Over the centuries, Christians have used various methods to deepen their conversation with Jesus and grow their relationship with Him. One example is lectio divina—a Latin term loosely translated as “sacred reading”—a way of reading Scripture prayerfully as practised by monks in ages past. The steps are simple, but need to be followed slowly and deliberately:
First, you read a Bible passage slowly, paying attention to the words and rhythm of the text.
Second, you meditate on the text, opening your heart to Jesus and allowing Him to speak to you about your situation, where you are in your spiritual life, your anxieties, aspirations, temptations, relationships, and opportunities. This needs to be done in an unhurried, uninterrupted way.
Third, you speak to God through prayer, opening your heart to Him and letting Him see and hear all that is there. Tell Him what you think and feel about Him, and your needs and concerns.
Finally, you rest in His presence, savouring the moment and letting Him love you even as you seek to love Him.
A spiritual exercise like this can help you have a deep conversation with Jesus. It may feel a little awkward or difficult at first, but as you experience the blessings and peace of a growing relationship with Jesus, you will want more of it. As you move from merely pouring words out at His feet to opening your heart to Him, your prayer life will deepen.
According to experts, there are many levels of communication. At the most superficial level, we talk about things and about other people; this is the “safest” form of communication, as it is nonthreatening, and non-committal. The next level involves talking about our ideas. This makes us more vulnerable, because our ideas may be challenged, dismissed, and even ignored. Also, they communicate what we really think about others. Then, we enter a deeper, even more vulnerable level when we move on to talking about what we feel. We now face the risk of our feelings being misunderstood, ignored, or even repudiated. But if our listener recognises our feelings, we will be able to deepen the understanding and conversation. Finally, there is the deepest level of communication: when we and our listeners talk about “us”—the relationship itself. We are at our most vulnerable at this stage, because the conversation could disrupt the relationship or force us to face up to our responsibility (or lack of it). However, this stage can also enable us to grow in that relationship, because it makes us address problems and explore new possibilities.
These levels of communication are true not only for relationships with other people, but also for our relationship with Jesus. That is because He is not an idea, programme, or institution. When we relate to Jesus, we are relating to a Person. Many of us approach Him with a long list of needs and wants, treating Him like a heavenly butler or concierge. But the Lord wants something much deeper than that; He wants us to learn to treat Him as the Person who loves us with a sacrificial, undying love. And we can do this by learning to cultivate a deepening, growing conversation with Him throughout the day, so that we become increasingly aware of His presence, love, guidance, grace, and protection.
Consider this:
How can you converse with Jesus regularly and in a deepening way? Reflect on the practice of lectio divina, and give it a try.
Excerpted and adapted from Finding Rest for the Soul: Responding to Jesus’ Invitation in Matthew 11:29–29 by Robert M. Solomon. ©2016 by Robert M. Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Related Resources:
Better Than Gold: The Life-Changing Wisdom of the Bible.. Three thousand years ago Solomon wrote, “Wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold…. Nothing you desire can compare with her” (Proverbs 3:14–15 NLT). Discover how you not only can have knowledge of Scripture, but also understanding to apply it to your daily living. Find out more here.
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