This past week I had the privilege of attending the Greater Philly Area Christian Writer’s Conference put on by Marlene Bagnell of Write His Answer. In addition to learning about the craft of writing and networking with writers, editors, and agents, I also heard several keynote addresses focused on the heart of a Christian writer.

The keynote that had me hanging on every word was given by author and minister Angie Bass Williams.  She titled her talk Be Still and it was all about meditating on God’s word. I furiously scribbled down three pages of notes since I didn’t want to miss a word!

As soon as her keynote address was finished, I rushed up to Angie to meet her and to thank her for her wisdom. I found her to be a kindred spirit and a sister in the Lord. I treasured our short conversation and she encouraged me to continue in my writing to help Christian women read and understand God’s word. She was especially passionate about meditating on God’s word in order to counter our self-centered culture.

I asked if I could share with you all some snippets from her keynote address. She graciously agreed.

Here are some snippets about meditating on God’s word:

• We can think of meditating on God’s word like how a cow eats. A cow has multiple stomachs. It partially digests its food then brings the food back up again to chew on it some more. We need to spiritually ruminate in order to renew our mind. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
• Meditation is how we can practice the presence of the Holy Spirit.
• Meditation makes memorization easier. Lots of people feel they cannot memorize God’s word. It’s too hard or they don’t have a good memory. However, we memorize lots of things unintentionally just by repetition. If you meditate on Scripture, running it over and over again in your mind and out loud, you will naturally memorize it.
• Meditating on God’s word keeps us from sinning and keeps us from worry.
• Don’t meditate on your problem. Meditate on the Problem-Solver!
• Scripture should be first in; last out. God tells us in Joshua 1:8 to meditate on God’s word day and night. Let Scripture be the first thing in your mind when you wake up and the last thing on your mind when you are drifting off to sleep.

After sharing about meditation, Angie Bass Williams talked about prayer especially about praying God’s promises instead of focusing on ourselves and what we want or need.

She said:

“Don’t spend time seeking His hand. Instead, spend time seeking His face.”

Do you spend time meditating on God’s word? What does your meditation time look like? Do you have any tips for us on biblical meditation? Comment below!

If you want to hear more from Angie Bass Williams, you can check out her book Jesus Wants Your Mind! Renew It with the Word.

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