Common Questions About Lectio Divina

Who is Lectio Divina for?

Well, it’s not just for Catholic monks. Lectio Divina can be for anyone who longs for a personal, unique and intimate time with the Lord. Also, it is for those who may not want to dissect the Bible every time they pick it up.

When to use Lectio Divina?

First, it is a great way to do a quiet time in the morning or evenings. Secondly, it is a perfect supplement to more in depth study like Inductive or SOAP.

What tools do you need for Lectio Divina?

Primarily, you’ll need a Bible and a relationship with God. A journal and something to write with can also be helpful if you want to write down insights you’ve gained.

How do you prepare for Lectio Divina?

Since Lectio Divina seeks to bring you closer to God through a prayerful reading of the Bible, it is important to prepare. Simply get comfortable, slow down, and settle yourself. Breathe slowly and deeply asking God to speak to you through what you are about to read.

Lectio Divina Overview

What is lectio divina? The Lectio Divina Bible Study method is an excellent choice if you long for a more personal, unique, and intimate time with the Lord. This method seeks to bring you closer to God through a prayerful reading of the Bible.

Originally, developed by Catholic monks in the middle ages, Lectio Divina has recently seen a revival outside of monasteries thanks in large part to recent Popes like John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

This doesn’t mean it’s just for Catholics though. It’s perfect for meditative quiet times in the morning or evenings. And is a perfect way to be still and meditate on Scripture.

Lectio Divina has four simple steps:

  • Lectio (Read)
  • Meditatio (Meditate)
  • Oratio (Speak/Pray)
  • Contemplatio (Rest)

This more meditative style of Bible study requires a bit of simple preparation. Ideally, find some time alone, get comfortable, slow down, and settle yourself. Oh, and bring your Bible.

Begin by taking slow deep breaths asking God to speak to you through what you are about to read.

Let’s go ahead and do that now if you want. I’ll give you some time to slow down, breathe, and focus on your relationship with God.

When you are ready, keep reading the instructions for lectio divina below

Step One: Lectio (Read)

lectio divina bible

This first phase of Lectio Divina is to read. So, choose a passage of Scripture you want to meditate on. It could be a favorite Psalm, favorite, verse, intriguing chapter, etc.

Find a passage where you want to start and read it. That’s it! That’s the first step. But before we hurry to the next step let’s slow down and consider how we should read this passage of Scripture.

How to read while doing a Lectio Divina Bible Study

Honestly, it’s helpful to read it out loud to yourself. You can read to yourself like you are reading to a crowd or in a gentle, yet audible, whisper. That’s entirely up to you. I prefer to whisper.

It can also be helpful to read in multiple translations to get a sense of familiarity with what was easy to translate and what might have been more challenging. Though, since this is a more meditative form of Bible study, I usually stick with one translation.

Lastly, read over it multiple times before you move to the next step. This is one of the most important parts of this phase. When we slowly read over a passage multiple times we allow God’s word to become planted in our hearts.

Try to avoid analyzing the passage, just read

Seek to avoid analyzing the passage or considering what it means. Just read it slowly, out loud, multiple times. Let God’s Word have its way in you. The more we read it, the more we become familiar with it, the more likely we are to get something from it.

So, for an example, let’s use Galatians 5:1-12.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!Galatians 5:1-12, NIV

Alright, read over that a few times. When you are ready, we’ll move on to the second phase of the Lectio Divina Bible Study method.

Step Two: Meditatio (Meditate)

As we continually read over the passage, let the words and phrases sink into your heart and mind. This is the second phase of Lectio Divina, when we meditate on Scripture.

Ways to Meditate on Scripture

Here are some common ideas and ways that you can use to meditate on Scripture.

  • Memorize. Write a verse on an index card and work on memorizing it. This gives you the opportunity to ponder a verse over and over. So, it’s a form of meditation.
  • Repeat. Similar to the first idea, this one involves reading over and over. For example, on the morning I was writing this I spent 10 minutes reading Psalm 1 over and over.
  • Listen. Try listening to an audio version of the passage you are reading.
  • Imagine. Take this opportunity to become part of the story. Imagine what it would be like if you were there listening to these words for the first time or living these events.
  • Consider praying the Psalms. Doing this, you take psalm and read the first verse. Then pray whatever comes to your mind after reading that verse. Usually, it is connected in some way. Then keep going verse by verse until you are done with the psalm.
  • Do some Bible Journaling. Bible journaling is a way to reflect on Scripture. It can help you better understand a biblical passage and increase your expectation of encountering God.

