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Praying with Scripture (Lectio Divina Series – “Oratio”)

Praying with Scripture

Christian spirituality is always a response to what God is doing. Having received from God, we respond, first in prayer and then in action. In the first two movements of Lectio Divina, we have been learning how to open our hearts so that we can receive the word that God wants to speak to us today. This prayerful preparation comes in slow reading and intentional meditation on what we hear. All of this is a way of praying with Scripture and trying to listen deeply.

Word-Filled Prayer (Oratio)

After we have meditated on God’s word, we turn to prayer. The tradition calls this Oratio (Prayer), which is word-filled prayer. Oratio transitions organically into praying with minimal words. We call this transition to wordless prayer Contemplatio (Contemplation). In this reflection, I will look at word-filled prayer, and in the next reflection I will turn to contemplative prayer. 

Prayer is Responding to God

From meditation, we turn to prayer. Prayer is a wonderful gift from God. It is an amazing opportunity to be in dialogue and conversation with God. In Lectio Divina, we are prayerfully responding to any insights that emerge from our meditation. There is a constant pattern of hearing God’s word in Scripture and then responding in prayer.

Praying with Scripture: A Personal Example

For example, when I was reading Scripture devotionally the other day, I was working through the letter of Paul to the Philippians, Chapter 3. In this passage, Paul describes all of the advantages he had as a Jewish Pharisee. He was well born, had a great education, was well known for his commitment to the law, and blameless in his observance. Many people would have been jealous of the advantages he had. And yet, he considers all those advantages as rubbish compared to knowing Christ. The love and grace of Jesus Christ is worth far more than any of his privilege. He sings about the joy he feels in knowing Christ, and his willingness to trade everything else for it. He writes, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…”

When I read those words, my heart jumped. I thought, “I want to know Christ like that too! I want to know the power of Christ’s love like Paul did. That’s what I really want.” So in my reading, I meditated on those passionate lines from Paul: what would this look like for me? Then I turned to my time of prayer, and this is what I brought to God. Using Paul’s words, I prayed, “I too want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection! Please, Lord, let me know this tremendous gift that Jesus has given us.” I just took the words from Paul’s letter and I MADE THEM MY OWN.

Bringing the Prayers of Our Hearts

This time of prayer is obviously whatever you make it. The structure of Lectio Divina is extremely flexible. It is only meant to be an opportunity to bring the prayers of our hearts to our loving Father.

Perhaps there is something in the reading that confused you, or that you didn’t like. Make that the content of your prayer. Maybe you just felt a strong emotion when reading something in the passage. Make that the content of your prayer. Ask God about it. Long after the prayer is over, you may find insight into what is going on spiritually within you. Maybe something in the reading encouraged you. Voice that to God. Maybe the reading spoke to a bad habit you are struggling with. Make that the content of your prayer. As we pray with Scripture, nothing is out of bounds.

I hope you see the profound flexibility of this way of coming to God. Lectio Divina only lays down a framework. You get to make it your own. There is only one real requirement for growth in the spiritual life. Just keep showing up, every day you can.  

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Reading the Bible Prayerfully (Lectio Divina Series – “Meditatio”)

The Hope Canteen: Reading the Bible Prayerfully

In the previous article, I wrote about not hurrying through Scripture. Rather, we should read slowly and deliberately. This is because we are LISTENING, listening very closely. True listening is hard to do, because it needs to be without agenda as much as possible. Even so, taking our time and listening carefully opens the way to reading the Bible prayerfully.

For example, imagine my wife says that she has a good idea about what we should do this weekend. I already have an idea about what we should be doing this weekend, and without listening to her, I already know that my idea is a lot better. I have an agenda, and it keeps me from hearing what she has to say. I have already determined that it is not as good as my idea, and I am only listening to find reasons to show her why my idea is better. This does not honour my wife or our relationship. I would do better to put my agenda aside and listen to what she has to say. This act of putting aside my agenda and paying attention is what I am calling listening.

