So you want to be spiritual? Try this:

With so many Americans calling themselves “spiritual” rather than religious, many in the Christian community have asked, “How can we make Christianity more spiritual?”  That is a laughable question because Christianity is inherently spiritual.  Prayer, baptism, worship, singing, communion, fellowship, reading scripture, and the list can go on.  Sure, Christianity does not have rocks, stones, and other “new age” objects or artifacts, but there is a steady diet of spiritual things in Christianity.

For hundreds of years mystic, monastic, and ascetic Christians have sought to have a deeper connection with God. St. John of the Cross, Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, and Thomas Merton are a few names that Christians may have heard before.  Sometimes their stories are bizarre, but often many mystics simply wanted a prayerful spiritual life.

Some Christians may run the other way when they hear the word “mystical”, but believe it or not every time we pray we are being mystical.  When we pray, we are praying to a transcendent God to ask or praise him for supernatural works.  When we Christians use the word “mystical” we are talking about the  spiritual life and we do not have to speak in tongues to be spiritual either.

One the most transformational components of the spiritual life is reading scripture.  However, many find the Bible boring and need a guide when reading.  One the most spiritual things we can do when we read scripture is to participate in lectio divina.  What the heck is that?

Lectio divnia means “holy reading.”  Lectio divnia is a process in which we allow God to speak to us and guide us through scripture.  Practiced since the 6th century, this “holy reading” enables Christians to experience a deep and profound spiritual connection to God’s word.  After you have found a quiet time, place, and settling decide on a text to read.  The lectionary is a helpful guide.  Lectio divinia is comprised of four movements:

• Lectio (Reading) — Read the text and read the wider passage. Focus in on a part of scripture you decide to concentrate on.  And read it over and over.  Read it out loud and let the words speak.  Read the text slowly and write out any words that speak to you.
• Meditatio (Thinking) — Think about it.  Your goal here is to use your mind and intellect.  The spiritual life should be about freedom from obsessive thinking, but reflect upon the text.  What is it saying to you? Your life? Your family? Your church?  Focus on one of the words that spoke to you or a phase.  This is where the Holy Spirit speaks to us to think about a topic, word, or idea from the reading.  Allow memories or thoughts about the passage or word to come forward.  Record these thoughts if you desire.
• Oratio (Praying) — Share your thoughts and feelings with God in prayer.  Pray about the struggle of the text or related topic.  Be honest in prayer and write down prayers for you to remember.  Listen to God as well.  What is God saying?
• Contemplatio (Contemplation) — This may sound strange, but move from praying into silence.  Some people mediate, not mediating with humming or chanting, but a mediation in which clears your mind of your thoughts to focus on God.   It’s tough to clear our minds, but in a world of noise we need silence. In this time, we live in the presence of God.  Sometimes, people return to the inner dialog of meditatio.

It is important to not stress over the time spent on each one.  Let this process be natural.  It is okay if your mind wanders.  Do not beat yourself up about it.  This holy reading is meant to be a spiritual time that is meaningful.  If you do not “get” anything out of it then keep trying.  You may need several sittings to get the idea down.

By having a loose structure of reading, thinking, prayer, and contemplation we can have a deep spiritual life that is centered on God and scripture.