Undistracted Devotion: Meditating on Scripture

According to Scripture, it’s one of the keys to a transformed life. It’s an essential step in making the Bible more than words on a page. What is it?

Meditation, perhaps the most important thing we're not doing. 

Biblical meditation isn’t emptying your mind like in yoga or New Age spirituality—it’s filling your mind with God’s truth and turning it over and over again in prayerful reflection. It has real content: God’s Word.

As Donald Whitney puts it, “Meditation on Scripture is letting the Bible brew in the brain.” It’s like hot water percolating through coffee or soup simmering on the stove. The longer it steeps, the richer it gets. It’s like lingering by a fire until you’re warm all the way to the bone.

In our age of speed and distraction, the art of pondering has almost been lost. But if we want lasting spiritual change, we must slow down. We must fight the urge to constantly check our phones, skim headlines, and jump from one thought to the next. Only by gazing deeply at Scripture can we plant it deeply in our hearts.

1. Meditation Internalizes Scripture

(Philippians 4:8–9; James 1:19–25)

When we meditate, we don’t just read Scripture—we absorb it. We reflect. We repeat. We savor. We ponder. We think. It moves from our eyes to our hearts.

James warns us against being hearers only. And Philippians 4:8–9 tells us to “think about” the things of God and then “practice” them. The link between thinking and doing is meditation. If we want to live the truth, we need to think the truth—slowly, consistently, deeply.

2. Meditation Fuels Obedience

(Psalm 1:1–3; Joshua 1:8; Romans 12:1-2)

Psalm 1 describes the blessed man as someone who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night. That delight and meditation leads to stability, fruitfulness, and blessing.

Here’s how it works: We can only focus on one thing at a time. So the more we fill our minds with God’s truth, the less room there is for sinful, worldly thinking. And, according to Romans 12:1-2, the key to a transformed life is a renewed mind. 

By filling our minds with truth, we drive out error.

By dwelling on holiness, we drive out unholiness.

We are shaped by what we think about. We act in accordance with our deepest thoughts and affections. That’s why transformation begins with meditation. It’s how we rewire our thinking and refocus our hearts.

3. Meditation Connects Scripture to Prayer

Meditation is the bridge between reading the Bible and praying it. It fuels our prayers with the very words and promises of God. It teaches us how to pray “according to God’s will” (1 John 5:14), because His Word becomes the vocabulary of our hearts.

One of the best ways to meditate is simply to turn Scripture into prayer.

Read a chapter.

Reflect on what it teaches about God, His commands, His gospel, or His promises.

Then pray those truths back to God.

This deepens both your prayer life and your grasp of Scripture.

4. Meditation Brings Blessing

(Psalm 1; Joshua 1:8)

Both Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8 promise that the one who meditates on God’s Word will be blessed and prosperous. That doesn’t mean guaranteed wealth, health, or worldly success. But it does mean spiritual vitality and alignment with God’s design.

When you meditate on Scripture, you treasure it.

When you treasure God’s Word, you obey it.

And when you obey, you experience the joy and favor of walking in step with your Creator.

Meditation leads to obedience, and obedience leads to blessing.

As Whitney says, “When our minds are filled with truth, when our worldview is shaped by Scripture, when our responses to sin and suffering are biblically informed, we will enjoy God’s favor and presence in our lives.”

Start Today

Get a journal.

Write out your reflections.

Turn verses into prayers.

Memorize Scripture.

Chew on it throughout your day.

Don’t let the Bible be something you check off in the morning. Let it become your worldview, your mindset, your fire, your treasure.