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Listening to the Holy Spirit
In the practice of listening to the Holy Spirit, we learn to quiet ourselves to better hear and respond to God’s promptings.
Crawl
Spend 5-10 minutes sitting in silence. Breathe slowly. Intentionally pause to be still. Recenter your scattered senses on the presence of God. Try using a breath prayer to help you focus – a short phrase or Bible verse that focuses your attention on God (e.g. ‘I love you Father’ or ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening’). Do you sense God prompting you in any way?
Walk
An ancient form of scripture reading is called Lectio Divina (Latin for Sacred Reading). It involves slowly reading and reflecting on a passage. Follow these four steps:
- Read. Silently and slowly read John 15:1-4.
- Reflect. Read John 15:1-4 a second time. Ask yourself, what does this mean? What is the invitation here?
- Respond. Read John 15:1-4 a third time. Talk to God about it. What do you need to say to God? What is God saying to you?
- Rest. Read John 15:1-4 a fourth time. Then spent a few minutes in silence before God.
Run
Incorporate both the crawl and walk suggestions into multiple days or an extended time this week. Consider using other passages like 1 Peter 4:10-11, John 10:7-10, Romans 12:3-8, and/or 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 in your Lectio Divina. Share with a trusted friend your experience in these extended times of listening.