A key pivot for your life as a Christ Follower is increasing the time you spend with God each day through the Bible. In fact, spending four or more days each week absorbing Scripture into your life is where transformation takes place! That amount of time each week is where you start influencing the culture around you for Christ rather than the culture drawing you away from Him.
Take a look at “The Spiritual Reading of Scripture.” It is actually Chapter 4 of Arnie Cole’s ebook, Winning the War for Our Souls.
Given the formidable enemies we face—the devil, the flesh, and the world—how can we possibly stand firm and emerge victorious in this spiritual battle? Thankfully, God has provided us with a powerful weapon: His Word. The spiritual reading of Scripture, known in the early church as lectio divina, is not merely an intellectual exercise but a way of engaging with God’s Word that transforms our hearts and minds. [4]
We must go beyond intellectual comprehension because the Bible is not just a collection of ancient writings; it is the living Word of God, “sharper than any double-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). It is the primary means by which God speaks to us, nourishes our souls, and equips us for the battle we face. By reading Scripture regularly and absorbing its teaching, we fortify ourselves with the truth that counters the lies of the devil, the flesh, and the world.This is what the early church understood so well—the importance of engaging deeply with Scripture so that it transforms us rather than merely filling our brains with information. They recognized that spiritual strength and transformation take place when we discipline ourselves to read Scripture daily, understanding and receiving the text so that it penetrates the depths of our soul and radiates outward into our actions, words, and attitudes.
So, how did the early church go about reading Scripture spiritually? They put in place a fourfold pattern that optimized their devotional time and guarded against reading Scripture as the mere acquisition of information or the “checking off” of a to-do list. Their names for the four steps were lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio—Latin for reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. Let’s take a deeper look at these steps, mining them for insight into how we can win the battle for our souls today.
Lectio (Reading)
For the early church, the first step in a spiritual reading of Scripture is… reading. But by “reading,” they didn’t mean to scan the headlines or race through the text as if it were a social media post or text message on your smartphone. No, they meant to read the text slowly and attentively, allowing the words to sink in. The goal is not to analyze the text, gain the information, and move on but to patiently read and listen to God’s voice. This type of reading is less dependent on one’s intellectual abilities and more reliant on the openness of one’s heart toward God.
Meditatio (Meditation)
For the early church, the natural progression is to move from reading to meditation, reflecting on the deep meaning and implications of the text. They reflected on questions such as, What is God saying to me through this text? What word, phrase, or idea stands out? Early Christians took the time to ponder and let the text resonate in their hearts. They understood that life causes us to meditate on many things—family, friends, work, and more—and that we must make time to meditate on the most significant subject of all: God himself.
Oratio (Prayer)
After reading and meditating, the early church understood the importance of responding to God relationally. In essence, prayer is simply communication with God, speaking to him, and listening in return. “Prayer is the relational space within which our interpretation of Scripture is performed.”[1] Although early Christians surely prayed before and during their Bible reading, it seems fitting that prayer is positioned as the third step of spiritual reading. Having received the word of the Lord, they would respond with praise, confession, thanksgiving, or petition. They wanted Scripture to shape their prayers as they spoke to God from their hearts.
Contemplatio (Contemplation)
The final step is contemplation—resting in God’s presence. After reading, meditating, and praying, early Christians understood the need to simply sit in silence before God, allowing His Word to penetrate their souls. This was a time of surrender, where they let the truths of Scripture transform them from the inside out. In this moment of contemplation, they were not striving to do anything or to achieve any specific outcome. They were simply being with God, letting His Word shape and mold them in ways that go beyond intellectual understanding. This is where transformation happens, as God’s truth penetrates the deepest parts of their being and renews their minds.
The practice of lectio divina, therefore, was not about gathering more information; it was about a relational encounter with God through His Word. The historical and biographical literature suggests that many Christians engaged in this practice daily, the truths of Scripture moving from their heads to their hearts so it could take root and bear fruit in their lives. This spiritual reading of Scripture was not a quick fix or a formula for success. It was the lifelong, one-day-a-time practice of drawing near to God and allowing His truth to equip them for battle against the devil, the flesh, and the world.
[4] For an introduction to Lectio Divina for modern readers, see James C. Wilhoit & Evan B. Howard, Discovering Lectio Divina: Bringing Scripture into Ordinary Life (IVP, 2012).
[5] Wilhoit and Howard, Discovering Lectio Divina, 92.
