LECTIO DIVINA
Lectio Divina (LEX-ee-oh div-EE-na) can be used with any passage from scripture. The key is to use scripture as a conversation starter for a deep, personal conversation with the God who inspired it. Don’t rush each step; let them naturally unfold. Remember that the goal is spending quality time with the God who loves you. As you Read, Think, Talk, and Listen, you will learn to spend time with God like two old friends.
Preparation: Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten the eyes of my heart. Be present to the God who is always present to you. Call to mind his loving care for you and spend the first minute of your prayer just resting in the free, unearned gift of loving and being loved. Let gratitude rise in your heart.
Lectio: Ask God for whatever grace it is you desire to receive in today’s prayer time. Read the passage through, slowly and prayerfully.
Meditatio: Read the passage again. Turn it over in your mind. The ancients compared meditation to a cow chewing its cud. What was the cultural context? What did the author mean? Perhaps a particular word, phrase, or idea speaks to us. Perhaps it connects to a previous meditation or another scripture passage. What are your feelings as you read the passage?
Oratio: Prayer must be a conversation between persons. Turn to God and begin a conversation with him. Speak to him what is on your heart — your thoughts, feelings, fears, and desires.
Contemplatio: Read the passage a third time. Now just receive what is on God’s heart — his thoughts and feelings and desires. Spend some time receiving God’s love and resting in it. Prayer is experiencing how our Father looks at you with love. Holiness is learning to live in his long, loving gaze every moment of your life.
Suggestions for Journaling
Journaling isn’t an essential part of the prayer, but I find it helps me to deepen the experience when I put into words what was happening. You might find questions like these helpful, or you might make your own list of journal questions.
- The part that most spoke to me was …
- What I brought to the Lord was …
- God gave me …
- I received a new insight, understanding, or sense of myself …
- Apply something from the passage to your own life
(for example, a passage about Joh the Baptist: Who pointed out Jesus to me? When did I point out Jesus to another person, or what virtue of John the Baptist do I feel called to imitate?)
After you’ve journaled, close with a brief conversation giving thanks to God for the prayer time together. End with an Our Father or another favorite prayer.
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IMAGINATIVE PRAYER
Imaginative prayer helps us disconnect from this present moment in order to connect us with the deep reality of God’s loving, invisible presence with you right now. The goal is not to build great imaginary castles in the air. We want to look into the Bible and through it an encounter the God who was present in the Bible moment and is present here with you today. The imagination helps to break the ice and start the conversation as you spend quality time with God. It works best with scriptures that have a lot of visual description or action to them.
Preparation: Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten the eyes of my heart. Be present to the God who is always present to you. Call to mind his loving care for you and spend the first minute of your prayer just resting in the free, unearned gift of loving and being loved. Let gratitude rise in your heart.
Set the Scene: Ask God for whatever grace it is you desire to receive in today’s prayer time. Read the passage through and picture the scene in your mind. Choose the time of day and the scenery. Populate it with people dressed in period clothes (alternatively, you can picture the scene happening in your own city or neighborhood).
Action! Read the passage a second time and play the scene forward in your mind. Notice how the participants react, what they are thinking and feeling on the inside. Notice where Jesus is and what he is doing (you can also notice Mary, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, etc.). Place yourself in the scene.
Acknowledge: Read the passage a third time. What does this passage stir up in your mind and heart? Pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, and desires. Don’t worry if they are ‘not correct’, just notice them without any judgement.
Relate: As the scene is finished, spend some time in conversation with Jesus. You can walk along with him, sit with him in the scene, or just be aware of his presence in your prayer space. Share your thoughts, feelings, desires, fears, honestly and openly.
Receive: How does God respond to what you have shared? What is in God’s heart for you? Receiving isn’t meant to be hard work. It is about relaxing into God’s loving presence, focusing on him, and noticing what word, scripture passage, feeling, or reminder might come.
Respond: This is a chance to deepen the conversation. Ask a question about what God seems to be saying or just say Thank You. And like good friends, just let yourself just enjoy God’s company for a little while.
