How to Read the Bible Part 4: Making the Most of Your Devotional Time
This is a continuation in a series on how to read the Bible based on questions I frequently receive as a pastor. In this installment, I want to give a suggested approach to how to make the most of the time you devote when you sit down to open the Scripture.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of the practicals, it is important to understand this valuable principle: we don’t, and we shouldn’t, approach Scripture the same way every time. What I mean by this is that the Bible is a complex, divinely inspired book, and it possesses the capacity to transform us on multiple levels:
When we approach the Bible as a student, we study it and allow it to transform our mind.
When we approach the Bible as a observer, we see its subtle anthropological nuances and allow it to transform our worldview.
When we approach the Bible as a teacher, we analyze it to ensure we are rightly dividing the word of truth.
But when we approach the Bible as a child, we allow the Bible to analyze us, we allow the Spirit to study us and shape us and teach us and guide us.
When we come to the Scriptures in the breaking dawn of the morning or in the stillness of the evening we must approach the Bible as a beloved child of God and open ourselves up to what the Holy Spirit would speak to us through his word. One way Christians have approached the Scripture as a child for nearly 1,700 years is through a devotional and prayer practice called Lectio Divina or “Sacred Reading.”
What is Lectio Divina?
So you don’t get tripped up on the Latin words, I’m going to refer to everything in my explanation by the English terms. They’re easier to memorize for English speakers and it is a helpful reminder that the Sacred Reading approach to Scripture doesn’t belong to any particular church tribe (e.g. Roman Catholics) but actually originates to a time in our history when Christians weren’t splintered by schism the way we are today. The Sacred Reading approach belongs to the whole church, regardless of how much Latin we use in our worship services and prayer!
My friend Pastor Charlie Dawes unpacks the Sacred Reading much more thoroughly here than I can in this short post. But in short, Sacred Reading is a five-step process of Scripture engagement that focuses not on the quantity read but on the quality of the time in God’s presence and in his Scripture. Here’s how to use Sacred Reading in your devotional time.
Before Beginning
Sit in a quiet place. Take a moment and calm yourself while you recognize the presence of the Lord in the room. Choose the Scripture verse(s) you are going to read.
Step 1: Reading
Read the verse(s) slowly and carefully. Pay attention to the nuances of the language and word choice. If it’s a short selection, consider reading it a few times over.
Step 2: Prayer
Take some time and speak to God in loving communion about what you’ve read. Ask him to hide the Scripture in your soul. Ask him to till the soil of your heart to be receptive to his lovingly transformative work.
Step 3: Meditation
Coming from a rather fundamentalist background, I used to get weirded out when people used the word “meditation.” My thoughts would go to some sort of New Age or eastern religious influence. But the truth is, Jews and Christians have meditated (to think deeply about and to focus one’s mind on something) on the scriptures for thousands of years. It’s not mystical hocus pocus. It’s a legitimate practice of quieting the noise of our soul and mind to give the Spirit space to work in us.
Meditating on a scripture verse is not difficult. You simply spend time dwelling on the truth of the text. Actively mull it over in your heart quietly. That’s it.
Step 4: Contemplation
In my youth, whereas I thought meditation was a New Age practice, I thought contemplation was too “Catholic” (whatever that means). But again, contemplation like meditation has a long history in Christianity and Judaism and is not only a great spiritual discipline but is a necessary psychological discipline in our chaotic, information inundated world.
Whereas meditation is active, contemplation is passive. In meditation you’re actively considering the text. In contemplation you’re still. Whereas in the prayer step you speak to God, in contemplation you quiet yourself so God can speak to you.
Step 5: Action
Christianity is not a faith where so long as you believe all of the right doctrinal items, you’re good to go. Rather, it is a lived faith. Our Jewish ancestors didn’t distinguish between the concepts of hearing and doing. For someone to have truly heard something was evidenced by their action on what they heard.
So as a result of your time in God’s presence, reading and praying over his Word—what are you going to do with it that day?
