Meditation

There is something to be said for setting aside a portion of the day to devote intentionally to God. When we draw near to Him, He truly draws near to us (James 4:8). I find myself drawing nearer to God through the practice of being still in mind and body. It's got to be one the most common biblical cliches: be still and know that I am God! Yet, it's one that has taken new meaning and one I'm certainly clinging to throughout my Buddhist studies course. Again, I discovered the Lord's voice in class today, specifically in my meditation class.

We normally sit in silence and stillness anywhere from 15-20 minutes for two to three sessions. I fill this time with prayer and scripture that I recite silently. Lately, however, our lama (teacher) has been leading us in what's called "guided meditation" that lasts for about 30-40 minutes. In other words, he's speaking the whole time! This doesn't really jive with my definition of meditation. It seems more like hypnosis to me! LOL! I find it quite distracting, but I'm learning to tune out the external noise and focus solely on the Lord. I wasn't able to pray with the distraction of the lama's words, but I found that I could successfully counter his words with Scripture. As I was quoting scripture (Isaiah 43:1-3, Psalm 46, Psalm 27:4, and the Lord's Prayer) I entered into a deep communion with God. All else faded away. He seemed to say "Come, listen to Me. Focus fully on Me. Look up to Me."  He was asking for distraction-free attention. Nothing was to come between us. I can't begin to describe or explain how protected and loved I feel in the presence of God. Thank you again for your prayer support. As God was speaking, streams of tears began to well in my eyes as I remembered His promise. He promises that we will hear His voice, the voice of our Shepherd. He will know us and we will follow Him (John 10:26-28). I dwelled on God's love, the love of a Father. I could see the image of Father and daughter: Father kneeling in embrace with His daughter, cupping her little face and gently reminding her "Come, listen to Me. Focus fully on Me. Look up to Me. I am the One. You need no other." What a protector! What strength! What power! What love! "Cling to Me."  A playful daughter, full of smiles and giggles, wraps herself around her Father's leg sitting on His foot. Kids like to do that, don't they? She's clinging to Him as He walks. Both are laughing and playing. I could see that no matter where God walks, as long as she is clinging to Him, she is safe and stable. She never touches the ground. He carries her through all manner of weather and obstacles, through the good and the bad. This is assurance. This is God - the One who hears from heaven. All of my hope is in Him who is my trust and my peace. 

Side note: Thankfully, my tears were concealable! I was sitting behind someone so I'm confident the lama didn't notice one of his students was teary eyed!