple passages. Isaiah 50:4b says of God, “Morning by morning he awakens: he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.”
The alarm clock for Isaiah was an audio Bible, you could say. But it’s descriptive rather than prescriptive.
You also have, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” (Matt. 4:4).
We know bread was a central part of every meal, not just once per day.1 So this “living on every word that comes from the mouth of God” is not just daily, but multiple times per day.
Similarly, Daniel and David pray three times per day, though they say nothing of Scripture intake.
And that's it. Those are the best arguments for A. There’s really no call in Scripture to practice a “daily devotional” time.2
Not Daily Bread But Living Bread
I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a daily devotional. It’s very good! It’s just at risk of missing the point. We should live on God’s Word. That’s the point. We should saturate ourselves in Scripture throughout the day as a tree does in soil.
Deut. 6:6-8 (ESV) says:
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Read that again. Practicing this takes longer than 15 minutes.
Photo credit: https://www.doorposts.com/blog/2011/11/01
I agree with Jen Wilkin, who says the daily 15-minute devotional is not the goal. She says it’d be better for some people to spend 45 minutes in God’s Word a couple of times a week than to spend 15 minutes daily.
Reflecting on God’s Word
I used to be part of a non-denominational (and loosely Brethren) church. As a normal practice, church members were given the opportunity to preach. And so I, alongside a few others, would preach anywhere from 2-6 times every year.
We found that reflecting on a single passage of Scripture week after week was a deeply spiritual and life-giving exercise. There was something different about this level of commitment to a single text that was not true of my daily audio Bible or my weekly Bible study. I would think about the passage in the shower, on drives, while with my kids, in study in comparison with commentaries, and before I went to bed - internalizing the nuances of what the text did and didn’t say.
I worry that many of my fellow Christians are missing out on this practice of deep Biblical reflection.
How To Practice Bible Meditation
Let the Bible fill all the in-between moments of your day — that’s the beauty and challenge of this practice.
It’s not about reflecting on God’s truth in every second - you need to think on other things too - it’s about prolonging the taste of bread. You are likely practicing some of this already when you recall a sermon with a friend, reflect on the passage from Bible study on your way home, or use your Bible app’s daily verse feature.
Kelly Kapic says,
We sometimes make meditating on Scripture sound too difficult, too sophisticated, too spiritual for those of us who are not supersaints. But meditating is just taking a biblical truth (e.g., “The Lord is near”) and savoring it throughout our day, thinking about it, resting in its assurance, allowing the thought to run over us like a purifying stream on a hot summer day. These truths often take a while to move into our souls, so we must spend time with and rest in them.
Kelly M. Kapic, You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design and Why That's Good News
I encourage you to meditate on Scripture. Take advantage of your commutes, errands, and chores. Turn off distractions during these times, turn on an audio Bible, and put it on repeat. Try to memorize a text or section of Scripture. Stick it on your fridge or by your bedside. Replace your fluffy “Live, Laugh, Love” artwork with Scripture, for the sake of all that is good! Read the same verse multiple times, emphasizing a different word each time. Or, imagine discussing a passage with someone else. Better yet, discuss a passage with someone else, whether by text or call, or face-to-face. Or, grab a blank paper or Scripture journal and write out some thoughts with each verse. Or pray each verse. Meditate on Scripture.
Chew on the words that come from God’s mouth.
See page 141 of God of All Things by Andrew Wilson.
For a longer treatment of texts that might encourage a daily “quiet time” practice, see https://www.crossway.org/articles/does-the-bible-direct-us-to-have-quiet-times/ by Jonathan Gibson.