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ANOTHER, SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, WAY of praying lectio divina is to dwell on a single word or phrase, and, as Ignatius said, “relish” or “savor” the text. For people who feel uncomfortable with imagery in their prayers, this works very well. And it works especially well with the psalms.

In this method you read the Bible passage meditatively, pausing on any word or phrase that seems meaningful.

This was something that greatly appealed to Ignatius. In his Second Method of Praying, he says that one should pause on words and phrases, “as long as meanings, comparisons, relish, and consolations connected with it are found.”

Let’s take Psalm 23, which begins with the phrase “The Lord is my shepherd.” The next line reads, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Perhaps you might find yourself drawn to meditate on what it would feel like to rest in that “green pasture.” If you’re a busy person—or feeling swamped—you might simply rest with God. Maybe all God wants to do in that prayer is to give you rest.

Or perhaps you read “green pastures” and find yourself unexpectedly sad and wonder why. Maybe you can’t see any green pastures in your life. You could share your sadness with God and may feel a new closeness with the God who wants to console you.

Or you may feel joy. This might be the time to share with God your gratitude for “green pastures” in your life. Or maybe God is simply asking you to pay attention to those “green pastures” you’ve been overlooking. Your prayer may be one of gratitude. All this from a simple phrase in the psalm.

Ignatius stresses the need to relax during lectio. There’s no need to rush and no need to look for any earth-shaking “results.” Prayer is not about producing. Take your time. As Ignatius writes in the Exercises, we need to slow down:

If one finds . . . in one or two words matter which yields thought, relish, and consolation, one should not be anxious to move forward, even if the whole hour is consumed on what is being found.

Pay attention to any phrase that repels you too. You might read about the “darkest valley,” and feel fear. You want to rush over those words or even feel physically uncomfortable. You might be tempted to move on, but places of resistance may be precisely where God wants to meet you. Resistance is another fruit of prayer, like emotions, insights, and memories.

Resistance is often an invitation to pray or think more deeply about those feelings. Why do I feel resistance? Are you being called to be free of whatever holds you back from a deeper love of God? Why am I frightened of those dark valleys? Is it because you don’t trust God to care for you? Perhaps you can recall dark times in the past where you were cared for—by friends, family, coworkers—and see God’s hand in this too. Your attention to resistance can lead you to a new level of trust or self-knowledge.

This resistance always reminds me of massage. Every few weeks, because of some chronic pain, I visit a massage therapist. Often she focuses on a sensitive spot on my back. That spot needs attention because that’s where the most “energy” is, as she says. It’s an important spot to pay attention to.

It’s similar in prayer. When you feel reluctant to pray about a particular topic, it may mean you are resisting looking at something urgent, or a situation or memory that needs to be attended to. Maybe God wants to comfort you in that place or release you from some un-freedom or “disordered attachment.” That’s the reason there’s so much “energy” around those passages. In these moments, God offers us the chance to stop resisting and let ourselves be healed. And freed.

CENTERING PRAYER AND THE THIRD METHOD

A little theology will help our discussion of “centering prayer,” which has become popular in Christian circles.

Like two great rivers, two traditions of prayer flow through Christian spirituality. One is called “apophatic” and the other “kataphatic.” Apophatic, from the Greek word apophatikos, which means negative, is an approach to God that moves away from images,