Deep Listening to Scripture

When we read Scripture, we use this same kind of listening, but we call it “meditation.” This could be confusing. When the Bible uses the word “meditation,” it doesn’t mean sitting in silence, something that is a lot closer to the Christian practice of contemplation. Meditation in the Bible comes from the Hebrew word “to mutter.” We see this in Psalm 1 as it describes the truly happy: “Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they MEDITATE [mutter] day and night.” Muttering implies that the reader stops and repeats what they just read, so that they can get a deeper sense of what is written.

Ruminating on Scripture

In the Middle Ages, writers talked about ruminating on Scripture. Ruminating comes from the image of a cow chewing its cud. It means that they are covering the same ground over and over. The passage is full of meaning; we need to sit for a time with the image or idea we are meditating on.

The author of our Book of Common Prayer, Thomas Cranmer, wrote a wonderful prayer that describes ruminating on Scripture. He wanted to capture the Reformation desire that people would come to love the Bible as the Word of God. He wanted them to use the Bible, not just as a source of information or to do theology, but as a way to connect to the living God, who still speaks through its pages. The prayer goes like this:

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.

By using that strange but delightful phrase, ‘inwardly digest them’, Cranmer asks us not just to learn the truths of Scripture by rote, but to absorb them into our very souls. Meditation is being spiritually nourished by Holy Scripture.

God Is Always Speaking Through Scripture

Lectio Divina assumes that, in reading the Bible prayerfully, you will find something that speaks to your heart. In his book on meditating on Scripture, Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it like this: “In our meditation, we ponder the chosen text on the strength of the promise that it has something utterly personal to say to us for this day and for our Christian life.” This is an incredible promise! To claim it, we need to be able to listen carefully and put aside our agenda during our prayer time.

The Lectio Divina Practice of Meditating on Scripture

The practice of meditating on Scripture works like this: as you are reading the passage slowly, pay close attention to how you are feeling and what you notice. Usually, an image, a verse, a phrase, or even just a word will stand out to you. You may just note something interesting. At other times, you might find something you are excited about, or strongly dislike. Whatever it is, stop here and ponder for a moment. First, ask what it means for the Biblical writer. Then, ask what it means for you. Why do you think this place in your reading is interesting to you? You are trying to draw a living connection between the world of the Bible and your world. Our goal is to live in light of what God is doing in the Gospel.

Listening to God’s Word

When something in Scripture speaks to you, it is a good indication that God is using it to tell you something about a question or experience you are having. Sometimes, what God is saying will be clear. Other times, you will need to ponder and pray about it for a while. Either way, after you have meditated on your passage, turn to God in prayer. I will say more about this in the next reflection.

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Steps of Lectio Divina: The Four Movements

Steps of Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina is not as fancy as the name might suggest. I would use a different name, but this one has such an ancient tradition that I will leave it be. Remember, though, that it is just a way to read the scriptures devotionally. In this article, we are looking at the four movements, or steps, of lectio divina.

Reading the Bible to Get to Know God

You can read the Bible to find out facts about Jesus, learn Israelite history or to explore questions of theology. Most people, however, just want to know God personally. They want to grow in their faith. Lectio divina is a simple but profound way of doing exactly that. While we are looking at the traditional steps of lectio divina here, what I love about this way of prayer is that it is so flexible. It can be adapted in so many ways. If you are not familiar with this way of reading, I would encourage you to try it and see what you think.

Four Steps of Lectio Divina

In the last article, I wrote a little bit about how Lectio Divina envisions a slow and gentle process of reading prayerfully through scripture and being formed by it. This time, I want to give an overview of the different movements in Lectio Divina. I will expand on each of these in subsequent articles.

Traditionally, there are four movements in Lectio Divina, and they make simple logical sense.

1) Read a passage of scripture

2) Think about it

3) Pray about what you thought about

4) Don’t rush off. Let it sink in.

