Read Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Today we are going to try the practice of Lectio Divina with the passage above. Lectio Divina is a meditative method of reading and praying through scripture in the Bible that allows us to open ourselves up to what God might want to say to us through His Word. It is less about reading for information and more about reading for transformation. There are four movements of Lectio Divina:
1. Read – Read through the scripture aloud once without stopping. Don’t merely think – take time to listen. Notice a phrase or two. Maybe write them down.
2. Reflect – Read the scripture aloud a second time. Notice anything that captures your attention. Begin to ask yourself: What is this saying? What does this mean? You could journal your questions.
3. Respond – Read the scripture aloud a third time. Notice what happens in your heart as you read. How do you feel? What are your hopes, desires, requests? Respond naturally to the passage, journaling your response to what you have read in the context of your relationship with God.
4. Rest – Now that you have read, thought, and prayed through the scripture, finish off your time in silence with no agenda. Relax into God’s presence. Ask God to speak to you. Pray that He would show you one practical thing you could apply to your life from this passage. Then listen. Write down anything you think God might be showing you.
