The 15 th chapter of John begins with the beautiful metaphor that Jesus is like a vine and we are like branches. Our single task in life is holding onto the vine. Eastern religions have had a good marketing program to convince the West that meditation, quiet, union with God is a unique gift of their tradition. We need to recover this quietude and mystical experience within our Christian tradition as well, for it is both deep and authentic. But if you believe that we live in a universe created by the infinite-personal God who delights in our communion with him, you will see meditation as a communication between the Lover and the one being loved.
Christian meditation is significantly different from Eastern meditation.
Eastern meditation has the goal of emptying the self, whereas Christian meditation has the goal of being filled with the Spirit. Eastern meditation has the goal of detachment from the miserable wheel of life in order to be purified. Christian meditation has the goal of attachment to the living God for the sake of transformation. Contemplative prayer has more to do with listening to God than telling God what we want or what to do. I have found this form of prayer to be the best way to hear God's directions for our lives.