Lectio Divina (Or, How to make your Bible come alive).

I’m not sure about you guys, but reading the Bible got stale for me. I think there were two reasons for it. First, I have been going to church for a long time and have been reading the same stories for a long time. In some sense, when you know the ending, stories start losing their wonder. And what’s more, I’m a preacher. I’ve been pulling the same meaning out of stories for a decade now.

Second, I’m working my way through a Master’s of Divinity and the bible has become… well… academic and mechanical to say the least.

Not too long ago, I was taking a class for my program in Colorado Springs. While we were there, our professor introduced us to the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina. I was skeptical at first and then we practiced it together.

Everything changed for me.

It was like God was sitting right there talking to me.

Since that class, the Bible has come alive for me!

The Process

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Lectio Divina means Divine Reading and is composed of four movements or readings of the same passage of scripture followed by several minutes of silence (I usually do 3 minutes but feel free to do as much as you’d like. For some Lectio can be a several hour endeavor). The four steps are as follows:

1. Lectio – In the first phase of Lectio Divina read the passage and try to discern what you think the author was originally trying to communicate. What was the purpose of the text? Who are they talking to? What points are they driving at?
2. Meditatio – This stage was described to me like this: “If God was writing this text to you in a love letter, what would be he saying or trying to communicate?”
3. Oratio – In this movement, we engage the will of God and ask the question, “What does God want me to do with what I feel like he is saying?”
4. Contemplatio – This fourth movement is a little different. After reading, our goal is to be silent and still in the presence of God. I like to think of it as if I was sitting in the floor in my living room listening to Jesus read the passage over and to me. And just… enjoying being in his presence.

I’m sure there are other variations to the process you may be familiar with but this has been mine over the last year or so and it has been wonderful.

A word of caution, however. Lectio is an incredible exercise but it is also very personal and intimate. I’d be remiss to suggest this as a legitimate exegetical practice. I would never stand up in front of a crowd of people and suggest I had uncovered a timeless truth of scripture through Lectio. I might say, “I was meditating on scripture the other day and I feel like God was personally communicating [blank]. But you need to engage this passage and find out what God is saying to you…”

So, there you have it! If you give it a try, let us know what you think!