Lectio Divina (Latin for “sacred reading”) is a way to study scripture in silence and let God’s Word speak directly to us. It’s an ancient way of putting ourselves under the Bible and letting it interpret us. The goal is to develop an intimate relationship with God by praying the Scripture he gave us. The purpose is not speed, but quality.

There are four parts to Lectio Divina.

Lectio: Spend five minutes reading the passage. Read it over and over very slowly. After five minutes, move on to meditatio.

Meditatio: Spend five minutes thinking over the passage you just read. Chew on the passage and keep it in the front of your mind. Identify a word, phrase or sentence that keeps jumping out at you as you read it over and over again. Meditate on that word, phrase or sentence. Then move on to oratio.

Oratio: Spend five minutes praying. Ask, “God, why did you give me this word today?” and then put yourself in a posture to listen.

Contemplatio: Spend five minutes contemplating, “God, what do you want me to do with what you have just taught me?” *
Journal: end each time by writing down your thoughts and what you learned and how God spoke to you in the passage.