LIFT YOUR SPIRIT UP THROUGH MEDITATION

TO THE BIBLE: Joshua 1:8

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

LET’S TALK

Being successful in life depends on what happens in your spirit, because that’s where your life comes from (Proverbs 4:23). And as such, it’s important that you train your spirit with God’s Word for it to be a sure guide for life. You’re in a world filled with negative voices of failure, weakness, wickedness and sickness, but as long as you store God’s Word in your heart richly, you’ll be able to capture those negative thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5).

One way you can achieve this is by meditation or muttering God’s Word to yourself. When you mutter or meditate on the Word, you talk your spirit up and drown the negative thoughts coming to your mind. I first learnt to do this as a teenager many years ago: I’d sometimes get into my dad’s car in the garage, just to be alone in a quiet place and there meditate. This is something you need to do often: Learn to lock yourself away in a private place so as not to disturb others and then shout the Word until you completely drown every negative thought of fear, unbelief or failure.

As you do this, the Word will gain the mastery over your mind, and your spirit will have the mastery over life’s circumstances.

Go Deeper: Proverbs 4:20-22, 1 Timothy 4:15

Pray

Dear Father, I thank you for showing me how to store your Word in my spirit that affects my body and influences my mind! Your Word fills me with thoughts that are consistent with your eternal plan for my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Act

Take out time to talk and mutter these scriptures to yourself:

1. Psalm 23:1-6
2. Psalm 119:103-105
3. Romans 12:2
4. Philippians 4:13, 19

TO THE BIBLE: Proverbs 10:17 AMP

“He who heeds instruction and correction is [not only himself] in the way of life [but also] is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof [not only himself] goes astray [but also] causes to err and is a path toward ruin for others.”

LET’S TALK

Imagine a young man who embarks on a road trip and, after several hours of driving on the highway, begins to feel sleepy. Then the Spirit of God says to him, “Stop at the next filling station and rest for a while.” But he ignores the instruction and continues on his journey, and before he knows it, he dozes, veers off the road, and crashes into a bush.

Many have crashed not only their cars but their lives like this, just because they wouldn’t listen and respond to the prompting and leading of God’s Spirit. Don’t be that way! Sometimes, you may be in the midst of a group of people, and the Spirit of God wants you to separate yourself from them; take His instructions seriously and obey immediately. Consciously train yourself to respond quickly to His voice. Don’t let Him have to repeat instructions to you over and over again.

Remember, God’s guidance in our lives doesn’t have to be spectacular to be supernatural. What makes it supernatural is that it came from the Holy Spirit, and it can therefore be trusted. When you train yourself to respond to Him this way, you’ll be able to hear Him in times of crisis, and act quickly to save yourself and others from unnecessary trouble and heartache.

Go Deeper: Proverbs 4:13, Ecclesiastes 8:5, Isaiah 30:21

Pray

Dear Father, thank you for the guidance that your Spirit alone gives. I’m guided in the right direction, and my steps are ordered by you today and always, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Act

Pray fervently in tongues right now: that’s how to get your spirit to hear from God’s Spirit.

 

Give God quality praise with your lips every day.

To The Bible Hebrews 13:15

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

LET’S TALK

Back in the Old Testament, the children of Israel would sacrifice bulls, sheep, and goats in worship of the Lord. In fact, on one occasion, Solomon, King of Israel, offered 22,000 oxen and 120,00 sheep as a sacrifice to the Lord! (1 Kings 8:63). The children of Israel were required to make such sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. But guess what, even though we’re instructed to offer sacrifices of praise to God in the New Testament, we don’t have to kill any animals to do it!

Hebrews 13:15 clearly describes the content of our “sacrifice of praise.” It says it is “the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” This means our sacrifices of praise today are the confessions, declarations, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that we make in thanksgiving to the Lord for His goodness and grace.

This is what praise really is; it’s much more than saying, “I praise you Lord; I just want to thank you for everything.” Praising God means giving thanks to Him for definite reasons.

As you praise and worship the Lord, making confessions to His Name, it is as a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour that’s pleasing to Him. As He accepts your sacrifice, His presence overshadows you and causes His glory to be seen in your life.

Go Deeper Romans 12:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, 1 Peter 2:5

RELATE:

Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for the entrance of your Word that gives me light and understanding  concerning true praise! I thank you for making me an heir of eternal salvation, and for your goodness and grace that abound toward me always, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Act

Sing a new song of praise to the Lord; start by singing in other tongues, and let the words of praise flow from the depths of your spirit.

TO THE BIBLE: Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

‘“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”’

LET’S TALK

I was chatting with some friends many years ago and I said, “I will never be poor. I will never be broke.”

“You’re just boasting,” one of them said.

“I’m not boasting,” I replied.

“But, Chris, you don’t know the future. Do you?”

“I do!”

At this point, the others joined and made light of the issue, saying, “Don’t mind Chris. He’s only joking. He doesn’t really mean what he’s saying.” But I let them know that I meant every iota of what I had said. And so they asked me to explain. I opened the Bible and showed them a series of scriptures that highlight the prosperity of the Christian. One of the scriptures I read was Psalm 1:1-3, which says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

Next, I told them that if anyone would walk in the light of these verses, they wouldn’t fail; they’d always be successful.

“But those are mere Bible verses you just read,” they said.

“They’re not mere verses,” I responded. “They’re God’s truth. And if you’d live by it, you’d certainly become what it talks about. The Word will give you hope, and cause you to prosper irrespective of the existing social structure, political system, or economic condition in your country.

Go Deeper

Acts 20:32; 3 John 2

Speak

I will always be successful and prosperous, by virtue of God’s Word working in me. The Word is taking me from glory to glory. As I commit myself to live by it, I’m transformed into what it talks about, in Jesus’ Name.

Act

Meditate on the words of Act 20:32: “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”