1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Prayer - as in abiding, personal contact with God - is the very heart of the Christian life. And yet for most of us, the practice of prayer is a struggle (it often is for me as well). Indeed, “How can I feel closer to God?” is probably one of the most asked questions in Christian history. And the good news is: there is an answer! Actually, there are many answers. And in this short series we will examine (and experience) three of the best: the Benedictine answer, the Ignatian answer and the Augustinian one. Today we begin with the Benedictine method of prayer, often know by its Latin name: lectio divina or “divine reading.” It is a very simple but very powerful process of praying the scriptures that can lead to us to a very intimate experience of God’s love and presence. In this episode, we’ll explore the process of&amp;nbsp;lectio divina, but even more importantly, we’ll practice it together (a form of guided meditation/prayer).&amp;nbsp; (As an added bonus you’ll get a short explanation of what makes a Presbyterian a Presbyterian and why we would benefit greatly by adopting some very “Catholic” practices!) If you enjoy the guided Christian meditation, you can find more of them on the Canvas website . And if you’d like to read the passage yourself while we pray together, you can find it here: Mark 1:14-20 (NRSV) Up for supporting the podcast??? You’re tax-deductible gift to Canvas is a major help! As are your prayers, your online reviews, telling a friend or two and getting in touch! You can reach me easily at jesusat2am.com, or send me email, chat on&amp;nbsp;BlueSky, or come find me on Facebook or Instagram (I'm slowly making my way back...), I’d love to hear from you! &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History &amp; the Life of Faith http://www.jesusat2am.com <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/37049015/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/37049015