Meeting with God Every Day
Lectio Divina
The Lectio Divina is not for discovering the meaning of a passage. It is for soaking in God’s Word, letting it become a part of our lives and listening for what message it holds for us. It can be used alone or with others.
Make yourself comfortable.
Use a scripture passage that you or group members already know.
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Start with prayer asking that you will be open and receptive to God.
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Followed this with 1 or 2 minutes silence.
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Read the passage slowly out loud.
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Followed this with 1 or 2 minutes silence.
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Read the passage again slowly out loud.
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Now in silence asks God to enable you to: - enter into the passage with your mind to grasp the facts of the passage: the who, what, where, when, why, and how. - enter into the scene with your own senses: what would you have heard, what would you have tactilely felt, what would you have smelt, what would you have seen? - enter into the scene with your emotions. Is there one particular character or group of characters with whom God is inviting you to identify? Is God inviting you to enter into the emotions of each person in the passage? What would that person have felt emotionally - happy, sad, confused, angry, joyful, contented, surprised?
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Have everyone read the passage to themselves for a third time.
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Pick out a word, idea, or phrase that strikes you in a personal way; something that might jump out to you - perhaps a particular metaphor; you don’t have to finish reading the whole passage. Once you’ve found a word or phrase that catches your eye or moves your heart, slowly repeat it, linger over it, give it your attention.
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Ask yourself ‘Where does the content of this reading touch my life today?’ ‘Why is this point important to me?’
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Be silent for a few minutes. Keep remembering the word or phrase that jumps out at you. If you are doing this with others you are invited to state out loud to the rest of the group (or to just one other person), in just a few sentences, the connection between the word/phrase and your life. You can always ‘pass’. Or alternatively start your sharing with the words... ‘I hear, I see…’
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Now take any thoughts, feelings, actions, fears, convictions, and questions you have meditated on and offer them to the Lord in prayer.
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Finally be silent in the presence of God. This is one of the most essential aspects for building a growing relationship with the Lord. One of the most valuable things that we can do with this feeling is to relax and embrace it. Just “be” with God.
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Part of contemplation is to commit yourself, with the help of God, to “do” the truth that he has implanted in your heart. It is submitting to God’s Word, our living it out, that God is calling us to. Living out our faith is a following of Jesus that happens naturally as we know Christ and become like him.
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End with each person praying for their partner or the person to their right that they will be able to respond appropriately to God.
About Me
Through this website I will try to share my views and experiences of Meeting God in the Everyday.
I am a wife, sister, friend and in the past I have been a nurse in the NHS, an Acupuncturist and since 2014 I've been an ordained minister in the Church of England. At the moment I am the vicar of four rural parishes in South Warwickshire.
Meeting with God Every Day
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