Podcast Episode 096 - How to practice the presence of God - Lectio Divina
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Do you desire to feel close to God?
Have you ever thought, “I do all the things I’m suppose to do, but something is missing from my relationship with my Heavenly Father.”
Do you read your Bible and you’re learning but wonder if there’s more to it?
Today we’re talking about how to grow your relationship with God and practice His presence.
Today is for you:
If you’re ready to go to another level with God.
If you desire to feel closer to your Heavenly Father.
If you want to hear God’s voice speaking to you.
Over the next few episodes, I want to share practices that will help you go deeper with Father and crack the code of hearing His voice.
Our first practice is Lectio Divina.
It means divine reading. It’s a process of meditating on scripture.
Meditation means to chew the cud, like a cow chewing its cud.
Have you ever seen a cow out in the field sitting down, chewing, chewing, chewing?
You see, a cow eats grass which is super tough. It gets it all moistened up and swallows the grass into the first section of its four-part stomach. Now it brings it back up and chews on it some more, breaking the cud down even further. Each time the cow swallows, it brings it back up and chews some more; the more it breaks down the nutrients so it can nourish itself.
With Lectio Divina, we’re going to do the same thing. We’ll think about that scripture over and over, getting all the nutrients out of it, God intended.
The first thing to do is pick a short passage of scripture.
This process works best for single passages or short sections but not whole chapters.
1. Lectio – READ
Read the passage.
When you do, keep an open heart and ear.
What words or phrases jump out to you?
Write down what speaks to you.
2. Meditatio – REFLECT
Reread the passage.
Reflect on what God’s speaking to you.
What touches your heart and speaks to you personally?
Write it down.
3. Oratio – RESPOND
Read the passage again. Yep, again.
Ask yourself, “How is Father asking me to respond?”
How is He inviting you to do or be?
How is it inviting you to change?
Again, write down what God's inviting you to do or be.
4. Contemplatio – REST
Read one last time and then rest.
Sit quietly in Father’s presence and rest in His unconditional loving presence.
Wait, listen, rest.
Write down anything that Father speaks to you in this moment.
He’s always ready and willing to talk, but we need to listen. When we tune into God like we’re tuning into a radio station, we will begin to hear His voice. Lectio Divina is one way to help you tune into Father’s voice.
I learned this practice from my friend, Jackie Trottmann, of joyandflow.com. For more on meditation or spiritual practices, check out Jackie’s website.