Attentiveness to me is not only for your quiet time, but for all your time. As you look to Me, I show you what to do now and next. Vast quantities of time and energy are wasted in obsessive planning. When you let Me direct your steps, you are set free to enjoy Me and to find what I have prepared for you this day -- from Jesus Calling, July 26.
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In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths (Prov.3:6).
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When and if we begin to study the Bible, it soon becomes difficult and complex, and many of us readily give it up as too difficult to understand. But one way to rejuvenate our interest and enthusiasm for the Word of God is to let Him feed us. Most of us do not or cannot just relax with the Bible on our laps and allow the Holy Spirit to direct our reading. We go at it as if it were a lesson to be learned or studied through our own efforts.
I recall once going into a restaurant in Rome. The menu, of course, was in Italian, and though I have studied Latin and thus could recognize a few language roots, by no means did I understand what foods the menu referred to. Then the owner of the restaurant appeared and said, "Let me feed you!" What followed was a meal to be remembered forever! I put myself in his hands, knowing that he was going to serve me the best he had, the "specialite of the house," the pride of his hands and heart. I went home that evening not only wonderfully fed, but also carrying a brand new bottle of apricot liquor, a gift from the owner -- because he saw my appreciation of that drink.
Would Our Lord do less if we put ourselves in His hands and said, "Feed me the best of the house!" Give me to drink of your finest wine and to eat of your finest wheat!" Would we not leave our time of prayer filled to capacity with the best He can offer us?
Here is a time-tested way to approach Lectio Divina, letting the Holy Spirit take the lead:
1. Recognize that Lectio Divina is a dance with four movements, an exchange between God and man. When God takes the lead, do not insist on going through the steps in order, but let Him decide what you will do next.
2. Agree to be still between movements of the dance, and to give room to God to take the lead.
3. As you open your Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you need to read today. Then, attend quietly to the passage he shows you. Notice anything that is going on within you as you read-- any images, memories, or experiences that come to mind.
4. Respond to the direction of the Holy Spirit with prayer from the words of Scripture or from what is arising in your heart. Or just let your heart move without words, in openness to the movement of the Spirit. Rest in the Lord Who is feeding you from His word and His Spirit.
The four movements of the dance are called Lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio. It is a journey from the words on the page (lectio,) to a searching out the meaning from the Holy Spirit (meditatio), to prayer/ response (oratio), and finally to resting in the gift of God's presence (contemplatio). It is a movement from conversation to contemplation.
When we allow God to feed us at His table -- Your words, O Lord, are spirit and they are life! --we come away richly fed. No one ever need go hungry when they come to the Lord's table, and He will certainly never turn anyone away from His banquet.
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