Lectio Divina: An Ancient Prayer and Bible Reading Practice
Being formed by the Spirit using scripture requires more than a quick reading to check an item off a to do list.
The first time I heard the phrase Lectio Divina (Latin for “divine reading”) was in a small group to which we once belonged. We were fairly new, and one of the members said, “Sometimes, we don’t study the Bible in this group. We just practice lectio divina and see what God says to us.”
After he explained that Lectio Divina was essentially just reading a brief passage of scripture repeatedly while listening intently and prayerfully for what God might be saying to us, I thought, Well, that’s not right!
In my personal faith background, I had been raised and trained by the wing of evangelicalism that was skeptical of any practice that merely tried listening to God without the aid of Bible reference materials or study aids to ensure a proper exegesis of the text.
I’ve found Lectio Divina to be one of the most beautiful and productive ways to ingest the words of the scriptures and hear from God. It’s an ancient, contemplative practice that I hope to pass on to my own children.
There are a couple of different ways to approach lectio divina, but my way is this…
Read
The goal isn’t to read large passages or get through the whole Bible in a year. The goal is to read something more narrow and distinct. I usually start at the beginning of a chapter and when something catches my attention and arouses my curiosity, I stop, wherever I am, and I read that verse or short passage again.
And then I read it again. And again. Sometimes I read the passage in several different translations (I like to underline in my NLT, but then I use Tecarta’s multi-column feature to put several translations on my laptop screen).
The point of reading, in Lectio Divina, is to listen—to keep our hearts and spiritual ears open to any whisper of the Spirit’s voice inside the holy temple, the secret recesses of our most vulnerable and real selves.
And then, I listen more. I try to spend at least five minutes just sitting, with my eyes closed, listening for the Spirit’s leading.
Hearing something isn’t the point. The Spirit isn’t an object to be sought but a person to know. Silence is okay. It’s uncomfortable, but we only grow when we’re uncomfortable.
Reflect
After reading the passage, I reflect on it. I avoid asking what this passage means to me because that question is a bit too existential and tends to lift it from its context. Rather, I ask myself, what jumps out at me? What do I notice?
I consider the context as much as possible—who wrote it, where in the scripture they wrote it, and the historical context in which they wrote it—but my main concern isn’t scholarly in nature. It’s devotional.
Meditation has been defined as “focused thinking,” and that’s my goal here. I want to focus all of my thoughts on the lesson about life that the Spirit is enlightening me about through the reading of scripture.
Sometimes, I write and journal during this time (I use the Day One app, Apple Notes, or a Moleskine journal), but I’m not legalistic about this. Sometimes, stopping to journal might interrupt what’s happening at the moment, so I just keep reflecting silently.
Respond
After reading, listening to, and reflecting on the reading, I respond. I pray. I articulate to God, either verbally or silently, my commitment to remember and put into action whatever I’ve sensed from the reading and reflection.
I ask for the Spirit’s help in applying whatever it is God has revealed throughout my day. And I try not to think too much about tomorrow. In other words, I’m not collecting one more thing to do on top of all the other things I think I need to do every day for the rest of my life. My concern is living it out today, and when days stack up upon days, this way of living becomes a lifestyle.
Rest
I end my period of lectio divina by sitting in silence, with my eyes closed, and resting. I try to quiet my mind and dwell in God’s presence.
Rest is antithetical to everything our culture pressures us to do. While I’m tempted to get busy, be productive, and conquer the world, I remind myself that having a calm, quiet soul is of immense value in the craziness of our world.
And that’s all. Read. Reflect. Respond. Rest. Sometimes that takes a few minutes. Sometimes it’s an hour. There are no quotas. There is simply an open invitation to enjoy the presence of God.
An Example
Just this morning, I was reading in Matthew 21:33-46, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. There are many observations to make about the passage, but what stopped me and caught my focus was when Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.”
And then I focused more narrowly. To whom is the kingdom of God going to be given? A people that “produces the fruits of the kingdom.” Fruits of the kingdom.
And I dwelt upon that phrase – fruits of the kingdom.
My mind went to all the ways Jesus kept trying to teach and model the values of the kingdom of God. I thought about the ways in which I might or might not be bearing such fruit. I prayed for the Spirit to help me bear that kind of fruit because I sincerely want to enjoy the kingdom of God in the everyday minutia of my life.
And then I rested. And I’m still thinking about how I can bear the fruit of the kingdom of God.
And that - to still be thinking about what we’ve read - that’s the point, isn’t it?
Recommended Reading
Conversing With God In Scripture: A Contemporary Approach To Lectio Divina, by Stephen Binz
The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus, by Rich Villodas
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash.
Note: This was originally published on my blog on October 3, 2023.
I love any reading strategy that forces us to slow down and read what is in the text instead of what we remember or expect to be in the text.
Brandon I never heard heard lectio divina before, yet practice a form of it without knowing. I called it listening prayer. I've practiced this prayer journaling off and on for years.
My experience has been, this form of prayer solidifies my knowledge of scripture in my heart and mind for such a time I need the Holy Spirit to bring it to mind when I need discernment, wisdom, or a word to comfort myself or others.
I often felt like a Salmon swimming up stream in the Evangelical churches I raised my children in. I took God's Word to be His love letter to me and all who would believe. Being a single mom through most of those years, I was not considered as wise, discerning, or in favor with the church leaders, their wives especially, or those who found religion more comfortable than relationship.
Thank you for sharing this. I have no current local church home. I worship online with my Florida church. It is a member of ARC. Association of Related Churches. They teach Bible over denomination and practice what is taught. I would love to find a church home in NWA of like minded followers of Jesus' way. Any thoughts?