Lectio Divina in the Park

A resource for your local community

There are many resources available for those wishing to practice Lectio Divina, but I want to share the resource I just created for my community, in case it could be useful to you and serve as a guide! My plan is to share these posters around town and lead readings periodically throughout the summer at our local park. Together we will read the Bible, pray, and rest in who God is.

The next step is to pick some passages to go through! If you have any ideas for me, let me know in the comments. From what I’ve read, the key is the pick a small portion of Scripture so that you can dig deeply. A single Psalm, one chapter in the New Testament, or even better, just a few verses.

1. Read

This first step is to listen. Listen to the Word of God read aloud, noting any phrases or specific words that stand out to you. 

2. Reflect

The next step is to read the passage again (either silently or out loud together), this time reflecting on what it means, what God might be asking of you, and what the Holy Spirit is doing in your heart (He is both our Comforter and Convicter). This is where you might journal some of your thoughts, responses, and reflections on the passage. If you’re not sure where to start, you might begin by answering this question: What does this passage tell me about God? 

3. Respond

This is when we respond in prayer to what we have read. Read the passage again, and then turn to God in silent prayer: thanking Him, praising Him, and making your requests known. If you’re not sure where to start in prayer, you might pray the passage back to God. You could also begin with the prayer Jesus taught his disciples:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

4. Rest

This final step is the hardest, because we must cease striving and busying ourselves and simply sit with God in silence, resting in who He is. Consider the passage we have read and, for a moment, be like Mary who sat at Jesus' feet listening to His teachings, and remain in His presence long after the conversation has ended. 

Journal if it helps. Stand, sit, kneel, or lay down in the grass - whatever is best. Remain there for a time, and we will end with prayer.