3456 101MostPwerfulPrayersBible
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5/12/03
3:37 PM
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C LAIRE C LONINGER from the mouth into the mind and down into the heart, where through quiet rumination—regurgitation, if you will—it produces in the person praying a loving, faith-filled response.1
The more we allow the beauty and truth of God’s Word to circulate in our spirits and through our minds—the more we chew the cud of his wisdom, so to speak—the richer the finished product in our lives. When I meditate on God’s Word, first I ask him to lead me to a particular passage. Many times this happens quite naturally as I am reading the Word. A passage of Scripture seems to draw my attention almost as though God was highlighting it. Once I am at that stopping place, I will write the standout phrase or passage at the top of my journal page and ask the Holy Spirit to teach me what he would have me know. I underline significant words in the passage and then for a time I rest in God’s presence. What is he saying to me? Why has he brought me to this place? What is his message? I write it all down. Beside each significant word I might write other related words that have a particular meaning for me. I might jot down a question or a short thought related to the word or passage. During the week I try to spend quiet times of reflection on these thoughts, not leaving the passage until it has yielded for me the spiritual food that God intended. I found one such example in a journal entry dated August 30, 2001. I had been struggling with what focus my ministry should take: songwriting, speaking, or writing books? I meditated silently on Proverbs 3:5–6. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” I then wrote out a paraphrase of those verses in my journal: “Lord,