I have a confession: I’m not very good at reading the Bible. Sure, I can enter in to scripture when I’m with my small group, or at church on Sunday, but I’m not very good at reading the Bible when I’m by myself.
I’ve tried different types of “devotionals” – like reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, or following along with the daily readings from the Book of Common Prayer (or even the a newer version, Common Prayer), or doing inductive study on a short piece of scripture. But I’ve never been able to stick with it any of these devotionals for more than a few weeks – I make excuses like “the Book of Common Prayer has too much scripture,” or “Oswald Chambers is just too heady for me.” For whatever reason (or whatever excuse), I just can’t stay disciplined with reading scripture.
Lectio Di-what-a?
But then I learned about Lectio Divina (pronounced “Lexio”). Lectio Divina means “Divine Reading,” or reading the Bible, which is divinely inspired. Lectio Divina is a reflective reading of scripture, a way of listening to the text as if we were talking with Jesus, as if he was suggesting the topic of conversation.
Lectio Divina has four stages: reading (lectio), reflecting on (meditatio), responding to (oratio), and resting in (contemplatio). At each stage you enter deeper into conversation with God, and grow in your relationship with God. With each stage and each practice of Lectio Divina you move closer to communion with the God who loves you.
Why try it?
For me, Lectio Divina is simpler than any other scripture reading I’ve tried. I like reading smaller chunks of scripture (which is the traditional way of doing Lectio Divina) rather than the three long passages each day from the Book of Common Prayer. And I like engaging my heart (Lectio Divina is said to be “listening with the ‘ear’ of the heart”) instead of my head, which is what I had to use when reading My Utmost for His Highest. Of course its still important for me to read longer passages, and interact with scripture using my head, but for a daily practice, for something I want to be in the habit of doing, Lectio Divina works better for me.
Maybe you’re like me, and you’re having a hard time reading scripture consistently. Try Lectio Divina for a few days, and see what happens – you may find that it’s a practice that you can keep up with. Or maybe reading scripture each day comes naturally to you. Try Lectio Divina anyway, and see what new thing God brings up. Whoever you are, and whatever your devotional life looks like, Lectio Divina can be good way to deepen with God.
Today I’m going to read, meditate on, respond to and rest in Psalm 145:19 – 22. Will you join me?
Resources:
Katye Crawford works as the National Coordinator of Urban Projects. She loves cooking all things pumpkin, wearing scarves, and she blogs about finding hope in the midst of mourning at My Long Goodbye.
Image from www.thefellowship.info/Pray/Prayer-Practices/Praying-the-Scriptures
