We live in a fast-paced world. It seems there are always ten things to do at once—and at least two are urgent. So we plan and schedule in an attempt to fit (most) everything in.
It’s easy to approach God that way when we pray and read the Bible: plan and schedule, squeeze it in, do it quickly, check it off, and move on.
But when we do, we must fight the urge to power through it so we can progress to our next task for the day. We need to slow down.
Lectio Divina (Latin for divine reading) is one way to slow down our Bible reading and prayer time.
Some practitioners of Lectio Divina read a small section of the Bible with slow deliberateness, contemplating each word or phrase, sometimes repeating it.
Others take a more focused approach to Lectio Divina, following a four-step process: read a passage, meditate and reflect on it, pray it back to God, and last, contemplate and listen to God.
They may read it a couple of times, but not to the point of mindless repetition.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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