Anxiety: A Lesson In Lectio Divina

Welcome to A Prayer Practice,

A weekly podcast by The Gathering.

I'm Kelly Weber,

And I'm a spiritual director.

A spiritual director is someone who accompanies you as you share about your spiritual journey,

Helping you notice God's presence and activity along the way.

Spiritual direction is a ministry that helps you grow in prayer,

In authenticity,

And into your calling.

There are times in all of our lives when perhaps prayers become stale,

When we feel disconnected from God,

Or perhaps the idea of prayer is overwhelming and we just don't know where to start.

Or maybe we've fallen out of the habit of praying and want to learn new ways that are more personal,

More contemplative,

More embodied.

Well,

I'm here to tell you that prayer is something we learn how to do and something we practice doing in order to live more fully into our relationship with God.

There are a lot of ways to pray,

And in this podcast,

We'll explore different modes of prayer,

We'll pray together,

And you'll even find that you're praying in ways that you might not have even considered to be prayer before.

This week,

We are praying for peace.

Today,

Our prayer is going to follow the format of Lectio Divina,

Or sacred reading.

The five steps to Lectio are reading,

Meditation,

Prayer,

Contemplation,

And action.

Now,

You may think,

Meditation,

Prayer,

And contemplation aren't all the same things.

Kinda.

But there are subtle differences,

And we'll explore each of these practices so you can understand the difference.

The first step is to read the scripture,

Preferably out loud and maybe a few times.

The question to ask as you read is simply,

What is the text saying?

Lectio starts with our head knowing.

You might think about what the text is literally saying,

What it is saying figuratively.

What kind of writing is it?

Poetic,

Constructive,

Prophetic?

The next step is meditation.

In this step,

You'll ask yourself,

What does the text say to me?

What are the words,

Phrases,

Images that resonate with you?

How does the text relate to you and your life at this moment?

What memories does it bring up?

What longings?

Does it create an emotional response in you?

Next is prayer.

In this step,

You'll ask,

What do I want to say to God about this text?

Maybe this brings up frustrations you want to bring up in prayer or gratitude.

Maybe you're confused or maybe you've had a realization that you want to share with God.

Whatever you bring,

Let it be authentic.

Let it be honest.

God can take whatever you have to say.

The next step is contemplation.

This is the space for silent listening.

Rest into the reading.

Let it go of your intellect,

Your emotions,

Even language.

Allow God in God's language of silence to do the work on your heart that only God knows you need.

Finally,

The last step is action.

In this step,

You'll ask,

What difference will this text make in my life?

Allow the wisdom of scripture,

The meditations of your heart and the voice of the one who loves you,

Point you towards the next right step.

What might you do today to embody this wisdom?

In today's prayer,

I'll lead you through each of the five steps as we pray for the peace of God to guard our hearts.

Let's begin.

The verse we will be praying with today is from Philippians chapter four,

Verses six and seven.

I will read it through a few times.

Be anxious for nothing,

But in everything by prayer and petition,

Thanksgiving,

Present your requests to God.

And the peace of God,

Which surpasses all understanding,

Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I'll repeat it.

Be anxious for nothing,

But in everything by prayer and petition,

With thanksgiving,

Present your requests to God.

And the peace of God,

Which surpasses all understanding,

Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What words or phrases stick out to you?

What is the author trying to encourage the reader to do?

What is the peace of God?

And what does it mean that something is beyond our understanding?

How might peace guard our hearts and minds?

Next,

Let's meditate on the scripture.

I'll read it again,

And this time,

Ask yourself what these verses mean to you,

Personally,

At this moment in your life.

Be anxious for nothing,

But in everything by prayer and petition,

With thanksgiving,

Present your requests to God.

And the peace of God,

Which surpasses all understanding,

Will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What in your life is causing you anxiety?

The ways that you usually handle this anxiety.

In what ways do you practice gratitude in your life?

Evolutionarily,

We've become threat forecasters.

We have a bias towards negativity and what Brene Brown calls foreboding joy.

We anticipate problems,

And often when there aren't any.

Or we overlook the things in our lives and focus on the negative.

And often if things are going well,

We can't help but think that it won't last.

These ways of thinking are deeply ingrained and take intentionality to rewire in our brain's operating system.

Paul isn't writing here to just be tough and not worry.

He's giving us really specific and practical tools to practice acquiring the peace of God that surpasses our understanding.

Next,

Spend a few minutes in prayer sharing with God your anxieties.

Perhaps name those things that you are thankful for.

Ask God to give you the willingness to create space in your day to do those things that will bring you peace.

Think about the ways that we often think we're bringing peace into our lives,

But actually we're just numbing our awareness of our anxiety.

For example,

Think about the difference you feel after you go for a walk out in nature as opposed to spending a day binge watching Netflix.

Both are enjoyable,

But can you remember how you felt after each of those activities?

What are the ways that you pray and show gratitude that bring you a real felt sense of peace as opposed to activities that just numb you out?

Finally,

Let's step into the action part of the Lectio.

What is the scripture,

Your heart,

And God's nudging telling you to do?

How might this wisdom be embodied in your life?

Dear Lord,

Ground us in your peace.

Guard our hearts and minds against senseless worry.

Help us not to borrow trouble,

But tune our hearts to the good all around us.

Teach us the difference between peace and numbness.

Allow us to hold both the truth of what is,

But the peace of who you are.

With you,

We can be courageous in the face of fear.

We can be centered and calm in the storm.

We are thankful that you are a God that doesn't always take away the fear and quiet the waters,

But you are a God who emboldens us,

Who comforts us,

Who protects us so that we may be resilient,

Not just in our own lives,

But in order to be present to the suffering of others.

We ask these things in the name of the one who brought peace to a fractured world by showing us what it means to be resilient in the face of ultimate suffering.

Amen.

Take this blessing and may it have a place in your heart as you go about your week.

May the peace that surpasses all understanding give you the capacity to live fully and gratefully in whatever circumstances life has for you this day.

May you experience God's presence in all you do,

And may you be sustained in your weakness,

May you be emboldened in your fear,

And may you be grateful in spite of foreboding,

And may your whole self become a gift of peace that you can give to all those you encounter.

Be well,

Friends.

Join me next week as we continue our practice.