That’s it. Super simple. But the beauty of Lectio Divina is that the more you do it, the more profound the movements can become. Let me say a brief word about each movement.

1) Read (Lectio)

(I will give you the Latin titles too, just for interest’s sake.) This way of reading is different than how you would read a newspaper. Typically, when I am reading the paper, I am also eating lunch and involved in a conversation with my wife. I am usually scanning headlines to see what interests me. When I find something, I usually read pretty fast because I want to get through the article and on to something else. At the end, I throw the whole thing in the recycling.

Reading devotionally is the opposite in every way. The reading needs to be short so I can read it slowly, perhaps a few times. I try to get away from distractions, and I keep the passage with me through the day. This is a contemplative form of reading. It is not just for information, but for encounter. It requires attention and humility.

2) Think (Meditatio)

A better English word would be ponder. Thinking sometimes gives too much the impression of problem solving. Pondering is slower. It means something like weighing or considering. The image I like to use is imagine a young man who has just received a letter from his girlfriend. (Back in the days when there were letters!) He doesn’t just read through it and put it in his desk. He lovingly and attentively reads and re-reads certain lines. This is his beloved speaking to him through words. Those words are rich in meaning. He squeezes every bit of meaning out of them and looks for more. This is meditation in the Biblical sense.

3) Pray (Oratio)

As I said in my first article in this series, we believe the Bible was written “for them, but to us as well.” The idea is that in pondering scripture we find that God still has a word for us today. There is something in there that will stand out to you. It will speak to the questions you have today. It might be crystal clear what God is saying, or it might be unclear and odd. Either way, our first step is always to go to God in prayer.

We take the insights that we found in pondering and we pray to God about them, asking for insight and wisdom. We might ask for help in applying the insight. It might be a prayer of thanksgiving. In Lectio Divina, we let this process flow naturally.

4) Sit (Contemplatio)

This is the hardest movement to explain because it is the simplest. What do you mean just sit? In my experience, at the end of this process, after I have read, and pondered and prayed, my heart is calm. My mind is relaxed. Inside, I have found what I call a devotional space. (This doesn’t always happen, by the way, and it doesn’t have to.) Sometimes I find there is a deep love for God inside. Sometimes it is just a pleasant quiet. The Christian tradition advises not to rush off, but to enjoy just being with God. Even if you don’t feel something, our tradition still advises to sit there for a time and reverence God.

5) Live (Via Activa)

Wait! You said there were only four movements. There are, but there is also an implied fifth movement. Christianity is a way of life. You need to go from prayer to your life: going shopping, picking up the kids, visiting your friends, going to work, doing the dishes, watching TV, and making dinner. In all of these, your prayer goes with you. Through the prayer, over time, you will come to see the grace of God everywhere.

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How Do I Meditate on Scripture?: An introduction to the Lectio Divina Series

Lectio Divina

If you were to ask me what is the single most important habit you could cultivate to grow spiritually, my simple answer would be to meditate on Scripture daily. There are so many benefits to this habit. Scripture is the primary witness to the amazing life of Jesus Christ and the faith of the people of Israel. It is also the primary way that God speaks to us. The Bible teaches that we receive faith through hearing the Word of God: faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Learning to Listen

What this means is that we really need to develop our skills in LISTENING. In the central confession of Judaism, the people are commanded: “HEAR O Israel, the Lord is one.” In the Bible, God is personal and speaks. God is not some impersonal force like the Platonic One. God is a God who enters into history, has a story, enters into covenant relationship with his people, and still speaks to us today.

We are called into a life-giving relationship with God, and the primary way we connect with the God who speaks is to listen to his Word. As we meditate on Scripture, we develop this skill of listening. True listening takes humility and time. We have to develop the skill of pondering or meditating on what the scriptures say. We need to pray deeply on the insights we find there, and finally we need just to be able to enjoy being in the presence of God.

