Description
Do you want to be closer to God? To grow spiritually? This guided Lectio Divina takes you through a structured meditatio… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Together we’re going to go through the main stages of Lectio Divina for about the next 20 minutes. You don’t need previous experience of Lectio Divina. I’m going to take you through this wonderful meditation journey step by step. In each of the main sections you’ll see a progress bar, so you know how far we are through that Lectio Divina stage. But remember you can pause the video at any point if you’d like more time.
Before we start, we need to be ready. You may find it helpful to have a pen and paper, or a meditation journal to hand. There’ll be lots of opportunities to make notes. And although I’ll be putting the scriptures on screen, you may like to have your own Bible to hand.
Hopefully you’ve already found a space where you can be quiet and uninterrupted, whether that be in your garden, your bedroom, or even commuting on a train wearing headphones. The important point is to still your heart and your mind.
Let’s pray. Lord God, thank you for this opportunity to read and reflect on your word. Thank you for the chance to hear from you, God. To receive your grace and your personal attention. Please speak and help us to hear. Amen.
The first stage of Lectio Divina is lectio, that is, reading. We’re reading the words of God in the presence of God. This is a sacred moment.
While we’re reading, we’re actively listening to the Holy Spirit. Pay attention to anything that jumps out at you while you read. Listen to the words in the passage and to the voice of the Holy Spirit, which may come to you as words in your mind, an impression or a change in your emotions. And you might like to make notes.
I’m going to read the passage to you now once. Then can you please read it yourself two or three times? You can do that in your head or out loud. It’s best if you read carefully and slowly and really pay attention to the words as you read.
1 Corinthians 13 verses 4 to 7: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
The second stage of Lectio Divina is meditatio, meditation. This is time to reflect and ponder, to chew on the passage. As you do that, here are some questions you can consider: What jumped out at you? What do you feel? How does this passage apply to your life right now? And what is God asking you to do?
I’ll leave these questions on screen and again you can make notes as you meditate.
The third stage of Lectio Divina is oratio, speaking to God. In other words, prayer. Here we’re responding to the words of Scripture. This is your prayer time and it flows out of your reading and your meditation.
In your prayer you may like to include thanks and gratitude, confession or repentance, petitions or requests to God, and your response to the meditation, which may include a commitment to God.
Make a note of your prayers if you like.
We finish that section and start the next section with prayer. This stage of Lectio Divina is contemplatio, silent contemplation. I’ll pray and then we’ll rest quietly in God’s presence. This may feel strange if you’ve not done this before, but it’s immensely spiritually rewarding. You can write down anything you learn in this section.
And now can I ask you first to pray this prayer with me. Heavenly Father,
thank you for your word and your voice.
Thank you for this time of meditation.
God, I ask you now to work in my heart and my mind.
Everything I have and everything I am is yours.
Be glorified now in me, I pray.
Amen.
Sometimes we include a fifth stage of Lectio Divina, incarnatio. That’s incarnation, taking the whole Lectio Divina meditation and making it flesh, turning it into action.
And so the last question for you to consider is: what have you learnt during this time and how can you put it into practice? How can you act on what God has shown you?
I’ll leave you some time to consider that and again, make notes if you wish, and then I’ll close in prayer.
Father God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, how can we thank you enough for what you bring us? We lay down our lives now for you, God. Please accept this offering and please use us as your instruments on this earth as we continue walking the path you have set out for us. Amen.
