Praying with Scripture/Psalms (The Bible)

Praying with Scripture is a powerful way to pray. It is a dialogue between the Word (which is Jesus) and you. As we are told in the letter to the Hebrews, "The Word of God is something alive and active: It cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts." ²
And so, great healing can happen when we really let the mystery of the Lord's Word penetrate our hearts. Take time with these methods - they are worth it!

See "Familiar Scripture Passages" if you would like the references for some familiar Scripture passages.

We give three methods of praying with Scripture, as follows:

• Method 1: Lectio Divina
• Method 2: Using Scripture as a mantra
• Method 3: Praying with the Psalms

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Method 1: Lectio Divina

This is a traditional method of praying with the Scriptures, which was developed in monastic situations. It consists of four stages called 'Reading (Lectio), Meditation (Meditatio), Prayer (Oratio) and Contemplation (Contemplatio). It is much more than a reading or study of Scripture. It is an encounter in faith and love with the Word of God. If you can devote 20-30 minutes a day to this, you will find it very profitable. And, as you are developing new skills of reflection on these texts, do not feel that you have to exhaust one text in the day. You can come back to the texts again and again.

• Lectio (Reading).
  Read the text a few times. If possible, read it aloud, as there is an additional dynamic in reading it aloud. Several of the senses are involved (sight, speech and hearing) and it resonates within you.This is very important in Lectio - to allow the Word to echo and re-echo and reverberate within you. Read lingeringly, with attention and love: this is not an exercise in getting through as much text as possible. It is about allowing the Spirit who inspired the text to work on your soul, so that you may know what He wants to say to you. Savour the words and particularly stay with words which "speak" to you.

• Mediatio (Meditation).
  At this stage, you mull over the text and try to see where it is being fulfilled in your life today. Your memory and imagination enter into action at this stage, remembering past events where you have seen the Lord's action, or, with your imagination entering fully into the text and becoming part of what is happening.Meditation takes time, but it need not stop when you finish your prayer time - you can reflect on where this is being mirrored in your life, even as you wait for a train, mow the lawn, etc.! Take as your example Our Lady "who at the message of the angel received the Word of God in her heart and in her body and brought forth life to the world" ³. She "pondered" ⁴ in her heart the things that had been revealed to her. Try to come to an interior understanding of what is written. As it says in the Catechism, "To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality. To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart, and we are able to discern them". ⁵It also says, "Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart and strengthen our will to follow Christ" ⁶.

• Oratio (Prayer).
  This is where we respond to the Lord's promptings to us in the previous stages. Taking our cue from the words of the text (usually), we base our prayer response on what has happened to us as we pondered His Word.Our response can be one of gratitude for His goodness to us, adoration (as we come to a greater appreciation of His divinity), repenting (as we come to a deeper awareness of our own sinfulness in the light of His glory and a deeper trust in His mercy) or petition (as we recall the wonders He has performed in the past).Pray from the heart, and the Holy Spirit will put into words what we may not be able to (Romans 8:26). Even if we feel that nothing has happened, in faith make some prayer response, because the Lord is constantly working within us and His Word is dynamic.

• Contemplatio (Contemplation).
  Contemplation is the beginning and end of Lectio Divina. This is about entering a deeper phase in prayer.It goes beyond what our senses can experience. It is a prolonged gaze of love. From this, we are called to go forth in active love of God and our neighbour. As the Catechism says, "Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering the Eucharistic liturgy: we 'gather up' the heart, recollect our whole being under the promptings of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed" ⁷. "Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more. But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God" ⁸. "Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus" ⁹.

Method 2: Using Scripture as a mantra:

A mantra is a "prayer word", a word or phrase which we can use over and over again, and which helps to bring us into the presence of God. It is a popular way of praying in the East.It involves choosing a word (such as "God", "Abba, Father", "Love", "Advocate") from Scripture and mulling it over in your heart.You can also use a phrase (such as "God is Love", "I love you Lord my strength", "Only in God is my soul at rest" or "Be not afraid").Because you are using Scripture, you are bringing to bear on your soul the very power of the Word of God, which is Jesus Himself.The Word has a dynamic of its own and by bringing it into our souls in this way, we are letting it grow within us and form us. This way of praying is particularly suited to the busy person, as it can be used at any time. Once you select your word, you can use it during your prayer time, or while working around the house, waiting for a bus, travelling by train, etc. You can return to it at any time during the day.

Method 3: Praying with the Psalms:

This is a wonderful way to pray. Every human emotion is expressed in the psalms, so it is not difficult to find a psalm to suit our mood. It is the way Jesus Himself prayed, and, the fact that they were dear to Him is borne out by the fact that He often quotes from the Psalms (Mathew 21:16 & Luke 4:10 for example). Even as He was dying, He was praying the psalms. They are particularly useful when we cannot find the words to pray, because we are sure to find something which suits our needs.
For example, Psalm 138(139), which starts off by saying:
"O Lord, you search me and you know me,
You know my resting and my rising."

Becoming aware of this, we are brought into the presence of the Lord, who is always with us. We become conscious that He is intimately aware of everything about us, and knows us better then we even know ourselves. To pray with the psalms, you can use either of the above methods, to which they are ideally suited.

See "Psalms to suit different moods" for the references of Psalms.