Reading and Reflection (Lectio and Meditatio)

Stillness and peace in God’s presence prepare us to read Scripture reflectively and meditatively. This kind of unhurried reading is done slowly, the way we slow down when we’re having deep, delightful conversations with a friend.

Such meditative reading usually causes us to want to pray—to respond to God who has spoken to us. This back and forth process of reading, meditating, and praying is so common among all kinds of Christians that centuries ago—nearly back to the early church—new Christians learned to do this in a process called lectio divina. (This is Latin because in those days Latin was a common language, perhaps more so than English is today.) Lectio divina means “sacred reading.” It wasn’t like reading a bill of sale which might be skimmed, but more like reading every word of the best letter that you’ve ever received.

The first phase of the lectio process is this slow, meditative reading, being attentive to what God might say. Such reading affirms that the Spirit has inspired the writing of the Scripture and today inspires us as readers to hear God.

Reading flows into reflection (the second phase, meditatio). A word or phrase in the Scripture passage stands out to us—almost seems to shimmer!—and we think, I’ve never seen that before! But we have. The Spirit knows these words are what we need to hear today. Then we carefully ponder: Why would the Spirit cause this to stand out to me today? What do I need to know? Resist the urge to make things up or try to be too spiritual and trust that God wants to speak to you—and will speak.

Jan Johnson is a retreat speaker, spiritual director, the creator of many Bible studies, and the author of 22 books, including Meeting God in Scripture: A Hands-On Guide to Lectio Divina. Visit her at www.JanJohnson.org.