Article Tools
- Text Size
- Add a comment (1)
- Print this article
- Email this article
We have seen from the long tradition of lectio divina that there are many ways in which we can practice it. As long as we keep in mind the essence of the tradition, we can adapt various methods to our own needs for the prayerful reading of Scripture.
The primary aim of Lectio divina is the establishment of an intimate dialogue with God through the sacred page. Listening to the voice of God within Scripture, reflecting on the text’s personal meaning for us, and responding to God in prayer is the heart of the ancient tradition.
Through expectant faith, we encounter the living Christ through the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments. He calls us to be disciples and invites us into an ever-deeper unity with himself. Through the continual practice of Lectio divina, we take on the mind and heart of Christ and live more and more in him. Our interior being and our outward expression become more and more conformed to Christ, and we increasingly experience his intimate relationship with the Father and share in that divine unity through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Suggestions for a Personal Method
Lectio. Choose a text of Scripture that you want to read prayerfully. It might be a passage from a biblical book that you are slowly working through, or it might be a passage related to a biblical theme you are focusing on, or it might be the liturgical reading for the day. In a comfortable and quiet place, you might want to light a candle, say a prayer, or offer some other gesture to highlight the moment. Take the Bible in your hands, and turn to your chosen passage. Read the passage slowly and carefully, even aloud if you wish, taking note of any words or phrases that strike you personally. Remember that God is teaching you to listen to his voice within the words of the inspired text.
Meditatio. Spend some time reflecting on the text you have read, personalizing the passage in some way. Allow it to interact with your inner world of memories, ideas, and concerns. Ask yourself what the text means to you and what message it may have for you. If the text is a narrative, use your imagination and enter the scene yourself, envisioning what you experience there and how you respond to the encounter. Repeat and ponder whatever words or phrases strike you from your reading.
Oratio. Speak to God in response to the words, ideas, and images in your reading. Offer to God what you have discovered in yourself from your meditation. Pray to him from your heart in whatever way you wish to reply to the divine word spoken to you. Interact with him as you would with one who knows you intimately, cares about you deeply, and accepts you unconditionally.
Contemplatio. After words cease to be helpful and are no longer necessary, simply rest in God’s embrace. In silent stillness, receptively allow him to fill your heart with his divine presence. You do not have to do anything; just place yourself under his loving gaze. Then when he invites you to go back to your inner dialogue with him or to return to meditation on his word, do so. You may freely move to any point on the circle of Lectio divina at any time. Often you will return several times to the scriptural text, rereading and searching again for another word or phrase to personalize and ponder. Let God’s Spirit guide the entire process of your sacred reading.
Operatio. Sacred reading is a way of letting God’s word shape us and change us. Consider the transforming effects of your prayerful reading in your heart and in your daily life. Ask how you are different as a result of this encounter with the word of God: “How is your life changing and being shaped through your Lectio divina? How does God want you to be different today as a result of this encounter?”
The examples below present an array of biblical texts and a sampling of ideas for the prayerful reading of these texts. The suggested thoughts and questions for refLection are not meant to suggest a rigid method of practice but a variety of adaptable approaches using the primary movements of Lectio divina.
The Encounter of Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1-15)
Lectio: Find a quiet spot for your lectio. Light a candle and set it in front of you as you place your Bible on your lap. Ask the same Holy Spirit who was with Moses in the desert to fill your heart as you read.
Turn to the passage and read slowly and carefully. Vocalize the words of the text so that you not only read with your eyes but hear with your ears.
The primal elements of the created world—the desert, the mountain, and fire—became the setting for God’s self-revelation. The desert, that place of dryness and silence, formed the solitary sanctuary in which Moses heard God’s voice. Here the people of Israel would be brought for a forty-year retreat to be bonded to God. The mountain, mysteriously reaching into the clouds, would be the place where God’s people would encounter God and become his own people. The unconsuming flame in the bush would become the fiery threshold joining the divine presence with the material world. On the mountain, God would appear and speak to Moses “out of the fire” and guide his people with a pillar of fire by night through the desert. The flame evokes God’s holiness, mystery, and passion.
Meditatio: Use your imagination to enter the scene of the desert, the mountain, and the fire. Imagine that you are Moses in this encounter. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel? What are you thinking, and what emotions are you experiencing?
