Short answer: Meditation is not a sin. The Bible commands it, but it means something different from the emptying of the mind found in Eastern religions. Biblical meditation is filling the mind with God's Word, thinking it over slowly and praying it back to Him. Practices designed to empty the mind or to reach a oneness with the universe are another matter, and Christians should avoid them.
In This Article
The word "meditation" makes some Christians nervous, and I understand why. It brings to mind yoga studios, incense, and teachers who speak of "the universe" instead of the living God. Yet people in the pews also noticed that the Bible itself uses the word, and they asked me whether the one was the same as the other.
The honest answer is that the same English word covers two quite different things. This article sorts them out: what Scripture means, how Eastern practice differs, what we know about Jesus' own habits, and where something like mindfulness fits.
What Is Biblical Meditation?
The Hebrew word most often translated "meditate" has the sense of murmuring, muttering or reflecting aloud. Someone meditating in the Old Testament was thinking over a text, often speaking it quietly, turning it over like a stone in the hand. The object was always God's revealed word and works. Joshua is told:
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
Notice the purpose clause: "so that you may be careful to do everything written in it." Biblical meditation is aimed at obedience. It is not a technique for feeling calm, though calm often follows. The first Psalm gives us the picture of the blessed person:
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.Psalm 1:2 (NIV)
Meditation here is delight. The psalmist loves the Word enough to dwell on it. Other psalms widen the target: God's precepts, His works, His mighty deeds, His love.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.Psalm 119:15 (NIV)
I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.Psalm 77:12 (NIV)
So biblical meditation looks like this: read a short passage, read it again slowly, ask what it says about God, ask what it asks of me, pray it back, and carry a line of it into the day. This is exactly the habit many believers know as Bible study with a slower pulse. If you are looking for a place to begin, how to read the Bible and where to start reading the Bible are good companions to this article.
Is It Against Christianity To Meditate?
No. If anything, a Christian who never meditates on Scripture is missing something the Bible assumes. Isaac went out into the field one evening to meditate (Genesis 24:63). David prayed that his own meditation would be pleasing to God:
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
Paul's counsel to the Philippians to think about whatever is true, noble and lovely is in the same spirit, and I come back to it in my article on watching horror movies.
How Is Eastern Meditation Different?
The differences are about the goal, the object and the method.
| Biblical Meditation | Eastern Meditation | |
|---|---|---|
| Object | God's revealed Word and works | Breath, a mantra, the self, or nothing |
| Mind | Filled and engaged | Often emptied or detached from thought |
| Goal | Know God, obey Him, love Him | Enlightenment, oneness, release from the self |
| Source of peace | A personal God who speaks | The practice itself or an impersonal reality |
| Result | Transformed life through the truth | Altered awareness |
The deepest difference is that Christianity is about a relationship with a God who speaks and who is distinct from us. Many Eastern traditions teach that the divine and the self are ultimately one, or that the self is an illusion to be dissolved. Mantra repetition, chanting a name of a deity, or visualizing a spirit guide is worship directed somewhere other than the Lord. The Bible warns against reaching for spiritual experience through channels God has not given. I explain this at more length in my pieces on yoga, witchcraft and astrology.
I should be fair and say that sincere Christians disagree about some practices that sit near the border. Contemplative or centering prayer, drawn from a stream of Catholic and Orthodox spirituality, uses a short phrase or silence to rest in God's presence. Some evangelicals appreciate it, others worry that it drifts toward emptying the mind. My own view, held loosely on the details but firmly on the principle, is that whatever we do must have Christ, not our inner void, as its object, and must be anchored in Scripture rather than replacing it.
Did Jesus Meditate?
The Gospels do not use the word "meditate" of Jesus, but they show Him steeped in Scripture and often alone with the Father. When tempted in the wilderness, He answered with Deuteronomy, quoted from memory, which tells us that the Word had been worked deep into His mind (Matthew 4:1-11). And He made a habit of seeking solitude.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.Mark 1:35 (NIV)
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.Luke 5:16 (NIV)
So did Jesus pray or meditate? The text says He prayed, and the picture is of conversation with the Father, not silence for its own sake. Whatever else was going on in those hours, it was relational. He was not clearing His mind. He was communing with His Father. That is the pattern for us.