Meditating on Scripture to Grow in Relationship with God

Over the centuries, the Christian church has developed a simple and accessible way to meditate on Scripture. This method is normally referred to by its Latin title: Lectio Divina. This simply translates to “Holy Reading.” It is a way of listening deeply to the Word of God. Lectio Divina has two purposes: to grow in love of God and in relationship with God, and to cultivate a heart of wisdom.

The Bible Isn’t Always Easy to Understand

The Bible is a hard book to read for most people. First of all, there are so many details! The pages of the Scriptures are packed with dozens of stories and hundreds of names and places we have never heard of. Because it is actually a library of books rather than a single book, there doesn’t seem to be a logical thread connecting the beginning, middle and end. There are so many different interweaving themes, literary styles and genres, that it can be difficult to keep them straight. How do we understand it all? Lectio Divina suggests that we don’t need to.

The vision of Lectio Divina is that we don’t need to grasp Scripture all at once. Rather, it is a much simpler vision of reading just a little, slowly and prayerfully every day of your life. You ponder the puzzles, make rich connections, gather insights, wrestle with ambiguities, and constantly ask, “How is God speaking to me in this?”

Meditating on Scripture to Take Our Place in its Story

We assume that Scripture is written ‘for them, but to us as well.’ To say it is for them is to admit that the Bible is NOT written for us. It was written for people who lived long ago in strange lands, referring to unfamiliar customs, and asking questions that were important for them, but not for us. Therefore, it is sometimes helpful to have a Bible dictionary or commentary handy to help us understand someone of the cultural things we don’t get.

We also assume that the Bible has an eternal voice. It is written ‘to us as well.’ It tells the story of God’s plan for the salvation of the world in Jesus Christ. The Biblical writers want us to see this story as OUR story as well. The story of the Bible forms our lives because it is the story of salvation.

The Lectio Divina Series

In this series, I am going to walk us through the stages of Lectio Divina. Some people teach this as a technique. This is not what I am trying to do here. Instead, I want to give you the principles that can guide a prayerful way of reading scripture. These principles can be used with a variety of different techniques. This way of praying scripture is very important to me because it is my daily bread and butter. I practice it everyday to grow closer to God and, hopefully, to grow in wisdom. And I am happy to share it with you.

  1. How Do I Meditate on Scripture? An Introduction to the Lectio Divina Series
  2. Steps of Lectio Divina: The Four Movements
  3. Slow Reading and the Bible (“Lectio”)
  4. Reading the Bible Prayerfully (“Meditatio”)
  5. Praying with Scripture (“Oratio”)
  6. Contemplative Prayer (“Contemplatio”)
  7. Praying with Psalm 131: A Personal Example of Lectio Divina
  8. How Do I Know What to Read in the Bible?

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Building Treasure in Heaven: A New Series on Living for What is Most Important

Reflect on what is most important in this new series on Building Treasure in Heaven from the Hope Canteen blog

Did we miss the rest of the Lessons of the 20th Century Series? Not at all! Now that your hosts are back from vacation, we will be running both series together for some variety. You can use the categories to help you navigate between them.

Our desire here at the Hope Canteen is to serve up spiritual nourishment to help you grow in your life of faith. Our spiritual life is about answering the big questions and finding ways to live with integrity in light of them. As Christians, we believe that we have found those answers in Jesus Christ. But faith is only the beginning of our journey! Jesus calls us to follow him and be disciples.

Continue reading “Building Treasure in Heaven: A New Series on Living for What is Most Important”

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Growing in Love with a Rule of Life

a Rule of Life is a roadmap

The last time I wrote, I said that the best thing you can do to grow in your faith and relationship with God is just to show up everyday. There is nothing better than simple practices of prayer, study, and service that you commit to and do over long periods of time.

Christian Life Is About Growing in Love

Julian of Norwich, who was well known for her profound mystical experiences of God, points out that ordinary Christians, simply living a faithful life and learning the precepts of their faith, can be further along the path of love than she is, even Continue reading “Growing in Love with a Rule of Life”