Wednesday, July 09, 2014

The Twofold Movement of Meditative Prayer (Prayer Summer 2014)

Our backyard

Richard Foster defines "meditative prayer": 

"Prayer in general is the interactive communication that transpires between God and ourselves. Meditative prayer in particular is the listening side of this communication. We are bringing both mind and heart into the presence of God and then we listen to the Lord." (Richard J. Foster, Sanctuary of the Soul: Journey into Meditative Prayer, Kindle Locations 853-854)

When the psalmist declares, in Psalm 119:97, "Lord how I love your law, I meditate on it day and night," there is a twofold movement of the spirit: 
1) repetition - saying a portion of Scripture over and over and..., and 
2) listening - hearing the voice of God in, through, and even beyond the Scripture (extrabiblical revelation).

When, in Genesis 24:22, Isaac "went out into a field to meditate" he was, primarily, repeating God-thoughts and listening for God's voice.