Learn of Jesus - Part 8, Meditate In God’s Word
David W Palmer
(Mark 4:24 NLT) Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more.”
This is a very important statement from the Lord Jesus Christ. The phrase, “Pay close attention,” is translated as, “Take heed,” in other versions of the Bible. It comes from the Greek word, “blepo,” which means: to look at (literally or figuratively); to behold, beware, look on, perceive, regard, or see. It is the New Testament counterpart of the Old Testament word to meditate (See for example: Joshua 1:8). Jesus used it in John 5:19 when he said, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do”:
(John 5:19–20 NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. {20} For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.”
Jesus wants us to pay close attention to, focus on, and revolve God’s word in our mind until our “mind’s eye”—our inner sight—sees something from God by intuition or perception. This is how Jesus operated; this is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us and reveals God’s knowledge to us—and he shows us what he is doing, what he wants us to imitate or enact in the natural realm. The apostle Peter (who was there on the day Jesus taught this) explains the process in his letter:
(2 Peter 1:19 NKJV) “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
Peter is showing us how to receive revelation of God’s knowledge from God’s written word—here called, “the prophetic word”; he says to “heed” it, which means to focus on it, meditate on it, give it your full attention, and think about it in microscopic detail until something supernatural from God’s Holy Spirit happens. Peter describes it as focusing on the light you have—the written word being like a candle in a dark place—until the day dawns. When the Holy Spirit’s revelation finally comes, it is like the flooding in of the brightest light—a spiritual sunrise in your heart:
(Psalm 119:130 NKJV) “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”
When revelation dawns in our hearts, it brings light, life, faith, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and healing; it is literally a lamp for our path (Psalm 119:105), the sword of the spirit (Eph. 6:17), mind-renewing information (Rom. 12:2), and the keys of the kingdom (Mat. 16:19). What’s more, this process is what leads to the truly blessed life:
(Psalm 1:1–3 NKJV) “Blessed is the man … his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. {3} 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.”
Without doubt, in the very tricky times in which we live, we need the revelation of God’s knowledge for every area of our lives:
Praise the Lord; the revelation of God’s knowledge is available to you right now.
The following Scripture shows that Joshua was a success because he obeyed what God revealed to him as he meditated on the word. Joshua not only received revelation from God through this process, but he obviously received strength and the ability to obey it—that is grace; and it’s how we receive it today:
(Joshua 1:8 NKJV)
