How to Study the Bible using Lectio Divina

You want to learn to study the Bible using Lectio Divina? How exciting! I have been using this method for many years, and it has greatly deepened my relationship with Jesus!

Let’s learn this method together! For those of you who prefer to read, keep going! If you like to watch or listen, click here for my YouTube link.

Many of us consciously or unconsciously ask the question before we do anything: What’s in it for me? So before we dig into how to study the Bible using Lectio Divina, let’s answer: why study the Bible?

Pete Greig, founder of the 24/7 Prayer Movement, makes this statement: “When it comes to hearing [or experiencing] God, the Bible is the language of Jesus’ heart. Nothing he says in any other way in any other context will ever override, undermine, or contradict what he has already said in the Scriptures.” Pete Greig, How to Heart God: A Simple Guide for Normal People (Hodder & Stoughton, 2022), p. 40

Studying the Word of God is one of the leading ways we get to know the Word, as John called Jesus in John 1:1. The same with the Father and the Spirit. When we know what the word says, it empowers us to discern better when something is of God and when it is not.

Lectio Divina. What is it?

Lectio Divina is Latin for divine or holy reading. It is a method of prayer and Scriptural reading for intimate communication with God and for spiritual insights. Lectio Divina involves attentively reading a passage of Scripture and seeking God in prayer, expecting Him to speak to you personally through His Word. Our purpose and intention with Lectio Divina is intimate communion with the Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit.

Lectio Divina can take ten minutes; it can take an hour or more, depending on how much time you choose to spend on each segment. This application has been adapted and personalized by me, according to my own time with the Lord each day. You find your way that leads to abiding and becoming like Jesus.

Beginning

As we begin, remember we are talking with the Triune God. I say the Triune God because sometimes you may be talking to Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Invite the Holy Spirit into your time together; ask the Holy Spirit to bring revelation you cannot gain from simply reading the Bible with your mind alone.

Calm your mind before beginning. Breathe in deep to quiet your soul. Perhaps put your phone in another room. (I keep my phone on silent until 8:30 a.m. to try to keep my time with Jesus interruption-free.)

Create a pattern for meeting with God. There is nothing “holy” about where you meet, but consistency creates a habit. Habits help us overcome the hurdle of decision-making. Every time we have to make a decision, we allow our mind, soul, and body the opportunity to say “no”; to not choose Jesus.

Like me, when I travel. When I am not in my normal surroundings, I have to make decisions that I don’t have to make at home. What time will I get up to be with Jesus? Where will I spend time with Him? How will I do that in a hotel room with another person? Did I pack my Bible? My journal?

Create a habit.

Get Ready to Hear from God

Try a new practice: getting yourself ready to spend time with Him before you spend time with Him. David wrote in Psalm 42:2, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Perhaps, as soon as you’re aware that you’re awake, start engaging with Him. As soon as I awaken, I like to begin thanking Him. I thank Him that I’m alive, for this day, for the sun, etc. You could say: “Jesus, I’m coming to be with you!” as you head to your special place. We can create an anticipation, an expectation that the Living God is waiting to spend time with us, to love on us, to speak to us.

Hearing from the Holy Spirit in silence and solitude.

Jesus regularly got away to be with His father. Luke 5:16 tells us: “However, he made a practice of withdrawing to remote places in order to pray.” (CJB) Why do the Gospels often record Jesus getting away to pray? Because it can be hard to hear the Father in noise and chaos. Jesus did that 2,000 years ago, and it has only gotten noisier today. If Jesus needed to get away in silence and solitude to be with and listen to Father, how much more do I?

After you’ve begun to quiet your thoughts, even taken a few deep breaths to center your mind and intention on Him, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you spend time with Him in the Word.

Segment 1: Reading God’s Word

Read a portion of scripture.
Don’t make it too big. Maybe 5-6 verses. Begin with a Psalm or the Gospels.
Keep in mind: your main purpose is to be with Jesus.
Read the portion of scripture the first time, familiarizing yourself with what it says.

Segment 2: Meditating on God

Read the portion of scripture a second time, looking for words or phrases that stand out.
Anticipate the Holy Spirit highlighting a word and giving you revelation. You’ve prayed and asked for it. Expectantly look for Him to speak to you.
Read the portion of scripture for a third time, exploring the passage with your senses. Hebrew writers who wrote the Bible, such as David, or Jesus when He told parables and teachings, used senses to create story, making the teachings memorable and causing them to stick. Our senses help us connect with the passage. As you read the scripture, use the imagination that God gave you and put yourself in the story. What can I hear? What can I see? What can I smell? What can I touch? What can I taste?
For example, if I’m reading a portion on praise, can “see” myself with my hands raised, playing an instrument, dancing before the Lord? Can I “hear” the voice of the Lord speaking? What would it be like to touch and feel what the passage is speaking of?
If you’re a person who likes to write, write! There is nothing “holy” about journaling, but it can be helpful.
Try exploring the passage with your imagination. Reading about Mary at the tomb? Shut your eyes and be the angel, watching her discover the tomb. Be a guard or a friend who came alongside her at the tomb. Be part of the story or parable with your imagination.
Remember: the goal here is to be with Jesus. Be aware of His love for you and Him washing His word over you. Jesus gave us this command, “Love as I have loved you.” John 13:34. Soaking in His love fills me with love. His love changes me. When I am filled with love, I can spill love over to others. More knowledge will not necessarily make you more loving; more like Jesus. Soaking in the presence of Love Himself will.

