Silence for 2-5 minutes:
If your mind wanders, silently pray a simple prayer again and again, such as, "I surrender to your love" or "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me" until the Holy Spirit gives you a sense of peace and focus.
Scripture reading:
Psalm 1
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Reading:
The following is an excerpt from the book Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon. The book was initially titled A Short and Easy Method of Prayer and was first made available in 1681. Many Christian leaders, including John Wesley and Watchman Nee have urged believers to practice Guyon's method of prayer.
Let this beautiful saint instruct you in a way delightful way to meditate upon His word.
You can read the entire book here.
'Praying the Scripture' involves both reading and prayer. Turn to the Scripture. Be careful as you read. Take in fully, gently and carefully what you are reading. Taste it and digest it as you read.
In the past it may have been your habit, while reading, to move very quickly from one verse of Scripture to another until you had read the whole passage. Perhaps you were seeking to find the main point of the passage.
But in coming to the Lord by means of 'praying the Scripture' you do not read quickly; you read very slowly. You do not move from one passage to another, until you have sensed the very heart of what you have read. You may then want to take that portion of Scripture that has touched you and turn it into prayer.
'Praying the Scripture' is not judged by how much you read but by the way in which you read. If you read quickly, it will benefit you little. You will be like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower. Instead, in this new way of reading with prayer, you must become as the bee who penetrates into the depths of the flower. You plunge deeply within to remove its deepest nectar.
Of course, there is a kind of reading the Scripture for scholarship and for study — but not here. To receive any deep, inward profit from the Scripture, you must read as I have described. Plunge into the very depths of the words you read until revelation, like a sweet aroma, breaks out upon you.
I am quite sure that if you will follow this course, little by little you will come to experience a very rich prayer that flows from your inward being.
Questions/Actions to Take:
Find a favorite scripture that has ministered life to you. Now, read it slowly, following Madame Guyon's method. What new insights do you see? How is God speaking to you through the passage? Turn these insights into a prayer that flows from your heart.
Prayer: Lord, I have often read your word too quickly and missed so much of what you want to say to me. Help me to savor your word. Help me to go deep to "remove the deepest nectar" from the flower that is your love letter to me. AMEN