Contemplation. Contemplation is act of sitting in presence of God with total attention and concentration on God. After a time of prayer, we just sit with God.

If you preach or teach, you should use lectio divina as part of your preparation. Sit with text away from analysis and exegesis, and let God speak to you through his word. A sermon or class could follow this four-part cycle.

For a sermon, preacher could read passage, describe paths he or she explored during meditation and insights found, and offer a prayer to God based on meditation. After, there could be a congregational period of silence for contemplation.

When I teach, I often use lectio divina as an outline. I read passage from my Bible and ask two or three others to read same passage, but from different translations. Then I help class to “meditate”: I ask what words or images struck them from reading, what they noticed or didn’t noticed, what feelings they had as they read, or what was most surprising in text. We follow these threads, learning from each other, and then conclude with prayer.

Lectio divina is a very helpful discipline for spiritual growth. If reader practices lectio divina often, she will begin to plumb depths of her soul and her relationship with God. The single greatest facet of lectio divina is its ability to create a mindset that can actually listen to and for God.

This shows us why Paul wrote in Acts 26:22, 23 that in all he did from beginning of his ministry until that time, he has said no other thing than those things which Moses and prophets said. This was all will of God not Apostles choice or his own ministry. Now what did Moses and prophets say? That Christ should suffer, be firstborn from dead and show light to Israel and Gentiles. This is not mystery which had been hid in God from ages and generations. Paul could quote chapter and verse from Jewish Bible to prove what he said.

From beginning of Acts twelve Apostles continued what Lord both began to do and to say. Paul simply continued that same ministry; for it was what he saw (Acts 26:16). Throughout Acts Paul preached what he had seen and heard twelve Apostles preaching. That was his theme also.

The Apostle Paul needed a vision concerning scope of that ministry. Peter had same experience. Peter was told to go preach to house of Cornelius. Peter did not change his gospel he just preached it to somebody else, Gentiles. So it was with Paul. He preached his gospel of King and kingdom to Jews first, and then to Gentiles. Paul did not require Gentiles to be circumcised and keep law. They were blessed with Israel thru Abraham by grace without addition of law. This was Paul's gospel of grace of God. But that ended in Acts 28:28.

Acts 28:28 declares salvation of God was sent to Gentiles, and this salvation was not blessings of kingdom, but rather Church with Christ as Head.