Do you hear God calling you? Respond, “Here I am.” What personal message is God offering to you in this scene? How reluctant are you to respond to his call? What would it take to respond to him with an obedient heart?
Read the passage again slowly. Repeat and ponder whatever words or phrases from your reading strike you.
Oratio: Hear God speaking to you: “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Take off your shoes and pray to God with whatever words arise from your heart.
You may choose to begin with these words: “God of my ancestors, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I am reluctantly drawn to you as I both fear and desire your presence. You have heard the cry of my suffering, and you want to free me from bondage and renew my life. Give me the courage to respond, ‘Here I am,’ and to listen to your call to me today.”
Continue to pray as your heart directs, in whatever way seems to respond to the divine word spoken to you. Pray to the One who knows you intimately, cares about you deeply, and accepts you unconditionally.
Contemplatio: When words are no longer necessary or helpful, imagine you are in the silence and stillness of the desert. Just sit shoeless in the presence of God and place yourself under his loving gaze. Enjoy these holy moments for as long as you wish.
Recall the sacred name of God, “I am who I am.” Repeat God’s name to keep your mind focused, and remain mindfully in his holy presence.
Operatio: The flame of the divine presence has purified your mind and softened your heart. Somehow you have changed as a result of your encounter with God. How has God shaped you through your Lectio divina? Moses returned to his people and became God’s liberating instrument. How is God transforming your life today through his inspired word?
Elijah Meets God on the Mountain (1 Kings 19:4-13)
Lectio: As you close off the distractions of the day and enter a moment of silence, take your Bible and turn to the passage. Kiss the page and ask God to speak to you through the sacred text as he spoke to his prophets of old.
Isolated and fleeing for his life, Elijah is seeking to relinquish his prophetic mission. Discouraged and desiring his own death, the prophet is burned out and does not want to continue. But God prepares him with food and sends him on the journey to the mountain.
The usual signs of God’s manifestation—storm, earthquake, and fire—do not reveal God to Elijah. It is only in the “sound of sheer silence” that Elijah is drawn from his dark cave to experience new purpose and direction for his life.
Meditatio: Spend some time reflecting on the passage you have read. Remember that God is teaching you to listen to his voice within the words of the inspired text. Allow it to interact with your own experience of discouragement and hope.
Ask yourself what the scene means to you and what personal message it may have for you. When have you been frustrated and ready to give up? When have you felt distant from God and isolated from others? What strength do you need for the journey?
Why did the quiet sound draw Elijah from the cave? When does God speak to you in unexpected ways? In what ways might you be missing the revelation of God today?
Oratio: Respond to God, whom you have heard in the stillness. Offer to him what you have discovered in yourself from your meditation. Speak words that express whatever new hope and purpose you have discovered.
You may choose to begin with words like these: “Lord God, you manifest yourself in storm, earthquake, and fire. Help me to recognize your voice when you speak to me in silence. I am often discouraged in the bustle of life’s challenges, and I long for escape. Draw me forth from my darkness and isolation, and give me the courage to turn my face toward you and listen.”
Continue to pray from your heart in response to the God who calls you in stillness.
Contemplatio: Place yourself in the “sound of sheer silence.” Know that God can communicate with you in the depths of your heart without words and images. Just rest in silent contemplation of the awesome God who manifested his divine presence to Moses and Elijah on the mountain. Do nothing, and know that God will do whatever is necessary to speak to you.
If God invites you to go back to your inner dialogue with him or to return to meditation on the Scripture, do so. Let God’s Spirit guide the entire process.
Operatio: God gave Elijah renewed strength and a new mission as a result of his manifestation on the mountain. What have you learned about yourself through your encounter with God’s word? What new hope and renewed sense of mission have you received? How will God’s word change your life today?
How Long, O Lord?—A Lament (Psalm 13)
Lectio: This psalm of personal lament has been prayed for thousands of years by Israelites and Christians as an expression of anguish in the face of suffering. The haunting question, “How long?” expresses a growing urgency in the face of God’s seeming absence. The vague and general language of the lament explains its long-standing popularity, since it can apply to anyone facing an enduring struggle.