Ask yourself questions to help in meditation

Begin to ask what God is saying to you today and to your life.

Here is our example passage of Galatians 5:1-12 again,

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!Galatians 5:1-12, NIV

As words and phrases begin to stand out to you. Ponder them. What do they mean?

It’s okay if you get distracted at first, turn your distractions over to God and read again. Perhaps you feel God just isn’t speaking to you yet. That’s okay. Read it again and remember God’s word is alive and His Spirit teaches us all things.

Write down thoughts that come to mind

As you ponder these words and phrases that come to your mind you might want to write down any thoughts that come to your mind.

For example, in this passage we are doing now the phrase that stood out to me was “faith expressing itself through love.” Now, a different phrase or word might have stood out to you, and that’s okay. That’s great! Think about it. Ponder it. Write down some thoughts.

For me, some thoughts I wrote down were:

  • Righteousness comes through the Spirit by faith; not through the Law by obedience.
  • What matters is faith expressing itself through love; not obedience expressing itself through duty or obligation.
  • This, faith expressing itself through love, provides the freedom to love others and thus, fulfills righteousness.
  • In Deuteronomy it can feel like all that matters is obedience to the Law. But really, what Deuteronomy is saying is the opposite: faith is expressed through love. Jesus sums up the whole Old Testament Law with two commands–Love God and Love others. And here, Paul points out how this fulfills the law (Galatians 5:14).

Now that we’ve spent some time meditating on Scripture, it’s time to move on to the third step of the Lectio Divina Bible Study method–Oratio. Ready?

Step Three: Oratio (Pray)

The third step in the Lectio Divina step-by-step walk through is Oratio, to speak. Or in our case to pray.

Begin a conversation with God as you read the passage again. Talk to Him about what He seems to be saying to you.

How do you feel?

What actions should you take in response to what He seems to be telling you?

Remember this prayer is a conversation. So, take time to talk and to listen. Have a conversation with the most interesting, powerful, loving Person in the world.

Talk to God and let Him talk to you through Scripture. You can do this by praying this passage back to God. Just take it a verse at a time. Read a verse, then pray what comes to mind using the language of the verse. Then move on to the next verse.

Or respond to what He said to you through prayers of praise, worship, or requests.

For our example, I prayed a short and simple prayer:

“God, may my motive towards righteousness be not out of duty or obligation, but rather out of love for You and others. Amen.”

That’s it. That’s all I prayed to God. After talking with God and meditating on Galatians 5:5-6, that’s the prayer that came to my heart. That’s the one desire I had after talking with God.

This time can be as long or short as you feel led. Then, the question becomes: After hearing God speak to you, are you now going to follow Him? And this question flows into the next and final phase of the Lectio Divina Bible Study method. Ready? Then let’s go.

Step Four: Contemplatio (Contemplate)

This final step of the Lectio Divina Bible Study method is to rest, and is best summed up in Psalm 46:10, “He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”

After pouring our heart out to God, we simply rest in the peace and comfort of God’s presence and His ability to deal with the issues we may have shared.

Instead of rushing the close of our quiet time with God we abide in the Spirit of His presence and power. We take the time to truly enjoy spending this time and moment with God.

This slowing down and resting in God’s presence expresses a willingness to be transformed by God’s word. Take this opportunity to begin to dream of what this newfound love and knowledge of God, this strengthened relationship with God, means for your life in the future. It changes how you live.

In this time we learn to live with God, to live a transformed and biblical life. The life we are meant to live.

This is hard to give an example of, but after praying that simple prayer I took a moment to sit in awe and wonder of God. I was amazed at who He is and what I learned from Him. I remember feeling excited, hopeful, and joyful. So, I simply sat and enjoyed God’s presence.

This time can be as long or short as you feel you need. It’s a very intimate, personal meditative experience with God. Enjoy spending time with God and don’t rush to get up. Look for ways you can remind yourself of God’s presence and this feeling throughout your day.

A Free Gift

And that concludes our step-by-step walk through of the Lectio Divina Bible Study method. If you’ve enjoyed this, then I want to offer you a free gift if you subscribe to our newsletter. Subscribers to our newsletter automatically receive our FREE Building A Bible Study Routine Guide.

It helps you build a Bible study habit and create a personalized Bible study schedule that fits with the Lectio Divina Bible Study Method. Plus, it includes a free summary of Lectio Divina, worksheets, and a guide that tells you more about praying the Scriptures.