A while back, while working on my Doctoral project and dissertation, I developed a modified exercise of the Christian Spiritual Discipline known as Lectio Divina. I learned a lot of excellent things about this exercise and I adapted them for my project/dissertation. I also found that these adaptations were an excellent daily practice for life-change. Because my life-goal is to be a catalyst for life-change among believers, I present them to you. Here they are:
The six steps of the modified lectio divina are:
· Silencio– a brief time of quieting and centering oneself for the purpose set before him/her.
· Lectio– a guided devotional/spiritual reading for the day, usually using only 8 (or so) biblical verses or 1 or 2 paragraphs of a contemporary or classical Christian writing.
· Meditatio– Meditation/rumination on that which has been read.
· Oratio– A prayer of devotion and surrender.
· Contemplatio– Contemplation of what has been read and of what God has sparked within one’s heart, including what it means to the hearer, and what action/decision needs to be performed as a response to that reading.
(repetition of steps 2,3, 4, and 5 as much as needed and/or desired)
· Journaling– An opportunity to record and preserve those thoughts and responses in a tangible manner for the purpose of later self-evaluation and observation.
I do recommend that these readings be brief (such as 8 verses or 1/2 paragraphs) and that a set time be given (maybe 45 minutes or so.)
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