At its simplest, meditating on Scripture is just thinking about a verse and dwelling on it, one word or phrase at a time. Sometimes people call it “chewing on the verse.” Beachcombing the Psalms encourages you to read several chapters of Psalms every day to keep the verses in context (remembering the situation in which they were written and to whom or about whom they were written), and then meditate on just a verse a day.
As I studied the topic of meditation, I looked for a good definition or instructions, but the more I studied, the more I realized that the best way to meditate on the Scripture is just to do it. Pick a verse and think about it, phrase by phrase. Dwell on it all day long. Go for a walk and whisper the phrases of the verse over and over. It takes time, yes. It’s a commitment, yes. It’s worth it, yes, oh yes.
You can turn meditation into prayer as you ask the Lord to speak to you through his word, or as you use the words of the psalmist in your own prayers. Meditation does not replace Bible study, but it can carry your study into your day.
Ruth J. Leamy 