Here are five simple steps that will make meditation a powerful tool in your life.

Number One: Be Willing to Wait on the Lord

Our lives seem to be infected by a spirit of hurry. I am no stranger to this phenomenon. Each day, I have my plan – my schedule. I know what I’m doing at two o’clock, three o’clock, etc. I am organized and goal-oriented. I work long hours and know exactly what I want to accomplish in those hours. Sometimes when it’s time to sit before the Lord, a spirit of hurry presses on me. I think of all the “things” I am not accomplishing because I’m “just sitting.”

That thought is a meditation killer. Waiting is a crucial first step towards effective meditation on God’s Word. I have learned to block off those times and not let anything, especially my own thoughts get in the way. If I think of something important, I write it down and set it aside so I can deal with it later.

The Bible promises that they who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, mount up with wings as eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not grow faint.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

The Bible says in Genesis 24 that Isaac went out in the field to meditate.

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. (Genesis 24:63)

So there was Isaac sitting in a field meditating. He looked into the distance and saw a caravan of camels coming toward him. A beautiful woman hopped off one of the camels, ran up to him and said, “Praise the Lord! You are to be my husband!”

These are the kinds of surprises in store for you if you are willing to wait on the Lord.

Number Two: Take One Bite of Scripture at a Time

Mommies and daddies always tell their children to take small bites and chew their food well, and that is pretty good advice for meditating on the Scriptures. Your mind cannot think about a whole book of the Bible at one time. Most of us probably couldn’t think about even one whole chapter. You need to break it down, line-by-line, thought-by-thought, and truth-by-truth. Context is important, so you need to read chapters or books in one sitting, but within the context you will discover many truths.

Choose a book of the Bible and begin to break it down. Read it through a couple of times and then start meditating on specific Scriptures. Maybe you will read Joshua 1:6-9 or Psalm 1. The Holy Spirit will guide you to the right place.

The disciples asked Jesus lots of questions and received bite-sized answers. That’s probably one of the reasons Jesus had to be with them for three years. If their minds had been capable, Jesus would have “downloaded” all his truth in one amount at a time. You are the same. You will be better able to take it in when you take it in small allotments.

Number Three: Read It Repeatedly….And Out Loud

This is how you transfer spiritual faith for the Word into your spirit. You read it out loud so your mind will hear it. By repeating it, your mind knows it is important and begins processing it.

The first thing that occurs to you when you face any situation, will be the focus of your meditations. If you meditate on money, you will always think about money first when a new situation arises. If you are meditating on finding a spouse, your mind will jump to that subject in every new circumstance. If you constantly meditate on God’s Word, it will be readily available to you when you need it.

By reading something repeatedly and letting your ears hear your mouth say it, you reinforce what is important to you and cause it to leap to mind in new situations.

Number Four: View it from all Angles

Ask the Lord questions. “Lord, who, what, where, when, and why?” God’s promises are like precious diamonds. You can examine them from all angles and see something different from every direction.

Meditation is about having a dialogue with God. He will answer your questions and give you insights as you examine his Word from all angles.

Number Five: Think About It Before You Go to Sleep

What do you want your mind to work on during the night while you are asleep? The thoughts you take to bed become your nighttime meditations. There are dozens of stories of men and women throughout history who solved major problems, or came up with dazzling new inventions, while they were sleeping. One of the most recorded songs of all time – Yesterday, by Paul McCartney – came to him while he was asleep. When he woke up, he rolled out of bed and started playing it on the piano.

Meditation is a powerful tool that god encourages you to use to center your focus on him, to understand his Word, and to focus your thoughts on specific goals.