First and foremost is the disposition of faith, a firm belief that the Word of God is the Word of God. For the full and effective reception of the communication, we believe not only that the Word who is God speaks to us through this inspired Word, but that the Word is truly present in his inspired Word and present to us as he communicates with us through the Word.
Faith enables us to find and hear the Word, one with the Father and the Spirit, in his Word. But as St. Paul told us, faith comes through hearing. Even as we faithfully hear the Word, the Word renews and strengthens our fiath. This is brought about not just by hearing again of the words and deeds of God in salvation history and in the Person of Jesus and in the witness of those who saw and believed. At the deeper level, this actual experience of the Word brings us to that point where we can say with Paul: "I know in whom I believe."
From Lectio Divina, Renewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures
by M. Basil Pennington
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