Lectio Divina | a spiritual practice

Hello Parents & Friends!

Welcome to our first installment of the Lifeline Parent Blog! We as a Lifeline team want to help you lead your child in life and in faith. Once a month, someone from the Lifeline team will post to provide you with encouragement, reminders or resources!

Before we jump in, we want to take a moment and acknowledge the season we have all been navigating together. This is definitely not the spring we were expecting in so many ways. Life looks different for both students and parents… we have all lost something or experienced sadness. Possibly you have a younger student who deeply misses his or her friends at school and a beloved teacher; or you have a senior who is unable to have those famous “lasts” of their high school career. Our hearts grieve with all of you during this unprecedented time. And our hope is to encourage you through this spiritual practice.

Today we want to introduce you to a spiritual practice that can be done solo or with your child or entire family. Some of you may be very familiar with spiritual practices and how they work, and some of you may be brand new to the topic. That is OK! A spiritual practice is a way of worshiping God through time set apart to spend time with Him. There are several different spiritual practices, and the one we want to focus on today is Lectio Divina.

You might be asking… what are these fancy words, Lectio Divina, and what do they mean? We are so glad you asked! Lectio Divina simply means “scripture reading to promote communion with God.” And it seems so appropriate in this season of unknowing and fear to desire to dig into God’s word and commune with Him. So let’s try this out together, shall we? We are going to focus on Psalm 23 today, and your students did Lectio Divina together with this Psalm earlier this year!

These are very uncertain times in our world. Can we find true hope in God through these times? He tells us he is our SHEPHERD and gives us ALL THAT WE NEED. As we study Psalm 23 today, be thinking of who God is on your life, especially in this season.

LECTIO DIVINA

1)     READ Psalm 23 //

1 The Lord is my shepherd;

    I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows;

    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3     He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

    bringing honor to his name.

4 Even when I walk

    through the darkest valley,

I will not be afraid,

    for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff

    protect and comfort me.

5 You prepare a feast for me

    in the presence of my enemies.

You honor me by anointing my head with oil.

    My cup overflows with blessings.

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

    all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the Lord

    forever.

2)     Read through Psalm 23 a second time, what word or phrase stands out to you today?

Find a journal or piece of paper, or a note in your phone, and write this word or phrase down. Repeat the word or phrase several times.

3)     Read through Psalm 23 another time, this time slowly and mindfully. What is this word or phrase telling you about God today?

4)     Over the next couple days, tell a loved one the word or phrase that God showed you today, and how it impacted you.

PRAYER //

Pray for your loved ones, asking God to provide all that they need during this season of uncertainty.

Pray for yourself, asking God to be close beside you.

Open your hands to God as you pray, and ask him for what you need.

AMEN.

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Lifeline Parents & Friends, our hope and prayer is that through spiritual practices such as Lectio Divina you would take some time, if even a few minutes, to spend quietness with God and His word. We hope you will receive comfort and hope as you meditate on His word and pray in communion with Him.

About the author:
Jettie Velthouse

Jettie is the Groups Director at the Knapp Street Campus.