
Yesterday, I spent a bit of time sharing about Lectio Divina. Sacred Reading. It is a way of reading the scriptures and allowing them to speak into your heart. One writer describes this way of reading the Bible as “Reading with God.” For me, Lectio is a way of listening with the heart and praying with the Word that God has given.
This morning, in my time with God, I put into practice what I had been teaching. The passage I was led to was from John’s Gospel, chapter 10
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
John 10 vs. 11-13
It is a well known passage and, because I know it so well, it would be easy to skip over the words and just allow them to remain as words on a page. If I do that, I can miss what Jesus is saying to me.
I deliberately slowed down and re-read the passage. I then read it again and allowed the words to speak to me. I imagined myself, sat at the feet of Jesus, listening to the words as he spoke them.
I felt drawn to the contrast that Jesus draws between himself, as the Good Shepherd, and the hired hand who “cares nothing for the sheep.” This led me to write a prayer;
Lord, Good Shepherd
Carer and protector
Friend
When I am off balance, you right me
When I am lost, you find me
When I am hurt, you heal me
When I am hungry, you feed me
Lord, Good Shepherd
Keep me near to you, I pray
In Jesus name
AMEN
Why not pick up your Bible, select a well known passage, and see how it can speak to you afresh today?