Lexio Divina
“How do I grow as a Christian?” A common question in the church, with an equally common answer: “Bible study and prayer.” This taught me growing up that the only thing I could do with the Bible is study it much the way I would study a math book trying to cram for an exam. In addition, little was ever explained to me about prayer so virtually all my prayers were improvisational. In the same way an accomplished jazz musician might solo in the middle of the song, they decide the notes they want to play on their own. Improvising is a wonderful talent, it adds greatly to enhance a song bringing emotion and personal style. However, if improvising is all a musician does, they will never learn to read the notes, that will allow them to play the masterpieces, that the art of music has produced over hundreds of years.
In the last few years, I have sought other things to do with the Bible besides study it—which led me to church history hoping find ways that other people have prayed and matured in their walk with Jesus. The personal journey has been rich, brought me closer to Jesus, and is one that I am still on. Though the desert fathers, monasticism, and church history are rich with ways to approach the Bible and prayer, in the shortness of this article I will only have time to explore one.
One quick disclaimer before I move on. As God made everybody different, each person will need to find the ways of seeking after God that most help them. For one person prayer journaling maybe the best thing for their spiritual life, but for another trying to journal only makes them frustrated, so they go on prayer walks or pray through a guide like we have for our 40 days of purpose. Each person needs to try a variety of spiritual disciplines and find what approaches help you draw closer to God. I would encourage everybody to try this approach that I am about to explain, if it is helpful--use it, if not—great, but find other ways to seek God. Here is one that has helped me.
Lectio Divina (pronounced lex-ee-o dih-vee-nah) means a holy or sacred reading of scripture. I think of it as a prayerful approach to scripture, where you are able to spend some time in silence listening to God (something we don’t do often). It is my understanding that St. Benedict (480-550 AD) was the first to cement the practice of Lectio Divina into western monasticism.
When you approach the “sacred reading” of scripture you are encouraged to go through 5 steps. You can spend as much time on each step as you want, but five minutes per step might be a good place to start. Find a comfortable (but not too comfortable), quiet place to sit, and the steps are as follows.
1) Lectio – means reading . . . you pick a few verses that you would like to mediate on. For now let’s choose Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Read the passage over slowly multiple times (read out loud if possible). Let each word sink into your heart, as you spend a few minutes here.
2) Ruminatio – means rumination, or chewing . . . This is where you take hold a phrase and keep it in your thoughts. Tony Jones puts it this way , “I like to imagine what my temperament will be in heaven, sitting at God’s feet, listening, and being instructed. I don’t imagine I’ll be shifting in my seat, my hand up to ask a questions. I imagine I’ll be content, calm and listening hard for what God has to say to me. What I often find is that a certain word or phrase rises above the rest of the text and grabs a hold of me.” It could be any phrase in the passage, but let’s say as you were reading through the verses “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” jumped out at you. Try to keep that phrase in your mind repeating it over and over. If your mind starts to wander just bring it back.
3) Meditatio – or meditation. This step reflects on the idea. You might ask God why is this phase is so important to my life right now? What are you trying to say to me? In the example we were working with you might ask God if there are areas in your life where you have not been trusting God.
4) Contempatio – or contemplation. In this step you are trying to clear your mind, sit in silence, and in a position of receptivity. You do not want to create thoughts of your own, but try to listen to God. When was the last time you spent in silence with God? Not trying to conjure up prayers, just trying to listen. To remove distractions and hear from God.
5) Oratio – or Oration, spoken prayer. I find it helpful in my own personal life at this step to write out my prayers in response to God. Whether you speak out loud your prayer to God out loud in response to the verses you have meditated on, or whether you write them out, the point here is to respond to what God has brought to your attention. Chances are when you spend time seeking God, He is going to help you with something in your life that you need to change, or thank Him for.
I would encourage you even before you finish reading this newsletter, to put it down. Pick a passage of the Bible that you like, and enter into a prayerful, holy approach to seeking God. Like any skill, prayer is one that we can develop, and use to become more like Jesus.
If you are interested in pursuing other approaches to prayer that has been used throughout history, but are not readily used today Tony Jones book “Soul Shaper” is a good place to start.
