Centering Prayer vs. Lectio Divina: Are They the Same?
When you start practicing Lectio Divina for the first time, you may start to get curious about similar contemplative practices such as centering prayer. So, it’s good to investigate the differences between Lectio Divina and other contemplative practices to determine if they are biblical and/or beneficial.
Lectio Divina and centering prayer are not the same thing. While both are contemplative prayer practices, they differ in focus, process, and emphasis. Lectio Divina focuses on encountering God through a prayerful reading of a passage. Centering prayer focuses on encountering God in silence.
So, let’s take a look at the differences between Lectio Divina and centering prayer and see if centering prayer is something that is biblical and beneficial. You may want to add it to your Bible study routine, but you may not.
The Art of Lectio Divina
First, let’s look at the art and practice of Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is an ancient Bible study method developed by Medieval Catholic monks and practiced in monasteries since then. It has seen a revival and expansion into the life of everyday Catholics and even Protestants in part due to Pope Benedict XVI.
If you are a history buff and want to know more about the origins of Lectio Divina or the Protestant history of Lectio Divina, then you may want to check out these articles. It can be quite fascinating.
That said, Lectio Divina is a spiritual practice that seeks to help Christians encounter God through a prayerful reading of the Bible. There are four steps to Lectio Divina:
- Read
- Reflect
- Respond
- Rest
These four steps will encourage deep reflection on the Bible and create an openness to hear from God and be guided from Scripture. This is a result of the slow purposeful reading of the passage multiple times.
If you are curious about how Lectio Divina works in practice, then you may want to check out this article that will guide you through the process with an example. This will show you how a prayerful reading of the Bible can enrich your spiritual life.
Lectio Divina emphasizes the transformative power of God’s word and how the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to make us more like Christ. It is biblical and can be a beneficial addition to a Bible study habit.
| Lectio Divina | Centering Prayer | |
| Focus | Contemplative Reading | Contemplative Silence |
| Process | Read, Reflect, Respond, Rest | Wordless Rest |
| Emphasis | Engage with God through Scripture | Encounter God through silence |
The Art of Centering Prayer
Like Lectio Divina centering prayer is a Christian contemplative practice. Though, centering prayer is a more modern development. It is often associated with the teaching of people like Thomas Keating, William Meninger, and Basil Pennington.
Centering prayer works by choosing a “sacred word” or “sacred symbol” to demonstrate your intention to be open to God’s presence and work in your life. It often includes sitting comfortably in silence with eyes closed.
When distracting thoughts arise the person will return to the “sacred word” as a means of refocusing on letting God work. This way a practitioner can let go of thoughts, images, and distractions.
Centering prayer seeks to create room for God to work in the depths of our being. It does this by opening us to God’s presence and remove distractions. While this can be beneficial and relaxing, it’s impossible to call it a prayer.
Centering prayer is not a prayer at all. Throughout the Bible we see prayer as communicating with God and vice versa. Prayer is an active encounter with God. One which requires courage, faith, humility, reverence, perseverance, and submission. Biblical prayer engages the mind as well as the heart.
We are to pour out our souls to God, crying out for His mercy and worshipping Him for His grace. Prayer asks God to work in our hearts, lives, and world. To be Himself in our circumstances and reveal Himself through them so that He gets the glory and honor and praise.
That said, that doesn’t mean that this practice is entirely not beneficial. There is a biblical case to be made for silence. There are times in Scripture where the whole world is called to worship God in silence (Zephaniah 1:7, Zechariah 2:13, Revelation 8:1). But silence does not necessitate an emptying of the mind.
Centering prayer can be beneficial as a means of getting us in the right mindset for prayer or Bible study. But it doesn’t need to be practiced alone and it shouldn’t be called a prayer.
Overall, centering prayer and Lectio Divina are two very different things. While both are contemplative spiritual practices, Lectio Divina seeks to encounter God through His word and involves active, repetitive reading of Scripture.
Centering prayer, on the other hand, seeks to encounter God through silence and involves no engagement with Scripture or discussion with God. As such, should not be practiced by itself, but rather as a means of getting in the right mindset to pray or study the Bible.
