“Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart conversation with Him by whom we know ourselves to be loved.”
-Saint Teresa of Avila
Praying with Scripture is my favorite form of prayer, and I use Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) every day. It uses God's inerrant word to help us converse with Him. It is sometimes difficult in prayer to sense God's presence or to see what He is communicating to us. Using the Bible we are able to immediately place ourselves in dialogue with God and hear His voice.
Praying with the Scriptures is easy, but takes a little time to get used to. The method of prayer I will be describing here is called Ignatian Prayer, and is named after the founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola, who helped spread its use.
The first step is to enter into the presence of God by offering a short prayer for God to help you pray and to be present to you.
Next you need to read the Scripture verses you want to pray with. For example (Luke 19:1-10)
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchae'us; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchae'us, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchae'us stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."
The importance of reading the Scripture first before meditating with it is so you can become familiar with the passage.
After you have read it once, now go slowly through the passage. The key technique used in Ignatian Prayer is to engage your senses and your imagination to enter into the Biblical scene. Some senses will mean more to you during different meditations. Start by "casting" yourself in the role of one of the characters in the passage. For example, lets imagine the scene through the eyes of Zacchaeus.
So begin by imagining the scene using your sight. In this example passage, What time of day is it? What does the crowd surrounding Jesus look like? What is it like not being able to see Jesus? What does the sycamore tree look like? How tall is it? What do you imagine when Jesus is looking at you? What does "your" house look like? Who all is with you in "your" house? What is Jesus' reaction when you offer to give to the poor, and turn your life around?
Next use your sense of touch to imagine what the scene is like. How hot is it? Is the crowd pushing you around? What does the tree feel like? How hard was it to climb the tree?
Use your sense of hearing, and imagine the murmuring in the crowd? Is everyone yelling? Are they shouts of joy or cries of pain? Is Jesus saying anything? What is dinner like? What is Jesus telling you, or His disciples? What are the disciples saying to you?
Apply your sense of taste. This one is a little harder, but imagine what you are eating with Jesus? Is it a big dinner, or is it simple? Is it a dinner, lunch, or breakfast?
Finally, what are you smelling? What does your food smell like? What does the tree your sitting in smell like?
The most important part of this prayer is not the imagination portion. The most important thing is to allow God to speak to you through this scene. Enter into this conversation with God I was speaking of earlier. Imagine Jesus isn't talking to Zacchaeus, but to you. What is He telling you? What is it that Jesus wants you to do in your life? Maybe He wants you to spend more time in prayer with Him, or maybe He wants you to be more generous with your charity.
Ask God for the desires of your heart. Allow Him to fill you with His love. Make sure to focus on how Jesus acts in the Scriptures. How do His actions differ from how you would have handled the situation? Use this comparison to help God instruct you in how He wants you to make your change in your life.
The key questions to ask here are: What are you feeling as Zacchaeus? What is Jesus telling you? How do you want to amend your life for God?
End with a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Thank Him for your time in communion with Him. Ask Him for help changing your life for Him. If prayer did not go well, ask for Him to aid you in your prayer in the future. Make sure to preserve in prayer no matter how it goes.
This method of prayer takes some working through. I know when I first began praying this way I did not like it at all. I thought it was boring and unfulfilled. The key to making the prayer fruitful is to enter into the conversation with God. Do not stop at the imagining of the scene. It is easy to, but it won't fulfill you.
I absolutely love this prayer style now! It allows you to converse with God in a profound way and as an added benefit it allows you to know the Scriptures better. Prayer allows you to know the Sacred Heart of Jesus and this prayer is all about entering into the Heart of Jesus. It allows you to see His Heart and to see yours as well. In doing this it is plainly clear what you need to do to grow in Faith and Love.
In honor of the founder of the Jesuits and the one who spread this prayer method.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Ora Pro Nobis!
AMDG (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam: For the Greater Glory of God)
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