More Resources for Bible Meditation, Prayer, and Quiet Times
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
I’ve often said I fancy myself a curator of resources. 😉 I’ve written a lot about practical methods, resources, and tools for studying scripture, praying, and growing in your relationship with God (much of this can be found on the “New to Faith?” page on the site). Recently, I shared several resources and tools for Bible study. In this post, I’d like to share a few more, specifically in relation to biblical meditation, prayer, and resources for your quiet times. These are especially helpful for those who might be auditory learners or prefer to listen to audible, narrated, or guided material.
These resources are just another way to instill scripture into your spirit and build your faith by hearing the word of God and meditating on it. (Read more on how to meditate on scripture here.) I hope you enjoy these resources and find them helpful!
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
“And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you–and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.” Mark 4:24 (AMPC)
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV)
Lectio 365 app
The Lectio 365 app has been a recent favorite of mine. According to their site, “Lectio 365 is a daily devotional resource to help you pray through the Bible every day. It has been written by 24-7 Prayer leaders (an international, interdenominational prayer movement) and delivered through a free app. Lectio 365 contains devotional content to help you pause and pray at the start and end of every day.”[1]
Their daily meditation is inspired by an ancient form of praying and meditation called Lectio Divina. According to Wikipedia, Lectio Divina is a “…practice of scriptural reading, meditation, and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God’s word. Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate. First, a passage of scripture is read, then its meaning is reflected upon. This is followed by prayer and contemplation on the Word of God.”[2]
I typically spend around ten minutes when I listen to the audio version (as opposed to reading through on my own). Personally, I like the peaceful background music, and I love the guided prayers and pauses for moments of reflection and to hear from the Holy Spirit. I often find a fixed location (a comfy, chair in my room where I read my Bible each morning), close my eyes, and practice intentional, relaxed breathing.
Eric and I have also really enjoyed listening and night just before sleeping, as it relaxes us and focuses our thoughts on God and scripture just before drifting off to sleep. It’s a very calming way to end the day and to help with sleep (as I sometimes struggle).
Here’s a description from the Lectio 365 website:
“MORNING PRAYERS
Inspired by Lectio Divina, a way of meditating on the Bible that’s been used by Christians for centuries: follow daily Bible readings, thoughts, and prayers that follow a simple P.R.A.Y rhythm:
Pause to be still.
Rejoice with a Psalm and Reflect on scripture.
Ask for God’s help.
Yield to His will in your life.
On Sundays, stop to pray a special Sabbath prayer of rest, and journey through special seasons including Advent, Lent, and current events.
NIGHT PRAYERS
Reflective questions, Bible readings, and prayers to help process the day with God and prepare to sleep.
Reflect
…on the day that has passed, relinquishing stress and control
Rejoice
…in God’s goodness, noticing his presence throughout the day
Repent
… of my sins, receiving forgiveness for what has gone wrong
Rest
…in readiness for sleep
Lectio 365 screenshots
READ OR LISTEN, DAILY
Lectio 365 content is available in written and audio format, and devotionals can be downloaded a week in advance to be read or listened to later. Content remains available in the app for 60 days.
SHAPE YOUR FAITH
Lectio 365 content explores the core values of 24-7 Prayer: how to love God through prayer and creativity, love others through justice and hospitality, and love the world through mission and learning.
SPECIAL SEASONS
Alongside regular daily devotional content, the app journeys through special seasons: pray through Advent, Lent, and current events.”[3]
Abide
Abide screenshot
I first came across Abide through some of the audio reading plans on the Bible app. I really enjoyed this resource because they combine narration of various topics and scripture reading with guided prayers, meditation, and reflection. Abide does have a free app that you can download with some free daily meditations, devotions, music, and sleep meditations. They do have a premium version which you have to purchase, but in full disclosure, I just use the free resources.
According to their website, this resource will allow you to find peace, listen to biblical meditation, sleep better, and stress less with Christ.
Encounter
Encounter screenshots
Encounter is another resource that I came across through some of the audio reading plans on the Bible app. I’ve really enjoyed their audio devotions and guided biblical meditation and prayer. They also have an app and a website, wherein both places you can access their resources. With this resource, you can also add private journals and customize alarms for reminders to pause and meditate on scripture.