Suggestions for Journaling
- Something in my life that connected with the story …
- As the scene played out, what struck me was …
- I talked to Jesus about …
- I sensed he wanted me to know, or to give me, or remind me …
- I left prayer with a new insight, understanding, or a call to a new way of thinking or acting…
After you’ve journaled, close with a brief conversation giving thanks to God for your prayer experience. Then pray an Our Father or another favorite prayer.
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Relational Prayer (ARRR)
Relational prayer is a great way of praying with the experiences of everyday life. No matter what kinds of struggles or challenges you are facing, you can always pause and take a moment to give the to God. Here’s how you do it:
Preparation: Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten the eyes of my heart. Be present to the God who is always present to you. Call to mind his loving care for you and spend the first minute of your prayer just resting in the free, unearned gift of loving and being loved. Let gratitude rise in your heart.
Acknowledge: Notice what is going on inside of you, your thoughts, feelings, and desires. Helpful statements include, “When he did/said/acted that way, it made me feel ____”. If we are feeling too angry to concentrate, pray the name of Jesus a few times and stick with the preparation period until you notice his peaceful presence. With anger in particular, it is helpful to try and notice what you were thinking and feeling just before you got angry. That can be a clue to where the anger came from, and what God might want you to share with him.
Relate: Share with the Lord what is going on inside of you. Be honest with God. Sometimes we are mad at God himself because he appears to be ruining our lives or ignoring our prayers. You can get mad at God. Tell him how you feel, even if it includes inappropriate words. It’s really important that we be completely honest. Do not try and ask God to give you something or do something at this stage. Just tell him what is going on with you.
Receive: Now we shift our attention from us and our problems to God. This is where I often got stuck when I was learning this prayer form. Picture this scene: I’m struggling with something. A good friend comes and stands next to me. I point out the problem, tell him everything, and he listens patiently. God and I are looking at my problem together. Now, I turn to focus on my friend. What is in his heart for me? How does he look at me? It’s his turn to talk. Sometimes it’s just knowing that he cares, a feeling of peace, or that I am not alone in my problem. Sometimes it might be a scripture passage or a few words to put me in my place or add perspective. Like with any good friend, it may not be exactly what I want to hear, but it will be what I need to hear.
Respond: If what he just gave you is hard to receive, tell him so. If it comforts you, thank him. Even if you don’t get anything at this time, you can be confident that God will answer you when he is ready and will give me what I really need. So keep your eyes and ears open in case he has more to say or give you later.
Sharing your burdens with God makes them shrink like snow in the sunshine. It’s almost like magic, but better. We call it ‘grace.’ Practice this prayer time with the experiences of your everyday life.
Feel free to journal whatever from the above struck you. Then spend a few minutes thanking God for the quality time together and end with an Our Father or another favorite prayer.
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The Saturday Review
I like to keep an old canning jar as a “Gratitude Jar.” I start at New Years and each Saturday I write down the biggest thing I am grateful for on a slip of paper and add it to the jar. At the end of the year, I dump out the jar and review my blessings. The Saturday review can help fill your jar.
Preparation: Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten the eyes of my heart. Call to mind his loving care for you and spend the first minute of your prayer just resting in the free, unearned gift of loving and being loved. Let gratitude rise in your heart.
Flip back through your past week’s journal entries, or consider the past week's prayer times. As you do, notice what emerged in the conversation. Here are some questions to help you:
- Where did I notice God, and what was he doing or saying?
- How did I respond to what God was doing?
- felt God’s love most strongly when …
- I found myself struggling with …
- I’m grateful for …
- This past week, my strongest sense, image, moment, or experience of God’s loving presence was …
Journal for a little while whatever you are experiencing.
Conclude by conversing with God about your week. Acknowledge what you have been experiencing. Relate it to him. Receive what he wants to give you. Respond to him. Then savor that image of God’s loving presence and rest there for a minute or two. Close with a Glory Be or another favorite prayer.