Slowly articulate the words of the psalm or chant them plaintively. Hear the words of generations who have sung this lament before you and join in their trusting complaint to God.
Most people don’t pray this way today. We consider such complaint to be irreverent in the face of a caring and faultless God. But the psalmists prayed out of their concrete situations and poured out their emotions with honest abandon. They did not share our mistaken notion that we must be on our best behavior before God. The ability to express complaint, anger, bitterness, or anguish before God conveys a real and trusting relationship.
The “enemies” in the psalm need not be individuals. They may be forces within society that seem to prevail—such as greed, injustice, bigotry, and hypocrisy—or tendencies within ourselves, such as addictions, prejudice, resentment, and hopelessness. All of these are enemies that seem to prevail over us and leave us in anguish. We plead with God to deliver us from these foes.
The psalmist finally helps us to discover that beneath these painful emotions it is still possible to trust in God. Through praying the lament, the psalmist remembers the fidelity of God and knows that he will hear and answer his prayer. With confidence, the psalm moves from lament to thanksgiving.
Meditatio: Make the prayer of the psalmist become your own prayer. Allow it to interact with your own pain, anguish, failure, humiliation, or resentment. What phrases are most striking for your own situation? Concerning what suffering do you ask of God, “How long”?
Consider the lament of people you know who are suffering. Reflect on those in the hospital, those in prison, those experiencing wars, famines, and natural disasters. Let the psalm become the prayer of suffering humanity.
Oratio: Pray the psalm again from your own heart. Add your own words. Pour out your complaint to God. Acknowledge your anger, bitterness, and loneliness—all of those emotions we so desperately try to suppress because our culture does not approve of them. Forget about being polite and staid before the One who knows you intimately and accepts you unconditionally.
We never pray the psalms in isolation. We join with the prayer of God’s people throughout the world who pray these same ancient and inspired prayers. We are not the only ones suffering or feeling abandoned by God. The psalms invite us to move from individual prayer and enter into communion with others. If the words of this lament do not match our own feelings, then we can pray these words with others and for others who are suffering today.
You can pour out your lament to God because you know that honestly expressing your grief before him will lead you to greater trust in his mercy. You can present your suffering and the grief of all God’s people before the One who has been faithful in the past, and you can be confident that he will listen to the prayers of the brokenhearted.
Contemplatio: When words are no longer useful or necessary, simply rest in God’s embrace. When you cry out to him, know that he attends to your prayers. Trust in his steadfast love and compassion.
The psalms are the prayers of Jesus himself. Through the joys and sufferings of his life, he has voiced these words to the Father. They express what he has felt in the depths of his heart. So you can offer these prayers to God in union with him. Turn to the heart of Jesus, and place your own heart in his.
Operatio: The inspired prayers of Scripture shape and mold our hearts. Praying the prayers of Jesus helps us to conform our hearts to his. How has pouring out your grief to God led you to trust him more? How has praying with and for suffering people made you more compassionate? Resolve today to deepen your trust in God and your compassion for yourself and others around you.
Jesus and the Little Children (Mark 10:13-16)
Lectio: In your quiet place, turn to the gospel text and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your listening. Read aloud from the text while listening with the ears of your heart.
Notice that Jesus is described as “indignant” with his disciples for hindering the approach of the children. Jesus welcomed, embraced, and blessed them. Jesus’ saying, “For it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs,” can be interpreted to refer either to these and other children or to people who are like children. Verse 15 highlights those who are like children, and verse 16 underscores the blessedness of the children themselves.
As Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them, he offered all disciples a lesson about how to be blessed and how to receive God’s kingdom. With the trust and confidence of children, we can receive the gifts he wants to give to us.
Kiss the sacred page with reverence and gratitude for God’s word to you.
Meditatio: Read the passage again while engaging your full imagination. Imagine you are one of the disciples being reprimanded and taught a lesson by Jesus. What do you notice as the scene unfolds? What is Jesus teaching you? What will you remember most?
Read the passage again, imagining you are one of the children brought to Jesus. What are you seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling? Experience Jesus welcoming you. See his smile, feel his arms around you, hear his encouraging words, experience his tenderness and his delight in you.