I would love to hear from you if you implement this approach into your spiritual life, or if you have other things that have made the difference for you. Let’s share our wealth and use it to better follow Jesus.
In prayer,
Pastor Jon
In the last few years, I have sought other things to do with the Bible besides study it—which led me to church history hoping find ways that other people have prayed and matured in their walk with Jesus. The personal journey has been rich, brought me closer to Jesus, and is one that I am still on. Though the desert fathers, monasticism, and church history are rich with ways to approach the Bible and prayer, in the shortness of this article I will only have time to explore one.
One quick disclaimer before I move on. As God made everybody different, each person will need to find the ways of seeking after God that most help them. For one person prayer journaling maybe the best thing for their spiritual life, but for another trying to journal only makes them frustrated, so they go on prayer walks or pray through a guide like we have for our 40 days of purpose. Each person needs to try a variety of spiritual disciplines and find what approaches help you draw closer to God. I would encourage everybody to try this approach that I am about to explain, if it is helpful--use it, if not—great, but find other ways to seek God. Here is one that has helped me.
Lectio Divina (pronounced lex-ee-o dih-vee-nah) means a holy or sacred reading of scripture. I think of it as a prayerful approach to scripture, where you are able to spend some time in silence listening to God (something we don’t do often). It is my understanding that St. Benedict (480-550 AD) was the first to cement the practice of Lectio Divina into western monasticism.
When you approach the “sacred reading” of scripture you are encouraged to go through 5 steps. You can spend as much time on each step as you want, but five minutes per step might be a good place to start. Find a comfortable (but not too comfortable), quiet place to sit, and the steps are as follows.
1) Lectio – means reading . . . you pick a few verses that you would like to mediate on. For now let’s choose Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Read the passage over slowly multiple times (read out loud if possible). Let each word sink into your heart, as you spend a few minutes here.
2) Ruminatio – means rumination, or chewing . . . This is where you take hold a phrase and keep it in your thoughts. Tony Jones puts it this way , “I like to imagine what my temperament will be in heaven, sitting at God’s feet, listening, and being instructed. I don’t imagine I’ll be shifting in my seat, my hand up to ask a questions. I imagine I’ll be content, calm and listening hard for what God has to say to me. What I often find is that a certain word or phrase rises above the rest of the text and grabs a hold of me.” It could be any phrase in the passage, but let’s say as you were reading through the verses “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” jumped out at you. Try to keep that phrase in your mind repeating it over and over. If your mind starts to wander just bring it back.
3) Meditatio – or meditation. This step reflects on the idea. You might ask God why is this phase is so important to my life right now? What are you trying to say to me? In the example we were working with you might ask God if there are areas in your life where you have not been trusting God.
4) Contempatio – or contemplation. In this step you are trying to clear your mind, sit in silence, and in a position of receptivity. You do not want to create thoughts of your own, but try to listen to God. When was the last time you spent in silence with God? Not trying to conjure up prayers, just trying to listen. To remove distractions and hear from God.
5) Oratio – or Oration, spoken prayer. I find it helpful in my own personal life at this step to write out my prayers in response to God. Whether you speak out loud your prayer to God out loud in response to the verses you have meditated on, or whether you write them out, the point here is to respond to what God has brought to your attention. Chances are when you spend time seeking God, He is going to help you with something in your life that you need to change, or thank Him for.
I would encourage you even before you finish reading this newsletter, to put it down. Pick a passage of the Bible that you like, and enter into a prayerful, holy approach to seeking God. Like any skill, prayer is one that we can develop, and use to become more like Jesus.
If you are interested in pursuing other approaches to prayer that has been used throughout history, but are not readily used today Tony Jones book “Soul Shaper” is a good place to start.
I would love to hear from you if you implement this approach into your spiritual life, or if you have other things that have made the difference for you. Let’s share our wealth and use it to better follow Jesus.
In prayer,
Pastor Jon
posted by Jon Knapp at
9:39 AM
2 Comments:
Have you tried using this in a small group setting. I do it in some classes at the school I go to.
This was helpful, thank you.
Ray
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