Meditation

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

The Crawford Stand. This week, the president of Crawford Broadcasting Company, Don Crawford, is talking about what happens when we take the time to be quiet before the Lord and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit and to experience His comfort and peace.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:19

Christians, real Christians, know and understand salvation, the incredible salvation experience, nothing like it. when they have met, believed in, and asked forgiveness from Jesus Christ. Have you done that? Real Christians know the experience of forgiveness of sin, the soul, and character-changing encounter with the crucifixion, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Real Christians know how important, how vital, and life-changing prayer is, communion with God Almighty every day. Real Christians study Scripture, the Bible, Old and New Testaments, to learn, to grow, and to show themselves approved unto God, workmen and workwomen who are never ashamed of the gospel and their incredible spiritual experiences. Have you had them? And are you proud to be a Christian? You should be. And real Christians grow and understand and are thrilled with the challenges and opportunities of the journey of the Christian life. It’s a marvelous experience to be on the Christian journey, is it not? But even real Christians may not know the necessity, the meaning of the extremely important biblical command, I will meditate on your precepts, your teachings, your commandments, your laws, and your grace, among others. I will meditate. It’s not optional. It’s a commandment. You and I, as real Christians, will meditate. Of all the Christian verities, the marvelous act of meditation may be the one most neglected. But Psalms 119.15 implores us to never forget to meditate daily. Daily. There is no day in the life of a Christian too busy not to take time to meditate on the precepts of our Lord. Meditation, real meditation, as the process begins, it’s difficult. For some, it is very difficult. It requires an environment of complete quiet. Complete quiet. The great Christian writer Charles Spurgeon urges and indicates that meditation, real meditation, can only occur when one enters the so-called closet, the closet, where there is complete quiet, perhaps darkness, an environment without distraction and noise and certainly other people. There is an environment where one is alone and only with the company of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever experienced that? It’s really unbelievable. And with the presence of our Lord, it becomes the perfect quiet time, the perfect quiet time, away from everyone and everything. It is in that precious environment of solitude and silence that one, the very true Christian believer, can really hear and absorb the presence of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever done that? And have you ever felt that? It is only there that this indispensable Christian helper and comforter, in that quiet time, that real Christian growth and especially understanding of the mysteries of the Gospel can be revealed. Have you ever experienced that revelation? It is only there in the closet, in the closet, that there can occur the work of the Holy Spirit, which includes illumination, enlightenment, instructions, interpretation, and inspiration. It is in that meditation environment where Scripture can be illuminated and you can better understand it. It is only there that the instructions of our Lord, Old and New Testament, can really take on the meaning for which they are intended. It is only there where the inspiration you need can occur. Those incredible spiritual experiences can only occur when the believer is completely open. Completely open. and then the Spirit bears witness. The mind stands still, a tabula rasa, readiness, a completely open and empty mind occurs. The mind is not involved, it doesn’t think, it’s not distracted, it listens. All worldly thoughts are postponed. The heart opens wide and the believer signals ready for the working of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more difficult, but nothing is more worthwhile, nothing, than to be open before the Lord and to listen, really listen, to the Holy Spirit. And then one begins the next process, very difficult, but necessary and oh so valuable to the Christian, that completely open time when the believer waits, waits on the Lord. Wait, I say, says the Scripture. Wait, I say, on the Lord. There is no agenda. The believer brings nothing spiritually or mentally into the closet, but lays the soul bare before the Lord and waits. Waits. waits on the Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit. That takes patience. It requires time to be able to do that and practice to understand the value, to learn patience, to learn how to wait, to learn how to empty your mind. And no matter how intellectual you may be, and if you are, all of this is more difficult, to learn how to wait, to empty that mind, to empty it and really learn the deep, mysterious and incredible truths of the Gospel. They are there and the Holy Spirit will reveal them. Meditation is a discipline which takes time and it takes practice. And there will be constant experimentation and failure at the beginning. But no Christian experience is complete unless a believer learns how to practice and derive the benefits of meditation. Have you ever done that? Have you ever tried to meditate before the Lord? Have you ever gone into your closet all alone and away from everybody and everything and wait upon the Lord? Have you ever done that? Scriptures say you should do it every day. Every day. Again, there is not a day when you are so busy that you can’t find the right time, the quality time, to meditate before the Lord. But no Christian experience again is complete unless a believer learns how to practice and derive the benefits of meditation. Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever really meditated before the Lord? And have you received the learning which a true meditation experience brings? Have you? There’s nothing like it. But again, it takes time. And most Christians are simply not willing to invest the time for this incredible benefit. Done right, there comes the work of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit. That work illuminates and educates and instructs and perhaps most importantly helps with the interpretation and the inspiration which every believer needs as Scripture is read, understood and revealed. Meditation is the process of deep and rich spiritual digestion. Boy, once you get the benefits, the vitamins, the nutrients of this great practice, meditation, you will never be without it. It takes time, though. It takes time. It takes quality time, daily time. And again, no day of yours should be too busy to set aside quality time for the partnership and the workings of the Holy Spirit in meditation. There is no believer or any day which cannot provide 30 minutes or more of quality time all alone in the closet with the Holy Spirit. If a Christian sincerely wishes to grow in the things of the gospel and our Lord, the goal should be the setting aside, the setting aside of that quality time. I hope you can do 30 minutes a day. If you do 30 minutes a day every day, you will never regret it. and you will never stop doing it because the benefits are simply unbelievable. Unbelievable. The Holy Spirit is waiting for you to partner with Him. Start today and do it every day. Then, and perhaps only then, a believer can rightly ask, And in that environment, there comes the scriptural promise that such asking will be answered. Ask, says the scriptures, and you will receive the answers. Meditation, real meditation, can bring them. But again, it’s not easy. It takes practice and time and trial and error. and careful love and patience in this cell phone day and age when everything has to be instantaneous. Wait patiently on the Lord. But again, my fellow Christians, there is no spiritual experience, no Christian experience in the journey of faith, which is more worthwhile or more necessary if any believer, no matter how busy, sincerely desires to grow and experience the very best things of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has promised that. Try it. Make it part of your life. Make it part of your spiritual discipline. And the benefits can be unbelievable. As with prayer and thanksgiving and praise, meditation should be an essential part of the Christian journey and experience every single day of your life.

SPEAKER 01 : 11:10

I hope you’ll let Mr. Crawford know that you appreciate these daily visits here on The Stand. Please let him know you’re there listening and tell him on what station you’re listening. His email address is stand at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. That address again is stand. at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Please write to Mr. Crawford this week. When you want to review what you hear, go to our website, CrawfordMediaGroup.net. The Crawford Stand is a public affairs presentation of Crawford Broadcasting Company and this station, serving God and country. I’m Bill McCormick.