God’s Battle Plan for the Mind

“God’s Battle Plan for the Mind” is a book written by David Saxton about the Puritan Practice of Meditation. Although this book was written in 2020, I have recently been reading some of the old Puritan writings, especially by John Owens, and have been very blessed by their writings. I was impressed by their commitment to live a holy life defined by God’s precepts and use only the Word of God as their plum line, avoiding the tendency today by some to get influenced by extra-Biblical teachings that they think they “hear” themselves from God. Because of the sinful tendency of our hearts to self-deception, we must have a Word-centered approach to meditation.

This book maintains that to meditate on a passages from Scripture allows it to become engrained in a person and helps the person apply God’s precepts more fully in their life. This process is enabled by the Holy Spirit who is the only one that can lead Christians into “all truth” (John 16:13), through the Word.. Any passage of Scripture can be meditated on to good effect but the book recommends that in certain unique seasons of life specific passages could aid in dealing with them such as deaths, sicknesses, family troubles, etc.

One of the most important benefits of meditation is that it helps a person take control of their thought life, having it immersed in Scripture. Two broad types of meditation are presented; deliberate – where you set aside a time each day and occasional – where you find opportunities during your day when you have some downtime, such as when driving. If no specific verse comes to mind, Saxton recommends one meditate on Scriptures related to sin, God and eternity, all of which would be a great blessing and help to a Christian. Also, Puritans believed that prayer fastens meditation upon the soul and is a necessary and effective tool to use alongside meditation to achieve the most from it.

I was blessed by reading this book and highly recommend it. The book is a practical and insightful guide on how to scripturally meditate in the best Puritan tradition. Meditation is necessary for a growing relationship with God, provides comfort in trials, and digests God’s Word into one’s own life and experience.