Meditation Food

This  article  is  especially  designed to help young Christians grow spiritually. The Bible tells us that we  are spirit beings who have souls and live in physical bodies (1  Th. 5:23). People train their bodies by physical exercise and their souls by mental education but the great need of Christians today is to train their spirit man.

 

   I only came to this realization one day in a vision when the Lord graciously revealed to me the condition of my spirit man. It looked as skinny as a `bamboo stick.’ It was so weak that the demons surrounding me in that vision formed a solid wall against my path, and I could not make any progress. 

 

   When I came out from that vision, God spoke to me and told me that that was the condition of my spirit man. I prayed for God to teach  me to feed and train and strengthen my spirit man. It  was then that God began to show me about meditation and contemplation. 

 

   I started spending about 6 to 7 hours daily in the confession of God’s Word for a period of about one year. As a result, my entire life and ministry was completely transformed. Within a  period of about six months, while I was preaching the Word of God, the gifts of the Spirit started operating. When I prayed for the sick or cast out demons, I found new strength of power and life flowing out from me.  I have never been the same since.

 

   Everything we do in the Christian life that is of any spiritual value would have to be done through our spirit man. Paul said that he served God by his spirit man. (Rom. 1:9). Our spiritual strength is proportional to the strength of our spirit man.

 

   In normal usage, the word `meditation’ speaks of the silent thinking upon an object or a thought. However, in studying the Bible, there is an aspect of meditation that is not silent.

 

   In the Old Testament, there are  several Hebrew words translated as `meditate’ but the main one is the word `hagah.’ This word has been translated as `mutter’ twice (Is. 59:3;  8:19), `meditate’ six times (Jos. 1:8; Ps. 1:2; 63:6; 77:12; 143:5; Is. 33:18), `speak’ four times (Ps. 35:28; 37:30; 115:7; Prov. 8:7), `study’ twice (Prov.  15:28; 24:2), `talk’ once (Ps. 71:24), `utter’ once (Job 27:4).

 

   It can be noted from these scriptures that meditation does indicate the use of mouth as an instrument to mutter  or speak God’s Word. Moreover, when we read God’s Word silently, we are only using our eyes  to take in God’s Word. But when we read God’s word aloud, we are using our eyes to see, our mouths to speak and our ears to hear. Three, instead of one of our senses, are actively taking in God’s Word.

 

   There  is  a  place  for  silent  meditation in the Christian life but I would rather define that as contemplation.  This would be explained more in ‘The Spiritual World’ book but  this booklet is not designed to expound on this area. In the Spiritual World book, we teach Christians silent meditation and contemplation. (Phil. 4:8)

 

   Confess aloud the promises of God’s Word in this booklet to yourself everyday. They have been personalized for you. Paul exhorted Timothy to meditate on `these things’ (1 Tim. 4:15). If we study what `these things’ mean, we can see that Paul is referring to `the words of faith and of good doctrine’ (1 Tim. 4:16, 6).

 

   The second thing that should be done is to pray in tongues regularly in your life. We suggest that you pray at  least one hour in tongues everyday. Here are some reasons why we should pray in tongues:

When we pray in tongues it is our spirit that prays (1 Cor. 14:14) 

Our spirit is activated and dominates our whole being as we pray in tongues.

Our spirit is built up and energized when we pray in tongues. (1 Cor. 14:4) 

When we pray in tongues, we are speaking unto God and magnifying Him (1 Cor. 14: 2; Acts 10:46) 

Praying in tongues, which is praying in  the spirit, is part of our spiritual weapon against Satan. (Eph. 6:10-18). 

When we pray in tongues, we are built up on our most holy faith. (Jude 20). 

Praying in tongues helps us in our payer life (Rom. 8:26). 

Praying in tongues is prayer in the  perfect will of God. (Rom. 8:27). 

Praying in tongues helps us against infirmities (Rom. 8:26).

The word `infirmity’ is the same word that is used when Jesus is said to have borne our infirmities and sickness (Matt.8:17). Praying in tongues creates a spiritual force in and around us that makes us immune to sicknesses. 

When we pray in tongues, we enter our spiritual rest. (Heb. 4:8-10; 1 Cor. 14: 21; Is. 28:11, 12) 

Praying and singing in tongues helps us  to worship God at a higher level than our understanding permits.  (1 Cor. 14:15; Jn. 4:23, 24). 

There are many, many other dimensions of life in the spirit, e.g. singing in the spirit, ministering to God, speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs and so forth, but we can make a start even right now by being affective in the spiritual realm by  praying in the spirit (1 Cor. 14:15; Acts 13: 2; Eph. 5:19).

   Once in a vision, God showed me the world surrounded by thick forces of darkness. As Christians prayed in the spirit, beams of light flowed from the Christians and scattered the demonic forces in the atmosphere. The beams of light punched holes in the thick darkness and reached through to the throne of God. 

   Meditation and prayer are keys never to be neglected all through our spiritual walk. The Spirit of wisdom and revelation rests upon you as you meditate upon the Scriptures and pray unceasingly in the spirit.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

Always Have A Plan B

We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. Because many things don’t go as well as we would like them to, it’s a great idea to have a “Plan B.” Having fallback plans can’t help but make you feel better about the  outcome  of  any  situation,  and  it  is  a  common denominator among very self-confident people.

Anyone  who  has  had  more  than  one  failure  in her  life  can  tell  you  that  having  another  path  to  take probably saved her bacon a time or two. I’m a big one for  contingency  plans.  If  you  are  an  entrepreneur,  in the  arts  or  media,  or  you  have  all  your  eggs  in  one basket, a Plan B is essential.

Knowing that if you lose the farm you have a condo you can go to makes you feel safer in the world. I know a number of people who have motor homes, and one of the reasons they do is, as they jokingly say, it’s their “in case” home. During the last big earthquake here in Los  Angeles,  many  people  who  had  them  were  very grateful—and those of us who didn’t were envious.

With the world economy in turmoil, creating some kind of additional income stream is also a good idea. The jeweler who is also a great designer or builder, the computer  geek  who  can  also  teach  school,  or  the  PR person  who  is  a  closet  novelist  can  all  find  a  way  to thrive even if their current position disappears.

Backup  plans  don’t  have  to  be  new  ideas—I continue  to  use  aspects  of  everything  I’ve  ever  done. My days on stage playing guitar have made me a better public speaker, which makes me a good radio host. The energy  I  put  into  songs  and  poems  has  helped  them become columns and books.

The years I spent running my  own  business  give  me  the  insight  to  help  others streamline theirs. 

And all of my experiences have made me  a  confident  and  successful  therapist.  Every  talent and  ability  you  have  can  be  built  upon  and  also  used again.  Not  that  I’d  ever  again  want  to  be  on  a  tour bus with six smelly guys for eight weeks, but if I had to I could still put food on the table by humming and strumming.

There’s  another  potential  upside  here:  Sometimes your  original  plan  and  your  backup  can  work  at  the same time. I still counsel, consult, write, and speak to groups all over the world. In years when the speaking business  got  very  slow  (such  as  after  9/11  and  then the  financial  crisis),  I  spent  more  time  writing  and counseling.

When  there  was  a  lull  between  books, I  put  more  energy  into  my  radio  show  and  business consulting, and did pro-bono events. Having multiple options gives you the sense that, if any one thing went away, you’d have other gigs that would more than fill the gap.

So get a little creative. Look at your past accomplishments and your current talents. A Plan B is only an idea away. By the way, this Plan B thing works in life, but not in relationships. Having a backup mate is only going to erode your current relationship and cause heartache for everyone involved. Enough said.