Article by Mark Virkler
I received a question the other day from a pastor. He has been teaching about how to hear the voice of God, which includes using one’s imagination to visualize. However, he had received questions from several in his congregation asking where in the Bible we are told to ‘picture’ or visualize Jesus. After all, there are verses in the New Testament which say that we don’t see Jesus (2 Cor 5:6-7, 1 Peter 1:7-8). I know a lot of people who have read about how to hear the voice of God have this same question. So, where does the Bible tell us to visualize Jesus?
Seeing Inwardly Versus Seeing Outwardly
As you read the context of 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 and 1 Peter 1:7-8, you will note they are both talking about PHYSICALLY SEEING. When it comes to seeing with the eyes of our hearts, Paul tells us to look and see the glory of the Lord in the “unseen” world (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:18) and Hebrews 12:2 tells us we are to be fixing our eyes on Jesus. And seeing with our hearts is what we are really talking about when we speak about visualization.
Paul tells us that we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). One chapter later, Paul confirms that this transformation occurs “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen (2 Cor. 4:18).”
So, what (or who) is it in the unseen realm that we are to look at and, that by beholding, will transform us into the same image? The answer is that as I look with the eyes of my heart to see what Jesus is doing in the situation, and I take on His actions by saying, “Yes, Lord.” and do what I see Jesus doing, the result is that I am transformed from a person who does something out of self, to a person who is doing what I see Jesus doing in the situation. Notice we are seeing what Jesus IS doing, not what Jesus WOULD do. It is the present tense action of Jesus.
Abiding in Christ Involves Seeing Jesus
This is the way Christians are to live all the time. It is called “abiding in Christ” (Jn. 15) and it involves hearing, feeling, sensing and seeing Jesus in action, the One Who is walking with us down the road of life. It is simple. It must be simple enough for a child to do (Lk. 18:17), so don’t make it difficult. It is asking the Holy Spirit to show you what Jesus is doing, and then looking with the eyes of your heart into the unseen world, and honoring and accepting and believing the pictures that light upon your mind while you are in that poise. You have asked for them to come from the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ promise is that indeed they do (Jn. 7;37-39; Lk. 11:13).
What is the Precise Definition of Meditate?
Let’s look at the meaning of the Hebrew verb hagah “meditate, imagine, visualize,” in Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2. As we will see in the paragraphs that follow, the standard Hebrew lexicon, Brown, Driver, Briggs, and Spanish Old Testament & Hebrew scholar, Dr. Jesus Arambarri, have proven the meanings “imagine” and “visualize” for this verb in the Hebrew Bible.
The other passages in the Hebrew Bible that demonstrate the “imagine”/”visualize” meaning are discussed in detail on pages 7-13 of “How to Release God’s Healing Power Through Prayer” by Greig, Virkler and Gaydos.
Visualizing is not a New Age idea: it’s a godly, heavenly idea that satan stole and counterfeited!! And the Hebrew hagah in Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2 (and all the other passages in the Hebrew Bible where it is used) prove it!
Conclusion:
This is why we conclude that practicing biblical meditation means visually pondering and picturing what God says is true in Scripture, while we keep the words of Scripture in our mouths, memorizing key passages.
About the Author
Mark Virkler is with Christian Leadership University, an online Bible college/university which has several online Christian colleges of study, offering degrees including counseling degrees and Master’s of Divinity. https://secrets2meditation.com/goto/?url=http://www.cluonline.com
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