[quote author=christ_lover link=board=10;threadid=3858;start=0#msg54381 date=1147246250] How to get the most out of meditating on the Bible?
1. Pray - do not allow your meditations to be seperated from prayer, lest they become cold and rational.
2. Consult the Holy Fathers of the Church and what they say regarding the meaning of the Bible to ensure you meditate on what the Bible is actually saying, and not your own private interpretation.
3. For the same reason, keep always in mind the faith of the Church as expressed through her hymnography and iconography.
4. Don't meditate on huge chunks of Scripture, but keep it short and sweet. A good way to do it is to pick the readings the Church has assigned to that particular day (http://www.copticchurch.net/classes/getLectionary.php). That way you are reading the Bible together with the whole Church, not in isolation.
5, Don't forget to ask your spiritual father what he believes is best for you.
keep a notebook and write ur fav verse or verses and next to it expand and meditate what do u lyk about it, how to apply in ur life wat does it mean etc etc. keep expanding... thats how i meditate on my Bible reading...
hope i helped... as Orthodox11 said ask ur FOC and see wat he says... a tasoni taught me wat i do and so did my FOC o n also i found the bible commentry books awesome to help but they say do ur own meditation then read the commentrys
well Christ Lover what FROG said was perfect. what i do is i pray everytime before i read the bible and i say God please give me the understanding of what i am about to read. i find that it helps me understand things much better. i also read the commentaries of some of the books as FROG said to get a better understanding as well. i also say a short prayer after i read so what i read sticks with me. it takes time to be able to understand the bible the way priests and our church fathers do. hope that helped.
b4 u start readin ur Bible a gd vs is in psalm 119 "O Lord open my eyes that i may see wonderous things from your words' thats wat i start off with its awesome also forgot to mention u do tht every nyt and wen u finish the book of the Bible you read all the meditations on the whole book so then after that u start on a new fresh book with all its different lessons. i rekon it helps heaps... memba to rite ALL your thoughts on paper even if it takes lyk 2 whole pages but dot points is gd.
forgot 1 thing. you need to HIGHLIGHT highlight your verses that u will be meditating on so after u finish u dont have to read it all again go back to what u highlighted. often ull find in Pauls epistles or so every verse in the book will be highlighted but its all kool u highlight wat u like, what is beneficial, something u can abide by for the rest of ur life. and usually say for eg. ur going through a problem and ur worried or stressed and ur Bible reading is umm let not ur heart be troubled or something that tells u to trust or a gd eg. is say u no a frend that is a lost sheep and u get the passage about the wise son. under ur contemplation write ur feelings... say i no he/she will come back ill trust inthe Lord... keep praying for this situation and look how long it will take for this situation to go... God works in awesome ways. so wen u even go back for ur book review ull c that God is qwick to answer prayers... if not yet w8 patiently hope i helped. :)
pray before reading the bible read at a nice pace (without rushing) have the will to focus study bibles are the best they break everything down so well i wouldnt understand anything without it many God bless you
Everyone here gave awesome advice as to what to do concerning the meditation of the Bble. Personally, something that I take into account is that it's quality, not quantity. It doesn't matter how much you read, only that you understand what you read and take it to heart. It could be a whole chapter, or maybe even a verse, all that matters is that you understand, or better yet, appreciate the meaning of what you just read. It makes it all the more worthwhile.
Comments
How to get the most out of meditating on the Bible?
1. Pray - do not allow your meditations to be seperated from prayer, lest they become cold and rational.
2. Consult the Holy Fathers of the Church and what they say regarding the meaning of the Bible to ensure you meditate on what the Bible is actually saying, and not your own private interpretation.
3. For the same reason, keep always in mind the faith of the Church as expressed through her hymnography and iconography.
4. Don't meditate on huge chunks of Scripture, but keep it short and sweet. A good way to do it is to pick the readings the Church has assigned to that particular day (http://www.copticchurch.net/classes/getLectionary.php). That way you are reading the Bible together with the whole Church, not in isolation.
5, Don't forget to ask your spiritual father what he believes is best for you.
hope i helped... as Orthodox11 said ask ur FOC and see wat he says... a tasoni taught me wat i do and so did my FOC o n also i found the bible commentry books awesome to help but they say do ur own meditation then read the commentrys
GB
+FROG+
keep a bible diary..with
DAte:
Reference:
Favorite verse:
MAin Phrase:
main Words:
Meditation:
and then a Short prayer relating to the passage
do that everyday..
TRUST ME ITS HARDDDD
God Bless and Pray for me.
GB ALL
+FROG+
+FROG+
read at a nice pace (without rushing)
have the will to focus
study bibles are the best they break everything down so well i wouldnt understand anything without it
many God bless you
Sleepy