Devotion for today: are you talking to me?

Scripture for meditation: Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Scripture for reflection: Romans15:4

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

Tim Gray tells us: How are we to open this Holy Book to meet the Lord and hear Him speak to us? The answer is one of the true secrets of the saints. The saints didn’t have some mystic gene in their DNA, but they did share with St. Paul an insight that he had eagerly taught the first Christians: Scripture is living and active, and so it ever remains God’s Word, spoken to whomever has the courage to pick it up and receive it….Paul’s point is simple: you, not just Israel, are the one being addressed in Scripture. This makes a tremendous difference for us reading the Scriptures today. It is the difference between picking up a letter and thinking it is addressed to someone else versus realizing that it is intended for you. God’s Word is ever ancient, ever new…. God’s voice in the Scriptures is not an ancient news report about something that occurred in a long-forgotten past. Nor is Scripture a form letter sent out in a generic mass mailing. Rather, it is a personal note addressed to each of us, intended to speak personally to the intimate details of our life….Scripture is a love letter from our Divine Bridegroom, and, like the saints, we too should eagerly and often read the Scriptures and hear there the voice of our Beloved speaking to us. (Praying Scripture for a Change: an introduction to Lectio Divina, Ascension Press, 2009)

Prayer: Psalm 119:97-104

O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever [as] mine. I have more insight than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged,
because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
that I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,
for You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to taste!
Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.

My thoughts: I have recently become aware that prayer for me is too much talking and not enough listening, so I have begun to use the practice of Lectio Divina, where I read a passage of Scripture and then spend time listening in my heart to what God is trying to say to me through those words. St. Cyprian tells us that praying is talking to God, and reading Scripture is God talking to us. St. Paul tells us that every word in the Bible is meant for each one of us personally. Each tale in the Old Testament, each parable in the New was written from God to us, to give us the direction and grace we need to become the dream He had in mind when He created us. Let us spend time this week pondering every word of a short Bible passage and then remain quiet and still. We may be surprised to hear God’s voice whispering in our hearts.