Segment 3: Hearing from God

Ask the Holy Spirit: What do you want to say to me?
How does this passage impact my today?
Journal what you sense Him saying to you.
Pay attention to your feelings. God created our emotions and can speak to us through them.
Silence and solitude help us to hear from God.

Segment 4: Speaking with God

Dialog with Jesus concerning what you sensed Him saying to you today.
How do you need His help and power to move forward in what you’ve learned?
How do you need His mind and a change of heart to live in light of what you’ve learned?
Thank Him for the new truth you’ve learned, asking Him to cause it to change who you are today.
Pray and dedicate your day, setting your intention to be like Jesus today.

Reading the Bible is good; very, very good. But reading alone will not make us apprentices of Jesus; reading will not make us like Him. Abiding in Him will.

Time to Practice

Let’s use Psalm 103:1-5 as the portion of scripture.

Segment 1: Reading God’s Word

Read it through, familiarizing yourself with the scripture.

Segment 2: Meditating on God

Read it a second time, looking for words or phrases that stand out to you. I went through this passage recently. The words highlighted to me were:
- “Everything” in verse one. “Everything in me…” My mouth, my mind, my body…all of it, praise Him!“
- Forgives” in verse 3. I reflected with thankfulness on how He had forgiven me that past week. I also asked for forgiveness as a particular sin came to mind.
Read the scripture a third time, using your senses and imagination. I pictured myself dancing as I blessed the Lord. I explored blessing Him with my imagination by experiencing the benefits of creation. Seeing myself worshiping in the mountains, in a beautiful garden, and at the beach. I breathed deeply and pictured myself soaking in “all his benefits” like I would soak in the sun on a lounge chair or soak in the bath. I imagined His benefits of healing, holding me when someone hurt me. (I’ve wrapped myself in my own arms, imagining them as Jesus’ arms around me.) I imagined Him comforting me, surrounding me with grace and compassion, such as stroking my hair, whispering words of love in my ears. I soaked in His love in this passage.

Segment 3: Hearing from God:

Holy Spirit, what do you want to say to me? (You can see how these “segments” can overlap. Hopefully, you’ve been hearing the Holy Spirit all along!)
How am I feeling as I sit in silence and solitude? Is He speaking to my emotions?
This is what I wrote in my journal, the voice of the Lord speaking to my heart: “As you bless me for the benefits I give to you, expect to see yourself renewed and restored. You don’t have to feel heavy and burdened all the time. Yes, life is hard, but I am here for you to cast your burdens upon. I can renew your strength like that of a young woman! See yourself as her, full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-controlled. Grateful, thankful, and living daily in my compassion and strength for you, regardless of what comes at you today or in your tomorrows.”

Segment 4: Speaking with God:

Prayer: Lord, with the power of the Holy Spirit in me, I will not forget your benefits today. I thank you for forgiving me, healing me, redeeming me, surrounding me with grace and compassion, and filling me with contentment. Thank you for renewed strength and hope today. Empower me to spill this over to every person I come in contact with, so that I can share with them the life you have given to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Time with Jesus Takes Time

As it pertains to Bible study and abiding with Jesus, we might ask ourselves these questions: Will I invest that time to be with Jesus? Do I want to abide with Him more than most things? More than anything? (I know, I know, we sing songs that say we do, but do we? I’m asking myself here.)

Do I want to abide and become like Jesus more than sleep? Money? Do I want to abide with Him more than my comfort and security? More than convenience? Do I want to experience and remain in Him more than staying current with my favorite TV show, podcast, or social media?

Salvation is free. We know that. Abiding in Jesus and becoming like Jesus is not. Abiding with Jesus and becoming more like Him as I abide with Him is costly, like training to run in a marathon for my friend Julie.

It can cost me sleep, money, time, comfort, and security, choosing not to care what others think of me. Abiding in Jesus and becoming like Him may be inconvenient. It may be humbling because abiding in Jesus and becoming like Him is not what everybody else is doing. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”. His way is a narrow way and not many choose it. Abiding in Him and becoming like Him will require us to study the word, to get quiet in a very loud and chaotic world.

John Mark Comer says in his book, Practicing the Way, “If we do not come to desire… long, uninterrupted times of quiet prayer, days of fasting, disciplines of abstinence from our culture’s rampant, unbridled pursuit of pleasing hedonism and materialism, we simply will not make it far on the spiritual path. This, of course, takes a lot of time. Following Jesus is not convenient, quick, or easy. (Nothing in life is.)” John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did. (Waterbrook, 2024), p. 200

I believe you want to abide and become like Jesus, and you are willing to pay the price to experience Him deeper. I know He wants that with you, too!

Photos by Aaron Burden on Unsplash