Practicing lectio divina (Part 3)
Now that we've laid the foundation for why learning to meditate on scripture is so necessary, and we're explored some questions about whether it is possible to hear from God in this way, let's get down to how to practice it.
In the traditional way of practicing Christian meditation, there are typically four steps to engaging in lectio divina. They have fancy-pant Latin names like lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. In later years others have added a step at the beginning and a step at the ending. They too have been given names like silencio and incarnatio. I simply tell you these names for familiarity sake, and in case you want to have traditional language so you're not confused if you hear it in the future.
For our purposes, we are going to use the words ready, read, reflect, respond, rest, and resolve. Here’s the outline of how this works.
Ready (silencio)
Lectio is best practiced in a place of silence and solitude. Ruth Haley Barton says to, "take a moment to come fully into the present. With your eyes closed, let your body relax, and allow yourself to become consciously aware of God's presence with you." You'll notice the circle around this process says, "done in God's presence." We are doing this practice realizing that God is already everywhere and he promises that he is also present in us through the Holy Spirit. We don't have to feel him to acknowledge that truth. From there, you should pray as a way of expressing desire and willingness to listen and hear what God would say to you. A simple prayer like Samuel's prayer, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10) Another prayer might be to say, "Here I am God" or "Come Lord Jesus."
Read (lectio) first reading
The next step is to read the passage of scripture slowly. Again, this should not be a large section of scripture. Optimally, it should be no more than 6-8 verses. It may also be one section of scripture like a psalm or a short account from one of the gospels. At most, you should read no more than a single chapter of the Bible. Remember, we're reading for conversation and not for information. As you read, don't jump down to study notes or jump from passage to passage.
As you read slowly, listen for a word or phrase that seems to be addressed to you. A way of realizing what word or phrase it may be is to pay attention to what rings, sings, or stings. Rings means a word or phrase that really resonates deeply inside of you and seems timely for some reason. Sings means a word or phrase that makes your heart happy. Stings means a word or phrase that is uncomfortable to hear, or may even feel untrue. These are often cues that the Holy Spirit is getting our attention through our emotions and gut responses.
After you have read the passage and identified the specific word or phrase, sit in silence with it for a little while. Repeat it over and over in your mind. Chew on it. Savor it like it's a word spoken to you from someone who deeply loves you. Don't judge or analyze. Just sit with the word.
Sometimes reading it the first time doesn't always lead to pinpointing a word. That's okay. The passage is usually read a second time in the next phase. Go ahead and read it again and listen for what stands out. We usually need to hear something a couple times before we can truly sit with it.
Reflect (meditatio) second reading
After we read the text a second time, this is where we sit with our word or phrase and begin to ask both ourselves and God, "Why did you want me to pay attention to this, Spirit?" We ponder how this touches our lives right now. We reflect together with God and wonder what in our life right now needs to hear this word. If it is a gospel account or a story we might ask, "Where am I in this story?"
Here's what this has looked like for me recently. I was directed to Psalm 23 by the lectionary for my daily reading. I kept coming back to the first phrase, “The Lord is my shepherd." I knew that is what God wanted me to pay attention to. It rang in me and said, “Stop here!” As I sat with it I began to ask, “God, why is it so important that you're my shepherd? I already know that. So? But as I began to think about what a shepherd does, my first thought was of guidance. I had been feeling kind of lost and struggling with how to lead the congregation I pastor. The past year had been one that turned everything upside down and made everyone rethink how we “do church”. It was at this time that I entered into the next phase of Christian meditation.
Response (oratio)
This is where we tell God what we're thinking and feeling in response to the word or phrase that he has brought forth. It's where we express the feelings we have about what God is saying to us in scripture. It might be love, joy, sorrow, anger, repentance, desire, need, conviction, or a commitment that needs to be made. For me, I simply expressed, "God, I feel kind of lost. I'm not sure how to guide or explain to people this process you've been taking me on over the last few years." After sitting there for a moment I was given the strong impression of the Lord speaking to me saying, "I am your shepherd. I am their shepherd. You follow me. Then tell them where I'm leading you. I'll lead them." It was a beautiful time of unburdening. It freed me from the burden of trying to have all the answers and be the “vision” guy. I was free to simply be the follower of Jesus, telling other people what it looked like for me to follow Jesus and invite them to try it for themselves.
Rest (contemplatio) third reading
Sometimes there will be a response from God like I had. God will give a strong impression, a question, an image, or even simply an emotional sense of his presence. After you have responded by expressing your gratitude, willingness to be obedient, or even your repentance, it's time to simply rest in the presence of God. Read the text one final time and simply savor what has been revealed to you. Enjoy the one who has spoken to you. You may have had this experience with a friend that you are so comfortable with that you can sit in silence and not worry about needing to say anything. You're just glad they're there and content to be together with you. David expressed this in one of his psalms when he said, "I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." A baby that is no longer breastfeeding is not restless when it's placed on its mother's chest because it has already eaten and has been satisfied. David says there is a way of being as close to our God just like a satisfied child who just wants to curl up and enjoy the sensation of being near, not needing anything else.
Resolve (incarnatio)
Ruth Haley Barton says it best, so I'll simply quote her words on this part of the discipline. "Incarnate (live out) the word of God. As you emerge from this place of personal encounter with God to life in the company of others, resolve to carry this word with you and live it out in the context of daily life and activity. As you continue to listen to the word throughout the day, you will be led deeper and deeper into its meaning, until it begins to live in you and you enflesh this word to the world in which you live. As a way of supporting your intent to live out the word you have been given, you may want to choose an image, a picture or a symbol that you can carry to remind you of it."
One of the ways we truly know we've spent time with God and heard from him is that it changes the way we live.
Here are another few practical tips that I have found from my own experience. Remember that we're not promised that God will show up in a powerful way or that we will always hear a word from him. First, when we ourselves show up, that is success. It is honoring Jesus and saying that he is a priority. Secondly, I have found that sometimes when I haven't heard what I felt was a personal word from God, I still end up chewing on the word or phrase throughout the day. Then later on, when I'm not thinking about it, I have an experience where that word or phrase suddenly applies to what I'm going through. It's like Jesus is giving us a preparatory gift before we need it, so it's there when we do need it.
Here is a printout that you can put in your Bible that has scripture references on the back for you to practice lectio divina.