The School of Prayer: Lectio Divina

How "divine reading" can help you pray the Scriptures

Daily Bible reading is an essential spiritual discipline for disciples of Jesus. The Scriptures reveal God’s Word to God’s people, guide us in our worship and conduct, and show us the way to life.

There are many Bible reading plans out there, some of which take you through the whole Bible in a year or that dwell in certain books for a period of time. There’s real value in reading large chunks of the biblical narrative in order to understand the big picture, the context of the whole sweep of the story.

But there’s also real value in dwelling deeply on shorter passages of Scripture and even using them as a way to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in prayer. The ancient practice of “Lectio Divina” is a way of praying through the Scriptures, opening ourselves afresh to what God has to say to us. Lectio Divina isn’t about reading more, it’s about reading more deeply.

The practice is grounded in spending some time with a shorter passage of Scripture—a particular story, or paragraph, or even just a few verses. The idea is to read the text several times, preferably aloud, in order to listen for the particular message toward which the Spirit might be guiding you.

Lectio Divina echoes back to the Jewish Haggadah, a Passover text that tells and retells the story of the Exodus. St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Benedict of Nursia commended the practice to Christians, inviting them to use the repetitive reading of a text as a way of being drawn more deeply into it and, in turn, drawing more near to God.

Lectio Divina involves reading the same passage of Scripture at least four times, listening for words, phases, images, or other things that jump out at you as you read. Reading the text aloud enables us to not only read but to hear the text, which adds another sensory dimension. Each reading of the text has its own movement Don’t rush through and take some time for silent contemplation between each reading:

Lectio (Read) - The first reading is an opportunity to get an overview of the passage, listening for any words or phrases or images that jump out at you. Take a moment to mull that word or phrase over in your mind. There’s a reason that the Spirit prompted you to hear it. You might read this same text at another time and get a completely different word or phrase. The point is that you’re listening for the unique connection the Spirit is making between you and the Word at that moment.

Meditatio (Reflect) - The second reading is about reflecting on that word or phrase. What might God be saying to you in this moment, in this reading? Why might that phrase have struck you on this particular day? What feeling does the word or phrase bring up for you? Take a moment to reflect on that after the second reading.

Oratio (Respond) - After the third reading it’s time to respond to what you’ve been hearing. A journal is really helpful here in capturing your thoughts. Jot down any thoughts or images that come to mind as you read the text. How is it connecting with where you are in your life right now? What questions does it raise? Does this word from God comfort you? Challenge you?

Contemplatio (Rest) - Completing the fourth reading leads to a time of resting in God. Allow him to speak, don’t force a meaning or look for a “sign.” It’s not the time for interpreting or immediately applying the text, but letting it simmer in your soul for a bit. Ask the Lord to reveal his Word to you in that moment.

Only after you’ve taken the time to fully digest the message God has for you in that passage should you consider what you might be called to do with it. Spend some time in prayer, asking God to take you to the next step of applying what the Spirit has said to you as you’ve meditated on the Scriptures.

I invite you to give this a try, and a great place to start is with some of the parables of Jesus. Two great passages for experimenting with Lectio Divina are the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 and the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. What do you experience as you read these passages? With which character(s) do you most identify? What do you see, feel, hear, taste, ponder as you hear these familiar stories read anew? Jesus used parables for a reason—they were invitational, inviting people to crawl inside the story and discover something about themselves and about God. What might God be inviting you to discover as you read and pray the Scriptures in this way?

I use Lectio Divina as a way of revisiting familiar passages of Scripture, not only in my personal devotions but in my preaching. There’s always something new to be discovered if we open ourselves to reading alongside the Holy Spirit.

Lectio Divina is about seeing prayer as listening to God as much as talking with God. God continues to speak in his Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Divine reading opens up the connection for us to hear God’s word to us in fresh and exciting ways!

Source:

Manneh, Elizabeth. Lectio Divina: A Beginner’s Guide on the Busted Halo blog.