In session three we explore the questions, why is the Bible so important in our spiritual formation? With the help of Amy Boucher Pye we look at ways to bring the Bible alive in our every day lives.
Watch this Interview with Amy Boucher Pye, who writes for Our Daily Bread Ministries and runs the Woman Alive book club and author of book 7 Ways to Pray. The book explores how ancient prayer practices can help us find fresh ways to relate to God.
God makes himself known to us through the Bible. He reveals himself to us through the Holy Spirit, who inspired the Bible. The Holy Spirit in turn works in our lives to inspire us as we read the Bible, which is the anchor to truth. As we submit ourselves to scripture it’s as if the Bible isn’t just read by us, but reads us! The word of God is used, through love, to correct us, to encourage us and to affirm us.
Prayer can look different to clasping our hands together and saying the Lord’s Prayer – it takes many shapes and forms. We can pray by reading the Bible and God speaks to us through the Bible. As we learn to discern Gods voice through his word we grow in confidence that God is speaking to us. This journey of learning to discern Gods voice is a life-long journey. It’s with maturity in the relationship that we test out what we are hearing, we see if it stands up to what the Bible says, we discuss with trusted friends and we learn how to tune in to God. What we must always remember is that God loves us and want to speak – it we reach out to Him, just a little bit, He runs to us.
In 7 Ways to Pray we explore different ways in which we can use the Bible to help us to pray. In this session we are looking at lectio divina, which is Latin for sacred reading or prayerful reading. Lectio divina is a four-step process of reading a passage of Scripture out loud to allow our ears to hear the word. We listen for a phrase or word that glimmers or jumps out to us in our spirit. We then chew on the word, mull it over and over and ask God to speak to us about it. We bring it into conversation with God, giving him our praises and petitions. Finally, we rest in the presence of God and sit with the word as we pray.
In this practice we use the below scripture as we go through the 4 stages of Lectio Divina. Use the video and let Amy guide us as the Psalm is read 4 times and we follow the below process:
(1) reading – read through the passage with reverence
(2) reflecting or meditating – ruminate over the text as an animal chews its cud
(3) responding or praying – voice to God our thanksgiving, praise, petition, repentance, and adoration
(4) resting or contemplating – rest in the presence of God.
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
Psalm 62: 5-8
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
(1) reading, when we read through the passage with reverence; (2) reflecting or meditating, when we ruminate over the text as an animal chews its cud; (3) responding or praying, when we voice to God our thanksgiving, praise, petition, repentance, and adoration; and (4) resting or contemplating, when we rest in the presence of God.