He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:6). The letters in Revelation continue to echo the words of Jesus in one of his famous parables – the sower and the seed.

Today, I will lead you through an exercise of feasting on this parable. The practice is called Lectio Divina and is a way of not only taking a quick bite of the Word, but chewing it slowly, savoring its essence, and letting it digest within you.

READ | Let’s begin by taking the first bite. After quieting your heart with a few deep breaths, read the passage slowly to take in all the words.

As a large crowd was gathering, and people were flocking to Him from every town, He said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it upOther seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moistureOther seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked itStill other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.” As He said this, He called out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” …

This is the meaning of the parableThe seed is the word of GodThe seed along the path are those who have heard and then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing. As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruitBut the seed in the good groundthese are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduringbear fruit.” – Luke 8:4-15

MEDITATE | Okay. Now it’s time to go back through very slowly and chew on the words again. This time notice what causes you to respond. What do you like to hear? What do you dislike?

PRAY | This time, we’ll savor the essence of the passage by praying the words back to God. Move through the passage and let the words, phrases, or sentences, prompt your prayer. Pray through what resonated and what you resisted.

CONTEMPLATE | To close out your time today. Sit with the words of this passage and with the words your prayer. Spend a few minutes in silence to let your experience digest within you.

By Yvonne Biel  

  • Subscribe to be notified when we publish
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.