Written by Corina Díaz, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Argentina
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matt. 6:6)
Throughout my Christian life, I have experienced different stages in my connection with Jesus, determined by the way in which I have practiced prayer.
During the first years, I learned to repeat prayers and the structure in which one should pray (call on Him – thanks – requests – blessing/praise). This gave me the foundation to practice what, years later, I came to know as Lectio Divina or contemplative prayer/reading—a deep search for silence. For me, silence is the perfect opportunity to listen to the Father and speak to Jesus from the depth of my heart.
First step, Lectio (reading): understand the Word (its literal meaning), responding to the question, what does the text say? It is important to contextualize through the following approaches: literary (word analysis), historical (sociocultural, economic, political, and religious situation), and theological (what God says).
Second step, Meditatio (meditation): receive the Word, what does the text say? We enter into an intimate dialogue with God through a series of questions that question our reality, and that help us to discover a message for life.
Third step, Oratio (prayer): respond to the Word, what does the text lead me to say to God? We respond in prayer, moved by the Holy Spirit.
And the fourth step, Contemplatio (contemplation/action): inspire life in the Word, to what conversion and action is the Lord inviting us? We receive what is discovered through dialogue with God, and the good news is that He sends us to find it with others.
In this final step is where we truly come together in prayer, when we are bathed in silence, and we have heard the voice of the Father to inspire our daily lives.
¡Be still in the presence of the Lord! (Ps. 37:7)
I invite you to practice this exercise through a passage of the Bible, maybe the same text in which Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:5-15.