Priscilla Shirer writes about the time she was fresh out of college and had landed a job hosting a live televised show on CBS.[i] She had never hosted a live show before and was a nervous wreck. What if she lost her train of thought? What if she forgot what she was supposed to do next? Seeing her apprehension, the producer walked over to Shirer and handed her a small device that fit in her ear. The producer explained that this equipment was known as “the ear” and would allow Shirer to hear the producer at all times. At any time during the live program, the producer would be able to direct and guide Shirer.
Something similar can happen every day between you and God. It is possible to hear “live” from God. Scripture can be like that small electronic device. Through it God can whisper guidance, direction, encouragement, and inspiration.
How does this happen? One way to increase our likelihood of hearing from God through Scripture is to practice Lectio Divina. There are four steps.[ii]
- Lectio (lexeeo) literally means reading. It’s the word from which terms like lection and lectionary are derived. It refers to a reflective and gentle-paced type of reading. Here, we’re asking: What is God saying to me right now? It is analogous to a cow walking over to some grass and beginning to eat.
- Meditatio (meditatseo) translates as meditation. This is not the kind of meditation known in Far Eastern religious traditions where meditation involves moving beyond images and emptying the mind. Instead, this meditation involves active reflection upon the text. In the practice of the early church this step involved the repetition of the “word” received from lectio. It is analogous to a cow chewing its cud.
- Oratio (oratsio) is related to terms like oration and oratory. It describes the prayer that results from our meditation. Here we respond to what we’ve heard from God. It is us responding to God based on what we’ve heard.
- Contemplatio (contemplatsio) means contemplation. This refers to resting in God’s presence and just being with God.
Richard Foster writes, “Whereas the study of Scripture centers on exegesis, the meditation of Scripture centers in internalizing and personalizing the passage. The written Word becomes a living word addressed to you.”[iii] Through these four steps God’s word becomes living and active.
On most week-day mornings, I practice lectio divina on the texts I’m preaching from. A few weeks ago I was meditating on Lk. 3:1-14, the text I preached from last Sunday. What caught my attention that morning was that the word of God, absent for over 460 years, came to a man named John. It didn’t come to Tiberius Ceasar or Pontius Pilate. It didn’t even come to the religious professionals: Annas and Caiaphas. It came to a relative nobody named John. I started wondering why. Why did this word of God come to John and not to the others? Were the religious professionals not able to receive this word? And then I started wondering about myself—because I am a religious professional. I wondered what I could do to make sure I was more like John—someone who heard from God, and less like Annas and Caiaphas—men who got their paycheck from religion but don’t get a word from God. And I guess I heard God challenging me that morning. I heard something like this: “Chris, make sure you keep your heart and mind in a place where my word can find you. Don’t assume that just because you are a religious professional, you’ll hear my word.” Through lectio divina I listened to God speak to me. The same can happen for you.
Take ten minutes today and practice lectio divina on a text in the Bible.
[i] Priscilla Shirer Discerning the Voice of God (Moody, 2007), 19-20.
[ii] Marjorie Thompson, Soul Feast (Westminster John Knox, 1985), 22-25.
[iii] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline Revised and Expanded (Harper & Row, 1978), 29.
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