Encounter’s description:
“Our guided audio meditations will help you find the sacred in the ordinary and become more mindful. We add a new biblical meditation each day, and you can access our vast library of other Christian meditations and search by theme to find something no matter how you’re feeling.”[4]
Daily Guided Prayer on Bible App
Daily Prayer on Bible app screenshots
A fairly recent addition to the Bible app is their Daily Guided Prayer. Similar to their daily “stories” with the Verse of the Day, the guided meditation and prayer takes you through different screens (tapping each screen to advance as typical in “story” mode). Each screen has different prompts from a welcome screen that invites you to get silent, remove distractions, and breathe (following an animated breathing GIF) to guided prayers, prayers from your own prayer list, thanksgiving, scriptures, and closing. This resource also allows you to select background audio if you wish (from a settings icon at the bottom). You can even set reminders if you like.
I like this resource because it takes me through meditation and prayer guided by scripture, while also allowing for me to add my own concerns and pray through the prayers that I’ve added to my custom prayer lists on the app. This is often where I add the prayer requests that come through on this blog so that I’m prompted on a regular basis to pray for and keep track of these prayer needs. I do genuinely and regularly pray for this blog, my readers, and the prayer requests that come in via comments and emails, so this has been a wonderful resource for me to use.
Audio Readings on Bible App
Audio readings on Bible app screenshots
Another audible resource that is very convenient and that has come in handy is the listening/audio feature of scripture reading on the Bible app. It’s not available in every translation, but there are several from which to choose.
Additionally, many of the reading plans and devotionals have a listening feature as well, much like a screen reader (but less robotic-sounding) that will read the devotion and subsequent scriptures.
These are great resources if you prefer listening to reading or if you are visually impaired. You can listen while showering or getting ready in the mornings, exercising, driving, eating, working, and so on.
Read Scripture app
Lastly, another app that I have used is called Read Scripture. The Read Scripture app will not read passages audibly but does have accompanying videos to help explain and provide a deeper comprehension of passages, so that’s a nice feature.
Read Scripture screenshots
From their app description:
“Designed to help you read the Bible with greater understanding than ever before. Read Scripture makes it easy to read and understand His word so you can focus on God. We use the ESV translation and videos from The Bible Project, a non-profit team of pastors, PhDs, writers, and animators. Read Scripture is a tool to get you deep into scripture and help you form a lasting habit of reading God’s word.”
Spend quality time reading the Bible daily while learning how to read it with contextual videos from The Bible Project. Hand-illustrated Bible Project videos explain difficult concepts and themes “better than seminary” alongside scripture text. A brand-new Thematic reading plan constantly highlights the bigger picture so you can always see the big picture in your reading. Hint: It all points to Jesus. Track your progress of the entire bible that shows you where you’ve been and where you are going. Reminders on your phone will ping you to help keep you on track.”[5]
Take Some Practical Steps to Try These Resources for Bible Meditation, Prayer, and Quiet Times:
-
Consider trying one or more of these resources to instill scripture into your spirit and build your faith by hearing the word of God and meditating on it.
Daily Guided Prayer on Bible App
Audio Readings on Bible App
**Note: I am not an affiliate of any of these resources, nor do I get any kind of commission from referrals. These are just resources that I personally use and have found helpful and would like to pass along on the chance that they might be helpful for you too.
-
Below are some other helpful posts for reading, understanding, and studying the Bible.
Tips for Spending Time With God
Tips to Start Reading the Bible on a Regular Basis
Tips for Understanding the Bible
Scriptures for Understanding the Bible Better
Prayer to Help Understand the Bible
A Different Approach to Bible Reading
Bible Study Methods and Resources for the Average Person
“And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you–and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.” Mark 4:24 (AMPC)
What are some ways that you practice biblical meditation and prayer during your quiet times? Share them with us by leaving a comment below!
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are rude, disrespectful, sarcastic, divisive, offensive, or off-topic. By posting on this site you agree to my Comment Policy.
P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy receiving new posts delivered right to your inbox each week! Sign up here.
If you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward! Share this post via the sharing links below. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
- “Lectio 365.” 24-7 Prayer, https://www.24-7prayer.com/dailydevotional. ↑
- “Lectio Divina.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Sept. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina. ↑
- “Lectio 365.” 24-7 Prayer, https://www.24-7prayer.com/dailydevotional. ↑
- “Encounter: Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary.” Encountering Peace, https://encounteringpeace.com/. ↑
- “Read Scripture App.” Read Scripture, https://www.readscripture.org/. ↑
