ape this fate. This process is described by Foster as "the path of disciplined grace" because grace is given freely by God while it is "disciplined" because "there is something for us to do" (pp. 7-8).
2. Meditation is the simplest of the Inward Disciplines and consists of "the ability to hear God's voice and obey his word" (p. 17). Meditation in the Christian sense excludes the many ritualized behaviors that accompany traditional Eastern meditations and unlike Eastern practices, which are aimed at emptying the mind, Christian meditation is the attempt to fill the mind.
Meditation is practiced by many persons in the Bible and Jesus himself frequently withdrew to "a lonely place apart" (Matt. 14: 13) in order to be with God. This communication with God is repeated throughout the Acts of the Apostles and the repeated accounts of "God's people learning to live on the basis of hearing God's voice and obeying his word" is sufficient warrant for the practice of meditation (p. 18). The great difficulty of meditation today is that the sheer mindless busy-ness of life distracts people from entering into the silence and contemplating God. But the reward is great for it results in the ability to ensure the perpetual presence of Christ who "construct[s] an inner sanctuary in the heart" (p. 20). This makes the Teacher ever-present as a guide in one's life.
A common misconception is that meditation is difficult. But it requires no extensive technique, nor is it necessary to possess any special talent for it. Another mistaken notion is that meditation is directed at removal of the individual from the real world. But, while ecstasy and unusual insights can occur, in general the majority of Christian meditators are "given guidance in dealing with ordinary human problems" (p. 22). The individual who understands that this is not a limited material universe and acknowledges the power of the divine is able to allow the influence of the ...