Scripture · 4 min read
Lectio Divina: how to read one passage slowly
An old way of praying with Scripture that asks for one short passage, four simple steps and about fifteen minutes.
Most of the reading we do is fast. We skim for information, scroll for something interesting, and move on. Lectio Divina is a way of reading the Bible that goes in the other direction. You take a few verses, read them several times, and let them lead you into prayer. The aim is to listen to the passage more than to get through it.
Where it comes from
The Latin phrase means “divine reading” or “sacred reading.” The practice is especially associated with the Benedictine tradition. The Rule of Benedict, written in the sixth century for communities of monks, sets aside time each day for this kind of prayerful reading alongside work and common prayer.
In the twelfth century a Carthusian monk named Guigo II described the practice as a ladder with four rungs: reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation. Those four steps are still how it is usually taught. The roots go deeper than any monastery, though. Scripture itself speaks of turning God’s words over slowly. The first psalm says this of the person it calls blessed.
On his law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:2 (WEB)
Luke says something similar about Mary after the shepherds’ visit.
But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
Luke 2:19 (WEB)
Keeping and pondering is a fair description of what Lectio Divina asks of you.
Choose a short passage
Short matters. Six to ten verses is plenty, and a single verse can be enough. Good places to begin are Psalm 23, Psalm 131, the calming of the storm in Mark 4:35-41, Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, or the vine and the branches in John 15:1-8. If you follow a daily reading, use that. Decide before you sit down, so that you do not spend your time choosing. Use a translation you can read easily, and a printed page if you have one, since a phone brings its own distractions.
The four steps
- Read. Read the passage slowly, aloud if you can. Then read it again. Listen for one word or phrase that catches your attention. Do not analyze why.
- Meditate. Stay with that word or phrase. Repeat it quietly. Ask what it touches in your life at the moment: a worry, a relationship, a decision, a hope.
- Pray. Speak to God about what came up. It may be thanks, a request, a confession or a question. Use your own plain words.
- Contemplate. Stop talking and rest in God’s presence for a few minutes. There is nothing to achieve here. When your mind wanders, return gently to your word.
Guigo’s image was a ladder, but in practice people move back and forth between the steps, and that is fine. Some guides add a fifth step, which is to ask what the passage invites you to do today.
A fifteen-minute plan for tonight
Begin by asking God to speak. The boy Samuel’s answer in the night is a good prayer to borrow.
Speak; for your servant hears.
1 Samuel 3:10 (WEB)
- One minute: sit still with your phone out of reach, and pray Samuel’s words.
- Four minutes: read the passage twice, slowly, and notice your word or phrase.
- Four minutes: turn the phrase over. Where does it meet your life?
- Three minutes: talk to God about it.
- Three minutes: be silent with him.
End with a short thank you. If you like, write your word or phrase on a slip of paper and carry it into tomorrow.
If nothing seems to happen
Some days no word stands out and your mind will not settle. That is ordinary, and it does not mean you did it wrong. Pick the phrase nearest to hand and stay with it anyway. This kind of reading is closer to keeping company than to study, and its effects tend to show slowly, in what you remember and in how you respond during the day.
How often is up to you. Once or twice a week is a good beginning, on an evening when you are not rushed. You may find it better to stay with the same passage for several days than to move on quickly. A text read slowly on Monday often has more to say on Wednesday.
Keep your other Bible reading too. Study helps you understand what a passage meant to its first readers, and that understanding keeps slow reading honest. The two belong together. One tells you what the text says, and the other gives it time to be heard.