MEDITATION: THE SECRET OF FAITH

In the heart of Joshua 1:8, we uncover one of the most powerful spiritual disciplines: meditation. But this is not meditation as you know it! As Joshua takes on the mantle of leadership, God doesn’t command him to simply act bravely or lead with wisdom. Instead, the command is first and foremost to meditate, day and night, on the word of God.

And why? Because this profound instruction has echoed throughout the centuries as the secret to a flourishing faith and a life aligned with God’s will.

Joshua 1:8 in Hebrew: The Power of “Meditation”

“This Book of the Law shall not leave from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you will be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

In Hebrew, the key word for meditation is v’hagita (וְהָגִיתָ). Derived from the root hagah (הָגָה), this word carries far deeper implications than the English term “meditate” suggests.

Meditation implies not only silent reflection but an active, vocal engagement—a murmuring and repeating of the Word of God. It’s an audible, repetitive speaking, often linked to chanting or recitation. This is why meditation (repetition) has often been likened to a cow that is chewing the cud.

Hagah evokes the image of a lion growling over its prey (Isaiah 31:4), a sound that reflects an intense, almost primal engagement. Meditation, thus, becomes a spiritual “chewing,” where the soul draws nourishment by ruminating on the words of God. No one ever just swallowed a steak without cutting it into pieces and chewing it first.

For the linguists among us there is another interesting connection with the word hagah in the Dutch (and Afrikaans) word “hakkel.” This word means to “stutter, ” or “stammer,” where words stick in the mouth. In German we say “hakkeln.” In addition in Afrikaans, “hekel” means “crochet.”

Remember this back and forth “motion” of hagah, like the recursive purring of a cat, next time you haggle with someone over the price. Meditation may just be the price for admission into the promised land since without it there can be little or no faith. Consider Romans 10:17:

“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Hagah: To Murmur, To Chew, To Absorb

The image of chewing is not incidental.

Just as food must be chewed to be properly digested and nourish the body, the Word of God must be spiritually chewed—repeated, murmured, and spoken aloud—so that it penetrates beyond the mind and into the soul. The Psalmist understood this when he wrote,

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates (hagah) day and night” (Psalm 1:2).

This constant speaking and reflecting on the Word of God is what allows it to take root deeply within, shaping thoughts, actions, and decisions. As Romans 10:8 states:

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”

Here we are shown the link between the mouth and the heart. Once again we see, that whatever you put in the one, ends up in the other.

Additionally, as with Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1 also comes with a promise to those who engage in meditation. In v3 we read:

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.”

The Hebrew word for “mouth” in Joshua 1:8, מִפִּיךָ (mipikha), reinforces this image.

Here “mouth” not only symbolizes speech but the instrument of communion with God‘s word, the very place where divine words are consumed and integrated spiritually into our lives.

The verse commands Joshua to keep God’s word always on his lips. It implies that spiritual success hinges on this active, vocal meditation. This is the only way to get the potential “energy” stored in the Word of God into our spirits.

This is where we can revisit what P.C. Nelson said on the topic:

“We feed our bodies three hot meals a day and our spirits one cold snack a week and then wonder why we are so weak in faith.”

The Church Fathers on Meditation

This practice of vocalized meditation was not lost on early Christian thinkers. St. Augustine, in his Confessions, speaks of how Scripture, when “chewed” upon and deeply meditated on, becomes sweet to the soul.

In his view, true meditation is more than intellectual reflection. It is an act of communion, where the soul and Scripture are intertwined in a holy dialogue and become one. The constant recitation of God’s Word brings it to life. It allows it to “dwell richly” in the believer, as the Apostle Paul writes in Colossians 3:1,

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

And remember, you are what you eat!

In the same vein, Origen emphasized that true understanding of Scripture comes not from quick reading or shallow engagement. It also does not come from hours of theological training, for that matter. It is only through “spiritual digestion“—a process of repetitive reading, meditation, and prayer—that faith comes.

Through this spiritual chewing, Origen believed one reached the deeper “marrow” of God’s Word, touching its eternal truths.

Meditation: The Key to Faith and Success

Joshua is given a promise:

“Then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

Prosperity and success, in this context, are not only material guarantees but spiritual realities. This is because the aforementioned depends on our spiritual well-being. This is what John is inferring in 3 John 1:2 when he posits a conditional statement:

“Beloved, my desire for you is that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”

This means that our well-being in the external world relies primarily on the well-being of our internal world. Trying to fix the external aspects of our lives without addressing the internal conditions first is a misguided approach. That is akin to putting makeup on the mirror and not on the face. It’s like trying to solve the problems of a tree by addressing only its fruit. This doesn’t fix the soil. Most symptoms will resolve themselves once we solve the internal conditions from which they arise.

