Answer:
Answer: Lectio Divina is Latin for "divine reading," "spiritual reading," or "holy reading" and represents a method of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to provide special spiritual insights. The principles of lectio divina were expressed around the year A.D. 220 and practiced by Catholic monks, especially the monastic rules of Sts. Pachomius, Augustine, Basil, and Benedict.
The practice of Lectio Divina is currently very popular among Catholics, and is gaining acceptance as an integral part of the devotional practices of the Emerging Church and other Protestants. Pope Benedict XVI said in a 2005 speech, “I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of lectio divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart.”
Lectio is also said to be adaptable for people of other faiths in reading their scripture—whether that be the Bhagavad Gita, the Torah, or the Koran. Non-Christians may simply make suitable modifications of the method to accommodate their traditions. Whether or not these adaptations are actually made, they do not of course, invalidate the practice for Christians for the same reason that fasting is not invalidated for us simply because other religions also practice it. It is not WHAT practices per se, but rather HOW certain spiritual practices are used that sets them apart as distinctly Christian or non-Christian, helpful or harmful.
The actual practice of lectio divina begins with a time of relaxation, making oneself comfortable and clearing the mind of mundane thoughts and cares. Some lectio practitioners find it helpful to concentrate by beginning with deep, cleansing breaths and reciting a chosen phrase or word over and over to help free the mind. Then they begin with the four steps:
Lectio - Reading the Bible passage gently and slowly several times. The passage itself is not as important as the savoring of each portion of the reading, constantly listening for the "still, small voice" of a word or phrase that somehow speaks to the practitioner.
Meditatio - Reflecting on the text of the passage and thinking about how it applies to one`s own life. This is considered to be a very personal reading of the Scripture and very personal application.
Oratio – Responding to the passage by opening the heart to God. This is not primarily an intellectual exercise, but is thought to be more of the beginning of a conversation with God.
Contemplatio - Listening to God. This is a freeing of oneself from one`s own thoughts, and hearing God talk to us. Opening the mind, heart, and soul to the influence of God.
Naturally, the connection between Bible reading and prayer is one to be encouraged; they should always go together. However, there are potential pitfalls inherent in this kind of practice, as there are in any “prayer aids” that Christians use. The dangers should be faced squarely and then the believer can with boldness and a firm intellectual foundation built on biblical principle, use whatever they find helpful to move them toward a mature prayer life.
As with all other “prayer aids” that Christian may use, it’s validity is relative to how it may help or hinder a believer from implementing the prayer principles Jesus taught us (Matt 6:5-15 & Luke 18:1-8). Those principles are, Pray Privately, Pray Purposefully, Pray with a Plan (The Lord’s Prayer) and Pray Persistently. So, for example, a prayer journal may be a prayer aid that enhances purposeful prayer (I.E. avoid distracting, inauthentic, meaningless and repetitive phrases) for one Christian, but may descend into a self centered attempt at playing “writer” for another and thus violate the exact same principle! We can easily say that prayer beads, prayer walks, prayer lists, prayer labyrinths all have the potential to become something that enhances or that violates one of Jesus prayer principles.Labeling a specific devotional practice or prayer aid as inherently harmful is more difficult and runs the risk of legalism.
Therefore, if Lecito Divina becomes a pursuit of mystical experience where the goal is to empty and free the mind and empower oneself, it begins to steer away from true Christian mediation which uses the Scriptures to fill the mind with what is excellent and true (Ps 119:48).If we train our minds on this as a foundation, we are more apt to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit as he may speak to us in times of quiet reflection and silence before God.
Another potential pitfall is if, in the listening phase of Lectio Divina (LD), the Scripture being meditated on is used to derive an idea altogether apart from the intent of the Biblical author. If one “hears” something diametrically opposed to the objective instruction which God has revealed in his Word, that person is not hearing from God in prayer. Of course this potential problem is not unique to LD as many Christians in their devotions take a very subjective approach to the text and thereby disconnect it from its context and plain meaning and use it in a subjective, individualistic, experiential, even name-it-and-claim-it way for which it was never intended.
A final warning could be made about LD in that opening up the mind to “listen” spiritually we may expose ourselves to the influence of spiritual powers of evil. Satan and his minions are always eager for inroads into the minds to tempt, to suggest, and to lie. We must never forget that Satan is ever on the prowl, seeking to devour our souls (1 Peter 5:8) and can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). But this danger cannot be totally avoided and to try to avoid it by not listening to God’s Spirit or meditating on God’s Word in prayer is like stopping eating altogether for fear of food poisoning. The key to combat the enemy is a mind trained on God’s Word (2 Tim 3:15,16), which traditionally has been the proper starting point for contemplative prayer (Ps 119:18).
Despite all these potential pitfalls, Lectio Divina can provide tremendous benefit to the believer especially those who are used to doing altogether too much talking or overanalyzing in prayer and not enough listening to God. As we should be with men, so with God: “slow to speak, and quick to listen”. Our inheritance as believers is not merely a relationship with God’s laws and written Word, but a living, vital relationship with the Holy Spirit Himself who comforts (John 14:16) guides (14:26) and gives us words to speak (Matt 10:19,20) It is always right and our duty and great privilege to eagerly seek His Voice in prayer and worship (Ps 27:8).
As long as one is not asking God to bypass what He has already revealed to mankind in Scripture, LD may be a fine tool to train the heart on God’s will and to examine the self and actively practice the daily personal spiritual realignment which Jesus encouraged in his prayer model – “thy will be done”. It has been used this way for centuries.
Ironically, one person I know who currently uses the LD prayer method realized several years ago that he was practicing LD long before he knew such a thing existed. He was simply, intuitively finding great value in reflecting and praying over God’s Word. The real benefit of finding out about LD was partly in the structure it provided, but more so in the knowledge that this is what devoted followers of Jesus Christ have been doing for centuries. While some might write off all the habits and practices of Christians past because they don’t fit our unique Christian tradition, we should remember what Paul said about Christian teachers and teachings outside our specific bent or group: “all things are yours.” So connecting with the devotion of Christians in history of other streams and other times can provide rich encouragement for our prayer life – as long as we observe what Paul also said in the same context: “do not go beyond what is written.” (1 Cor 3:22 – 4:7)
