Read the passage (say, a psalm or a Gospel reading) repeatedly—perhaps about four times, interspersed with periods of silence. It would be an excellent practice to memorize parts of your reading.

Reflect on a word or phrase that strikes you as significant. Ask yourself how it functions within its immediate context and within the Scriptures as a whole. Look for the revelation of Christ within this word or phrase. And ask what all of this has to do with your own situation and circumstances.

In prayer, God confronts our lives with the fruit of meditation. This may cause the pain of repentance. Or it may flood our hearts with gratitude. In prayer, we bring our lives before God in response to the reading of the text.

Conclude with a time of silence. God himself is beyond words, and in this time of silence, you remove all earlier thoughts (and any other thoughts!), so as to contemplate the God who is beyond all words, thoughts, and images.