Is It Okay for Christians to Meditate? A Simple Way to Start

By Oz Muwaniri · 30 June 2025

People worshipping with raised hands under purple lights

Plenty of Christians get twitchy about the word “meditation”. And plenty of people who aren’t sure about God are already meditating and wondering if there’s more to it.

So, is it okay for Christians to meditate?

Yes. And no. It depends what you mean.

What meditation actually is

If meditation means trying to empty your mind completely, then no, that’s not what the Bible has in mind.

But at its simplest, meditation is just focused thinking. Stepping back from the noise and giving your full attention to one thing.

That’s not religious in itself, any more than reading or public speaking is. It’s a tool. And like any tool, what matters is how you use it and what you point it at.

Mindfulness asks you to notice the present moment. Christian meditation goes one step further. It fills your mind with something true, and then turns it into a conversation with God.

Is meditation in the Bible?

Very much so.

Isaac, one of the early figures in the Bible, “went out to the field one evening to meditate” (Genesis 24:63, NIV).
God told Joshua, a leader of ancient Israel: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night” (Joshua 1:8, NIV).
The Psalms, the Bible’s old song and prayer book, open by describing a happy person as someone “who meditates on his law day and night” (Psalm 1:2, NIV).

“The law” there just means God’s words and teaching.

Why it matters now

We live with information overload. Podcasts, reels, news alerts, group chats. I’m as bad as anyone.

But all that input is useless if we never slow down to let any of it sink in. There’s an old saying: “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.”

Meditation is what turns knowing about God into actually being shaped by him.

How to start (15 minutes)

1. Find a quiet spot. A walk on the prom, a chair by the window, the car before you go into work. Silence is a friend here.

2. Read something short from the Bible. One or two verses is plenty. Less is more.

3. Chew on it. Read it slowly a few times. What word jumps out? What picture does it give you?

4. Turn it into a prayer. Talk to God about what you’ve just read. Thank him, ask him, argue with him if you need to. He can handle it.

5. Music can help. A quiet worship song can set the tone, before or after.

Let’s try one together

Here’s the verse:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33, NIV)

Now picture the ocean. Most of it has never been mapped by anyone. It’s vast, deep and mysterious.

Let this land: God’s wisdom is deeper than that.

And yet the same God, through Jesus, invites ordinary people like you and me to know him. Not to understand everything. Just to know him.

Pause there for a minute.

Then pray something simple: “God, thank you that you’re bigger than I can get my head around. Help me know you a bit more today.”

So, should Christians meditate?

Yes. The word has been used in lots of ways by lots of traditions, and I understand why some Christians are wary. But misuse is no reason for disuse. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

If anything, we should take it back. Not emptying your mind, but filling it with what’s true.

Your next steps

A question to sit with: When did I last sit in silence for ten minutes, with no phone? What might God want to say to me if I did?
Try this: Use the Romans 11:33 example above, once a day for the next week.
Read next: If your mind is racing with worry, read Anxious About Everything?
Come and say hello: L15 Church meets Sundays at 11am in the Maldron Hotel, Galway. Caroline and I would love to meet you. Come as you are.