When the Word of God is constantly on our lips, it aligns the believer with divine wisdom. It also aligns us with divine purpose. That is to say, God’s promises manifest in God’s way!

Meditation, especially vocal meditation, is integral to building faith. By constantly hearing the Word, whether through our own recitation or through preaching, our faith grows. As the Word saturates our minds and hearts, we start to see with spiritual eyes. We move from merely hearing the Word to living it.

And remember, 90% of all speech is unspoken, which means monitoring our thought life since what the heart is full of the mouth will overflow with:

“A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (Luke 6:45)

Haggadah: A Tradition of Telling

Jewish tradition preserves the practice of oral engagement with Scripture through the Haggadah. During the Passover Seder, the Haggadah is recited, retelling the story of the Exodus and meditating on God’s deliverance. The Haggadah, meaning “telling,” “narration,” or “repetition” encapsulates this ancient tradition of vocalized meditation.

It is not enough to know the story intellectually; it must be told, spoken aloud, and repeated for each generation to become part of the community’s lived experience. The words themselves carry the power to shape identity and faith, much like the instruction to Joshua.

The New Testament Continuation: Confession and Meditation

In Romans 10:9, Paul emphasizes the importance of what comes from the mouth:

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The mouth is the portal through which faith is expressed and realized. Confession of faith is not a one-time event but a continuous proclamation, much like the meditation in Joshua 1:8. Or do we only ever eat one meal in our entire life? Try going without food for a 72 hours and see if you still feel fine. Similarly try meditating regularly on the promises of God for 72 hours and see if if doesn’t make a difference in your life.

Just as Joshua was commanded to keep the word of God on his lips, the Christian is called to confess and meditate on His precious and very great promises.

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you can become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world…” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Moreover, Paul urges believers to think deeply on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, and lovely (Philippians 4:8).

This instruction mirrors the meditative practice in the Old Testament—thoughts and words aligned with God’s truth bring peace and spiritual prosperity.

Pictographic Depth of “Mipikha”: From Your Mouth to the World

The Hebrew word מִפִּיךָ (mipikha) is rich not only in its linguistic meaning but also in its symbolic and pictographic depth. Each letter in ancient Hebrew carried a visual and spiritual significance:

• Mem (מ): Water, symbolizing life and the flow of divine wisdom.
• Peh (פ): Mouth, representing speech, communication, and the expression of the divine.
• Yod (י): Hand, symbolizing action, creation, and the translation of words into deeds.
• Kaf (כ): Palm, indicating holding, containing, and offering.
• Hey (ה): Breath, revelation, and the presence of God.

When combined, mipikha forms a beautiful image:

The mouth waters and maintains the tree of life.

The Consequences of Neglecting Meditation on God’s Word

When we fail to meditate on God’s Word, we open the door to confusion, distorted thinking, and spiritual weakness. 1 Peter 3:10 warns,

“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.”

Without the grounding influence of Scripture, our mouths can easily become instruments of deception, spreading negativity and falsehood. Proverbs 4:24 also cautions us:

“Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.”

When we contradict God’s Word in our conversation (thoughts or speech), we deviate from the truth, which is the very essence of falsehood and perversity.

Meditation on God’s Word aligns our hearts and speech with divine truth. It protects us from the destructive power of perverse lips. It leads us toward the abundant life God desires for us.

Conclusion: The Secret of Faith

Meditation, as prescribed in Joshua 1:8, reveals itself to be the secret of faith.

Through vocalized reflection, the Word of God moves from being an abstract text to an internal reality that shapes the heart and mind, and thus our lives. This ancient practice, from the murmuring of hagah to the proclamation of faith in Christ, is the foundation of spiritual growth and success, and salvation experienced in all areas of life.

This connects metaphorically to the idea of “chewing” on the Word, digesting it thoroughly, and deriving spiritual nourishment from it so that the tree of our lives can flourish.

Faith is not just abstract belief, but the result of the process of continual meditation and confession of God’s Word. In this way, we, like Joshua, will find our way prosperous—not only in material wealth but through the deep, abiding success of a life transformed by the Word of God and that reflects heaven on earth.

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IMPORTANT TAKEAWAY: With God’s Word on your lips each day, faith in your heart will find its way—Be mindful of what you ruminate, for the thoughts you replay will shape your fate.

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