– Lectio Divina

– Divine Reading

– Prayerfully Reading the Bible

Seek in reading
and you will find in meditation;
knock in prayer
and it will be opened to you in contemplation —  John of the Cross.
From time to time, people ask me how they should read the Bible. They want to know if there’s a “best” way or where to even begin.
 
Personally, I love simply listening to the Bible on Audible. I keep listening until a passage really speaks to me and I sense God stirring my heart.
 
Lectio Divina is another wonderful approach, and it works beautifully with an audio version as well as the written text. In fact, Lectio Divina was originally practiced as a communal exercise, with Scripture being read aloud, followed by periods of prayer and quiet contemplation.
Notable Christian writers and leaders of the first seven centuries are known as the Church Fathers. It was in the third century that one of the greatest of them, Origen, spoke of “divine reading” to his former student, Gregory the Thaumaturgus (also known as Gregory the Wonderworker), who later became Bishop of Caesarea.
 

Personal Appeal – Do you then, sir, my son, study first of all the divine Scriptures. Study them I say…. And do not be content with knocking and seeking, for what is most necessary for understanding divine things is prayer ,…

May you partake in these; may you have an always increasing share of them, so that you may be able to say not only, We are partakers of Christ, Hebrews 3:14 but also We are partakers of God.

“Divine Reading” is the name Origen gave to this ancient practice. The next time you feel God prompting you to open the Bible but you’re not sure where or how to begin, I encourage you to try Lectio Divina.
 
Matthew 7 Leads us to this framework
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Step 1 – Read

“Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Step 2 – Meditate on the Reading
In this stage, I take time to meditate on the passage — thinking deeply about what the Holy Spirit might be highlighting or speaking to me through it. I often repeat the verse slowly to myself, sometimes even committing parts of it to memory.
Step 3 – Pray on the Reading
Then I move into meditation. I reflect deeply on what the Holy Spirit might be saying to me through the passage. During this stage, I often repeat the verse or phrase slowly to myself, sometimes memorizing parts of it so it can sink deeper into my heart.
Step 4 – Contemplation
Then I move into contemplation. I talk with God about the passage, sharing my thoughts and feelings with Him, but more importantly, this is the stage where I simply rest in His presence. I wait quietly until He grants me deeper understanding of the text. Often, God will gently highlight and open up a particular part of the Scripture He wants me to truly see, “make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.”

Difference Between Meditation and Contemplation

For me, the main difference between meditation and contemplation is the role of my own effort. 

  • In meditation, I am active — intentionally directing and moving my thoughts on the passage. 
  • In contemplation, I become more passive, quietly resting and waiting on God to move my thoughts and reveal what He wants me to see.

This can happen quickly or take time. Sometimes it brings a gentle comfort; other times it is a powerful pouring out, like when Jesus “opened the minds” of His disciples to understand the Scriptures.

The simple goal of Lectio Divina is to
spend time in communion with God

 
Additional Reading

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 9. Edited by Allan Menzies. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1896.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.

The complete works of Saint John of the Cross, of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel by John of the Cross, Saint, 1542-1591; Lewis, David, 1814-1895.

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