Christian, Don’t Clear Your Mind

Any practice that tells you to clear your mind is not biblical. It can sound good, I know, but when you compare it to Scripture, it’s nowhere to be found. (And if it’s a spiritual practice, and it’s not found in Scripture, we definitely should not be doing it.)

What does Scripture say?

Jesus said the MOST IMPORTANT commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30 NIV, emphasis mine, of course)

Nowhere in Scripture are we told to clear or empty our minds.

Nowhere in Scripture do we see any example of anyone clearing or emptying their minds.

Meditate on Scripture, yes. (Psalm 1:2, Psalm 119:11, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, etc.)
Focus on the Lord Himself, yes. (Isaiah 26:3, etc.)
Think about right and godly things, yes. (Philippians 4:8, Colossians 3:2, etc.)
Study Scripture, yes. (2 Timothy 2:15, etc.)

But clear your mind? Empty your mind? Turn off your mind? No. That’s not in there at all.

And every example of prayer in Scripture uses words, not an empty mind. Romans 8:26 says the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, but it doesn’t tell us to pray that way.

There is no indication in Scripture that we are to clear our minds in order to hear from God.

There is no indication in Scripture that anyone who heard from God cleared their minds first.

Every instruction we have, every example we have in Scripture tells us to pray in words, to use our minds, and to be sober, aware, alert. (1 Peter 1:13, 1 Peter 5:8,
2 Timothy 4:5, etc.)

So don’t empty your mind to pray, or to hear from God. Instead, focus on Him, think about Him, meditate and ruminate on His written Word, preserved for us and sufficient for all we need for godliness. Talk to the Lord. Pour out your heart before Him (Psalm 62:8), in words, as Hannah did (1 Samuel 1:10-16), and as the Psalmists did, and as every other example in Scripture shows.

And use your mind, thoughtfully and diligently, to study His Word, to commit it to memory, to understand all you can about God Himself, to obey Him in love and gratitude, and to love Him with all that you are.