Lectio Divina is an ancient practice of reading the Bible in a mood of meditation and prayer, to hear what God might be saying to us through a particular passage.
The four stages usually associated with Lectio Divina are:
- Reading: Slowly reading through a particular passage several times.
- Meditating: Imagining yourself as present in whatever is happening in the passage. Or reflecting on it in some other way that tries to immerse you in the text.
- Praying: Asking God for further wisdom or revelation on what He is saying through it. Talking with Him about how you feel about this.
- Contemplating: Reflecting on what God has said, and what this means for you. Is there a response, an application, a change, a way forward you need to think through?
Last night at Sanctuary we practiced a form of Lectio Divina. We read several times through Mark 9:14-29, which tells the story of Jesus casting a demon out from a young boy after his disciples were unable to do so. Each time we read it, we imagined we were a character present during the story (but not Jesus!) and asked ourselves in turn one of the following questions:
- What do you see?
- What do you hear?
- Who are you in the passage? And what do you feel?
- What might God be saying to you through this passage?
Some of the things people shared that God was speaking to them included the importance of prayer, the importance of faith, the reassurance that Jesus can transform even the worst situations, and so much more.
So now that you’ve learned something of the practice, why don’t you try it out for yourself?