Praying Scripture for a Change - An Introduction to Lectio Divinia

 General Description:

The purpose of Christianity is communion with God, and the language of this communion is prayer. Prayer is the very foundation of the Christian life. Through our dialogue with God, we deepen our relationship with Him and tap into the superabundant source of divine love and life. Yet, for many, prayer can feel like a burden rather than a blessing, like a monologue rather than a dialogue – and, as a result, many miss out on the joy that can only be found through praying.

As St. Augustine notes, “When we pray, we speak to God; when we read Scripture, God speaks to us.” The key to enriching our prayer is learning the language of Christianity, and the most effective way to learn the language of Christianity is an ancient technique known as Lectio Divina (“divine reading”). In this succinct book, Catholic theologian and biblical scholar Dr. Tim Gray walks the reader through the Bible and the wisdom of the saints to reveal the practical steps of this great treasure of our Tradition. Learning the simple steps of Lectio Divina will provide a practical and effective way for you to enhance your prayer life through the power of God’s Word.

In these pages, you will learn:

• The Language of Christian Prayer.
• How God speaks directly to each of us in His Word.
• How to overcome the biggest obstacles to a regular and fruitful prayer life.
• Why the fourfold method of lectio divina is like the four rungs of a ladder, which if ascended one rung at a time in the proper order, lead us directly into the heart of contemplative prayer.
• Strategies for reading – and praying – the Bible fruitfully.
• What Christian meditation is and how it differs from non-Christian approaches.
• How everyone – not just saints and mystics – can truly practice contemplative prayer.

Deepen your prayer life as you learn the ancient art of lectio divina.

In the book "Praying Scripture for a Change," Dr. Tim Gray explains the four rungs of that ladder: reading, meditating, praying, and contemplating. Lectio divina is an ancient art, first articulated by the monks who developed it as a method of cultivating their souls as they cultivated their land, but it's just as relevant to us today, whether we're monks or stay-at-home moms. Gray describes lectio divina in modern, understandable terms - you'll love all the vineyard analogies - and gives his own examples each step of the way. Here's a brief rundown of Gray' Full Review...

Climbing the ladder to Understanding - Lecto Divina for all of us

Lecto Divina was always one of those terms I heard of in passing but thought was just for monks or religious. I could not have been more wrong.

Dr. Tim Gray opened my eyes and heart to this wonderful and effective prayer technique.This method has been used for many centuries, yet it is a fresh today as God's grace.

Prayer is a conversation but almost always I was the one talking. Listening just to my voice is both monotonous and boring after awhile. I always became discouraged that I didn't get my answer.

This very well written book explains the how and the why of this "secret". Guigo wrote the directions in his metaphorical book called "The Ladder of Monks". It tasks us to read scripture fully and with repetition, meditate, pray and contemplate.These rungs are throughly examined and explained with great clarity.

Dr. Gray explains why scripture needs to be read often and repeated to open up the soil. He Full Review...

Sacred Scripture - More Than Just A Book!

I've always enjoyed watching Dr. Tim Gray on his various EWTN Scripture programs and I was anxious to see how he treated the topic of  "Lectio Divina" (Latin for "Sacred Reading").  As I suspected, Dr. Gray did an excellent job in Praying Scripture for a Change.  While it is extremely easy to read, it does contain concrete and valuable information.

 

One of the key points highlighted by the author is that "the secret of the saints is that they realized that God's word was addressed to them."  According to Saint Amrose, "We speak to Him when we pray; we listen to Him when we read the divine oracles."  That is a crucial point for each of us to remember whenever we read Sacred Scripture:  God is speaking to us through His written word!  Using the various steps of "Lectio Divina" (lectio, meditatio, oratio, contemplatio and operatio) we can actually listen to God sp Full Review...

Praying Scripture for a Change is a book describing the method of Lectio Divina.

Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina, is a book that I had been hoping to find for years. Though I have been to many classes on how to pray using Lectio Divina, and have read explanations online at various websites, I have never felt like I understood the method very well at all. It seemed rather complicated and I was never sure if I was doing it correctly.
 

The author, Dr. Tim Gray, simplifies the method of this type of prayer, yet is very thorough in explaining each of the stages of Lectio Divina. He gives examples of each stage and describes the process in plain English. He gives an outline of the method of prayer that is easy to follow. He also makes it interesting and uses quotes and some of the saints to help him in his explanations. The content was not dry but very interesting as well as practical.

Th Full Review...

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