Reading as a Spiritual Practice

I grew up with parents who loved to read. Some of my earliest memories include snuggling up to them with a book, or five, beside us, allowing the words to transport us to another world. As I grew older, we would meander through Barnes and Noble, walking out with arms full of books - fiction, non-fiction, biographies, anything and everything. My dad, dismayed by the pace of public education at the time, would pick up reading lists from other school districts for us to work through over the summer before moving on to banned book lists in high school. 

When I read, my imagination is allowed to fly free. I don’t need to think about what my to-do list holds or the conversation I just had. Yet, reading is not escapist but interactive as reading invites me to consider different possibilities as options I never considered before. 

Reading weaves its way into my writings as I speak with others through the written word about authors, titles, and topics that have deeply impacted my spiritual life, which includes fiction and non-fiction books, not just those with spiritual titles or that fit into a specific genre. 

Every day, I need space to read. Not to read for the purpose of work. But to be surrounded and held by words. It shapes who I am and how I interact with the world. But for many, this doesn’t fit into a spiritual practice unless it is reading a portion of Scripture or a devotional book. But I would challenge that - God doesn’t just speak through certain “holy” books. 

Instead, reading is a spiritual practice because of the heart that I approach it with. A heart open to seeing God in and allowing the Spirit to stir through the words before me. This can then spill out of me after being transformed by Christ as I interact with others. 

​Reading may not be a spiritual practice for you. There may be a bad taste from past experiences that shade how you show up to reading - or may contribute to you avoiding reading entirely. Maybe the heated discussion around banned books has made you worry more about reading than enjoying it. But what spiritual practice is one that you may not have considered before that God is inviting you to pick up during this particular season?