‘Meeting with God’ in his Word is one of the most helpful processes I have found for growth on my Path to Wholeness. Yet many people read the bible but aren’t really changed through the process. And why is that?
That’s because Scripture needs to be read with both mind and heart. I agree it is important to teach people how to study the bible; but just studying the Bible intellectually won’t bring about change. If you are going to grow and change, it will require you to use two processes, ‘comprehension’ and ‘reflection’. Comprehension comes fairly easy for us in western culture because it is the way our educational process teaches us. But reflection is often more difficult because it causes us to look inside which is not always comfortable. And it may reveal things in us that need to be changed. So being willing to admit that you need to change is a critical first step in the ‘Changing Process’.
Phil Collins says, “Studying the bible can be done in the spirit of trying to master the text so that we are the ones who control the Bible instead of putting ourselves under the authority of God’s Word”. In contrast, as we begin to ‘reflect’ on Scripture and invite the Spirit to speak to us we transfer the control from us to God. When we listen to the words of the text with the ‘ears of our heart’, we become aware of not only information but how God wants to ‘form’ us by these words. This allows the process to begin in our mind, move to our heart, and to conclude with a personal application.
The spiritual formation process of lectio divina embraces all three of these – mind, heart, and application. It begins by engaging the mind and then moves to the heart as we offer our whole self to the process of reading and applying God’s Word to our everyday life. Now the reading of God’s Word has become a two-way conversation with God as he reveals himself to us. Since the word of God is living and active and can judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart (Hebrews 4:12), it has the power to change our lives as we obey what God is saying to us as we listen in this two-way conversation.
I invite you to try this process of lectio divina. I have written a small book called, ‘Intimate Moments with the Father: An Experiential Journal’ that will help you understand and experience this life changing way of engaging in God’s Word.
Leave a Reply