Our culture is uncomfortable with silence. We rush to fill times of quiet with the radio in the car or the television at home. We listen to MP3 players as we jog. After reaching our audio limit, we drop into bed and wake the next morning to fill a new day with more noise

This reminds me of a quote by John Bunyan:

“If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a glass slipper on a gouty foot.”

In the process, we’re losing the art of meditation. Of course, it doesn’t help that meditation is often associated with eastern religions. We forget the Bible contains many references to meditating on God’s Word.

For example:

• “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night…” (Joshua 1:8 NIV).
• “…but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night” (Psalm 1:2 NIV).
• “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways” (Psalm 119:15 NIV).

There’s one major difference between eastern meditation and biblical meditation. In eastern religions, meditation requires an emptying of the mind. With biblical meditation, we fill our minds with God’s Word.

Unfortunately, we are becoming less able to model a life that regularly meditates on God’s Word. All that background noise obscures the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.

Now a new generation is uncomfortable with silence. Children need to learn how to reflect on God’s Word, and they need to learn it from us. So how do we teach them?

First, practice meditating on God’s Word for yourself.

Then be intentional about practicing meditation on God’s Word with the children in our lives in age appropriate ways.

One way is to begin with an open-ended question—one that can’t be answered with a yes or no answer, such as “How can I thank God for sending Jesus?” Then settle down together to ponder in silence. Consider spending a minute’s worth of silence for every two years of the child’s age. For example, three minutes for a six-year-old. Then discuss their thoughts.

Regaining a habit of meditation will feed our spirit as we all seek to walk with Jesus. Don’t lose the practice of meditating on God and His Word. Set aside quiet times to prepare your heart to hear the Holy Spirit. Then teach the children in your life to do the same.