We have a saying in the South, well, I don’t really say it, but I’ve heard it hundreds of times. It has to do with food and come to think of it, most of our sayings have to do with food. It goes something like this-“You need to eat something that will stick to your bones.” If I’ve heard it once…

I’ve noticed that when you eat breakfast there are two basic options. For years, if I ate breakfast at all, I would grab something and go. It was always something like a breakfast bar, a bagel, a left-over Krispy Kreme donut, a granola bar or a honeybun- one of my favorites. The problem with these is that they just don’t last. A Krispy Kreme donut gets into your system for about an hour sending a sugar surge just before you kamikaze crash into the middle of the morning. But there is another option. Have you ever had “the spread”? You know, eggs and bacon, hashbrown casserole and sausage, biscuits and tomato gravy, grits and lots of butter with a gigantic glass of whole milk- now that’s “the spread”. And that “will stick to your bones.” In fact, an entire sub-meal category has been created called brunch because no one should ever eat “the spread” and haphazardly rush into lunch. It will do for two meals.

It seems that the way many of us “do devotions” is very similar to how we eat breakfast. We read a section of scripture, pray through a grocery list of needs and start our day. And there is no connection between the devotional life and the daily life. The truth is that it’s not completely our fault. We’ve been led astray by genuinely-good intentioned leaders and writers. Read these chapters and you’ll get through the bible in one year. Pray this acrostic and you’ll cover all the topics. But there is a disconnect.

Lucky for us, there is a solution. It’s not just another quick-fix method, but rather ancient practices that are time-tested exercises that do exactly what our routines seem to lack. They stick to our bones. One of the things that I love the most about them is that they just work. I don’t how they work, but they do. They seem to interweave a thread between the devotional life and the daily life. There is an interconnectedness between my connection with God and my daily outflow. They spark an awareness of the Spirit that once experienced is impossible to manufacture. I love all of the books that are so easily available on spiritual disciplines. They urge us to pray, study, meditate and fast. For all of you out there that say, “I get that, so how do I do it?”, this is for you. In this blog, I would like to spend some time talking about ancient practices and practical exercises that have been established for hundreds of years that just work. And most importantly, they stick to your bones.

Lectio Divina is Latin for “Divine/Holy Reading”. It’s a method of scripture reading that gives the Bible an opportunity to speak to you through a step-by-step process that has been honed and perfected for over 1500 years. The basic concept has been around since at least the fifth century, but the format that we will be looking to primarily, dates back to the 12^th century and was developed by a monk named Guigo II. In a letter written by Guigo, he describes a 4-rung ladder that is used as a metaphor for the four-part process in which he called “The Stairway to Heaven” (and you don’t even need an out of tune guitar or backmasking translator).

The process takes a small portion of scripture and invites the Holy Spirit to highlight a word or phrase that He would like to use to speak through. Although a proper hermeneutic and understanding of scripture is ideal, deep bible study, referencing commentaries, parsing verbs and the mining out of truth is not the goal. Of course you hear from God when you do this, but study is not the point here, meditation is the goal. Richard Foster, writer of The Celebration of Discipline, champions a balance of the two- study and meditation.

A short blog entry can’t do lectio divina justice, but the point is simply this- allowing the living, breathing Word of God to expose who we are and who we are created to be. We are not to fit this revelation into our lives, but to fit our lives into this revelation.

This entry is continued in “Lectio Divina Pt.2” (creative title huh?)

Lectio Divina, translated “Sacred Reading”, is a four-step ancient exercise for allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through the Bible. It goes without saying (even though I will) that location and posture are incredibly important. Find a place, time and posture that allows you to focus without little distraction. The bed is probably a bad idea as is the line for a roller coaster at Six Flags.

I will take you step-by-step through one of my recent selections:

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

The four steps are:

Lectio- “reading”- select a portion of scripture- the Psalms are a great start. Spend several minutes in this stage as you allow the text to speak. Don’t speed past any word. Feel the rhythm and the tempo. Savor each word- it’s not a fast food value meal, it’s a five-course gourmet meal. One of the hard parts, however, is to not get too ahead of yourself. Don’t ask questions of the text or think of a sermon that you have heard in the past- just focus on the words. As you focus, allow the Holy Spirit to take an imaginary highlighter and mark a specific word or phrase- try not to allow it to be more than 2-3 words- one is ideal. Spend at least 8-10 minutes here.

As I read this passage over and over, mostly in my mind, sometimes audibly, I felt drawn to the phrase, “beside quiet waters”. I didn’t allow myself to ask, “why?” that is for later. It was a feeling, hard to describe, just a feeling, fairly strong nonetheless.

Meditatio- it is here that we are to answer the question, “Why did God want me to stop at this word?” Here is where we ask God to change us into what/who He has highlighted. Here is where we think of “application”.

It’s in this stage that my imagination goes nuts. God really wanted to show me something and it took about 20 minutes of quieting down to get here. I picture in my mind a giant, roaring waterfall. It’s downpour crashes and causes an incredible mist to cover me even though I am standing a fair distance off. The odd thing is that I can’t hear it. I don’t even hear a gentle trickle. It’s quiet. It’s in this moment that God tells me that He is speaking constantly. He is speaking and if I can connect with Him and allow my awareness of His voice to grow, He will speak through the chaos and confusion of life into the deep places of my spirit. I’m overwhelmed. I want to get up and do something, to work, to minister to just do, but the Holy Spirit says, “Be still”.

Oratio-  In oratio, it’s time for us to form our application into a prayer.  Here is where it’s great to journal so that you have to put thought into your prayer.  Have you ever noticed that audible prayers can be very redundant, but when you’re forced to write them down, you must put thought into them.  It’s like writing a paper for a class- it needs some thought, creativity and seriousness.  Let your prayer include the application from the word that the Holy Spirit has highlighted for you.

For my prayer, I write something like this, “Father, the world screams for my attention.  There are so many voices vying for my time and energy, but they are pointless without your leading.  You alone are the source of strength, purpose and destiny.  Why do I waste my time with so many things that don’t matter and that take the place of You?  Help me to be consistent in my walk and my time with You.  Help me to spend time with You so that I learn Your voice above all others.  It’s Your voice that has the ability to drown out every other.  It’s Your voice that has the ability to speak life when most of the other voices are speaking confusion and chaos.  In the midst of life- speak.” He then moves me to the crescendo of Lectio Divina.

Contemplatio- this stage is very hard to describe. It is here that the other three steps are pointing us to. It is here that we are to stop and just rest in the presence of God. It’s here that Thelma Hall calls, “Too deep for words.” In this moment, let your mind stop thinking (obviously easier said than done) and just “be still and know that He is God.” Rest here. Stay here. Don’t rush this moment.

I wish I could describe this moment. Some days it’s more “feel-able” and tangible than others. But here is what I do know, it’s in this moment that God’s Spirit speaks to my spirit. It’s in this moment that the deep places in me cry out for the deep places in God. It’s in this moment that I connect with the reason I was placed on earth- communion with God.