What is different if I come to Jesus as a child, rather than as an adult? What is it like to feel so desired and loved by Jesus? What do I want to remember from this experience?
Oratio: Having heard the words and imagined the touch of Jesus, respond to him in any way you wish. Try to imitate the genuine spontaneity of a child as you speak words of prayer. Express sentiments of delight, joy, trust, reliance, gratitude, confidence, or whatever emotion fills your heart.
Contemplatio: Can you picture yourself just resting in the embrace of Jesus? If this is a comfortable experience for you, just remain there in your imagination for as long as you want. There is no longer any need to respond with words. Just let yourself receive his delight in you. Imagine what it would be like to be totally confident of his love and to trust him completely. Relax.
Operatio: How is God shaping your heart through the divine word? In what ways has this sacred reading renewed and transformed you?
What can you learn from children? How can you be more childlike in your approach to prayer and your relationship to God? What feeling do you want to take with you from this Lectio divina today?
The Storm on the Sea (Mark 4:35-41)
Lectio: When you have settled into a quiet place, open your Bible to the passage. Ask God to speak to you and help you hear his voice in the gospel. Read the text aloud, pausing to reflect on the words. Be attentive to the details.
After a full day of teaching from the boat, Jesus was tired and desired to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, away from the crowd. Knowing the dangers of sudden storms on the lake, the disciples feared for their lives when the boat began to be swamped by the waves. Jesus’ command to the wind and waves was simple and brief, yet these natural forces obeyed him.
This gospel scene offered great consolation to the early church in the midst of terrible turmoil and persecution. It appealed to its early readers to trust Jesus, who is Lord of his church. They could rely on him to control the chaotic forces of nature and history, just as the God of Israel had brought order out of chaos and directed his people not to fear.
Meditatio: After reflecting on how this parable impacted its first readers, we are challenged to actualize it, to bring God’s word into the present. By reflecting on its relevance to our own circumstances, we can offer a sincere response to the scriptural text.
How does Jesus’ calming of the sea affect you today? What aspects of your concrete situation does the text highlight? How does the text speak God’s word to your life?
Reflect on the fears and “storms” in your life right now. Imagine Jesus in the midst of your turmoil. Let Jesus speak these words to you: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Ponder his words and let them penetrate you. How do they resonate within you?
Oratio: Your prayer might go something like this: “God, I have so many fears (name your fears). Perhaps my biggest fear is that you are asleep, that you are not paying attention to my anxieties, that you don’t care if I perish in the storm. Help me to trust in you, to believe that you are present in the tempest, and that you have power over the wind and the waves. Calm my fears and let me believe that you are the Lord of my life.”
Respond to God in the midst of whatever storm you are facing. Believe that he can bring you from fear to trust. Tell him of your cares and worries, your confidence and trust, your faith and hope.
Contemplatio: As you run out of words, just imagine yourself in the boat with Jesus. “Peace! Be still!” he says. Rest with confidence in his presence, and entrust your worries to him. Spend some quiet moments in peace with Christ. Whenever worries and distractions arise in your mind, repeat the words of Jesus, “Peace. Be still!”
Operatio: Consider the source of your fears. Try letting go of one worry at a time. Consider how your prayerful reading of this text is leading you to deeper trust.
Choose a word or short phrase from the text to take with you. Repeat that word or phrase throughout your day, and have confidence that your life is slowly being shaped through God’s word in your midst.
Continuing to Pray with Scripture
As the book of Christ’s church, the Bible is a God-given way to experience the divine presence. Its inspired words not only offer us a treasury of images, stories, portraits of faith, prayers, and prophetic challenges, but they also bring us into an encounter with the living God. They are his words, personally addressed to us, and they have the power to convert our hearts and transform our lives.
Hopefully, after reading Conversing with God in Scripture, you are more aware of this truth. As an introduction to the long and rich tradition of Lectio divina, this book is only meant to be a beginning for you. It invites you into a lifelong experience of reading the sacred text as the threshold to a more personal relationship with Christ. It is my hope that you will commit to make prayerful reading of the Bible the heart of your Christian life. As you make even the smallest effort to seek the Lord, realize that he awaits you with open arms. “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me” (Revelation 3:20).
Tku very much. This helps me a lot.