How Can I Hear God Speak Into My Life Today?
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash
LiveStream | Give | Sermons | FAQ | Spiritual Practices
The following is from Ruth Haley Barton's book Sacred Rhythms - Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation (Amazon Kindle) from pages 59-61:
Preparation/Silencio: With your eyes closed, let your body relax, and allow yourself to become consciously aware of God’s presence with you. Express your willingness to hear from God in these moments by using a brief prayer such as “Come Lord Jesus” or “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Read/Lectio: Listen for the word or phrase that is addressed to you. Turn to the passage and begin to read slowly, pausing between phrases and sentences. As you read, listen for a word or phrase that strikes you or catches your attention. Allow a moment of silence, repeating that word or phrase softly to yourself, pondering it and savoring it as though pondering the word of a loved one.
Passage to be read is: __________________
The word/phrase is: __________________
Reflect/Meditatio: How is my life touched by this word?
What is it in my life right now that needs to hear this word?
If the passage is a story, perhaps ask yourself: Where am I in this scene? What do I hear as I imagine myself in the story or hear these words addressed specifically to me? How do the dynamics of this story connect with my own life experience?
Respond/Oratio: What is my response to God based on what I have read and encountered? Consider the S.P.A.C.E. questions?
- Sins to Confess?
- Promises to Claim?
- Actions to Avoid (or Attitude to Adapt)?
- Commands to Obey?
- Examples to Follow?
Read the passage one more time, listening for your own deepest and truest response. In silence after the reading, allow your prayer to flow spontaneously from your heart as you enter a personal dialogue with God.
Rest/Contemplatio: Rest in the Word of God. In this final reading you are invited to release and return to a place of rest in God.
Resolve/Incarnatio: Incarnate (live out) the Word of God. As you emerge from this place of personal encounter with God to life in the company of others, resolve to carry this word with you and to live it out in the context of daily life and activity.
Practice Lectio Divina this week with the following scriptures (steps outlined above):
Day 1: Mark 10:46-52.
Day 2: Joshua 1:5-9.
Day 3: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Day 4: Psalm 23:1-6.
Day 5: Psalm 46:1-6.
Day 6: Psalm 46:7-11.
Recent additional GO DEEPER reading opportunities:
- "The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath" by Mark Buchanan (Amazon Kindle)
- “Lead Like It Matters to God: Values Driven Leadership in a Success-Driven World“ by Richard Stearns (Amazon Kindle)
- “Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural“ by Ronald C. White Jr. (Amazon Kindle) (YouTube Video)
You can also watch this week's sermon or read the full message & GPS here.