09/11/09 Meditation

I have heard it simply defined that prayer is speaking or asking while meditation is listening or waiting.

When was the last time you tried to sit still and quiet your mind to listen to God?

Why is it so difficult for us as humans to be quiet? I mean quieting ourselves outwardly is one thing, turning off the TV, radio, computer, etc., but inside. Wow that is hard! Turning off all the outward things and shutting my own mouth is nothing when compared to shutting off the human mind. Did God make us this way or is it a product of our society and this time? I wonder if the men (and women) of biblical times had this issue?

So perhaps the reason that it is so difficult is because of the rewards. If it were easy then everyone would be doing it and the rewards would not be so valuable to us. The reward is something so great that it requires effort to attain it. So many people want something for nothing today that we forget the benefit of effort. If everything is free then it loses value.

But then there is salvation. Salvation is free, and while the actual value of it has not been diminished many people’s perception of it may have.