What Does Jesus Say About Meditation?
Jesus never gave a lesson titled "meditation." What He did say is that His words are to be taken to heart and obeyed (Matthew 7:24), and that people who abide in Him bear fruit (John 15:5). He also warned His disciples against praying with "many words" like the pagans, who think they will be heard for their repetition (Matthew 6:7). That is a caution against mantra-style repetition as a technique for reaching God.
Is Mindfulness Okay For Christians?
This is where it gets nuanced. "Mindfulness" in its modern, clinical form was adapted from Buddhist practice for use in secular settings, and it ranges from simple attention exercises to full spiritual programs. A person who takes a few slow breaths to calm down before a hard conversation is doing something the Bible would not condemn. The psalmist tells us to be still before God:
Be still, and know that I am GodPsalm 46:10 (NIV)
The key words there are "know that I am God." Stillness has a purpose, and the purpose is God. If a mindfulness program is only breathing, attention to the senses and a pause to settle anxiety, many Christians use it without trouble. If it asks you to let go of the idea of a personal God, to repeat a mantra, or to see yourself as part of an impersonal oneness, I would stay away.
My advice is to ask three questions of any practice. Who is the object? What does it teach about reality? Does it replace or support my time with Scripture and prayer? A Christian version of calm exists, and it is simple. Sit down, open your Bible, read a short passage slowly, and pray what you read. People who worry find this useful, and I discuss that more in Is Worry A Sin?
A Simple Pattern For Christian Meditation
- Pick a short passage, such as a Psalm or a few verses from a Gospel.
- Read it slowly, twice, aloud if you can.
- Ask what it says about God, about you and about what He wants you to do.
- Pray it back to Him in your own words.
- Choose one phrase to remember through the day.
If you struggle with concentration or with doubts about whether prayer "works," you are in good company. And if you are wondering about the late-night hours when sleep will not come, I would simply say that God is not confined to any particular hour. A quiet prayer at three in the morning is as welcome as one at noon, but the Bible does not assign special spiritual powers to a particular time of the night, and I would be cautious of anyone who does.
Key Bible Verses About Meditation
- Joshua 1:8: Meditate on God's Word day and night so that you will obey it.
- Psalm 1:2: The blessed person delights in God's law and meditates on it constantly.
- Psalm 119:15: Meditation involves considering God's precepts and ways.
- Psalm 77:12: Reflect on what God has done, not only on what He says.
- Psalm 19:14: Ask God to make your inner thoughts pleasing to Him.
- Psalm 46:10: Stillness has a purpose, which is to know that He is God.
- Mark 1:35: Jesus rose early and went to a solitary place to pray.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it against Christianity to meditate?
No. Scripture commands meditation on God's Word in Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2. What Christians avoid is meditation aimed at emptying the mind, repeating a mantra or merging with an impersonal divine reality.
What does Jesus say about meditation?
Jesus did not teach a lesson on it, but He told His followers to take His words to heart and obey them, and He cautioned against empty repetition in prayer (Matthew 6:7). Biblical meditation fits the first and avoids the second.
Did Jesus pray or meditate?
The Gospels say Jesus prayed, often early in the morning and in solitary places (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16). He also knew Scripture deeply and quoted it from memory. His quiet times were conversation with the Father.
Is mindfulness okay for Christians?
Simple attention and breathing exercises are not condemned by Scripture, and Psalm 46:10 commends stillness before God. Programs that require a mantra, a rejection of a personal God or a sense of cosmic oneness are another matter, and I would avoid them.
What should a Christian meditate on?
Meditate on Scripture, on God's character and on His works. Philippians 4:8 adds whatever is true, noble, right, pure and lovely. Read a short passage slowly, ask what it says about God and about you, then pray it back.
