Gratitude: A Thanksgiving Quiet Time Devotional

One of my favorite ways to spend time with the Savior is to sit quietly reading his love letter, the Bible, using the slow, meditative approach known as Lectio Divina. Lectio divina means divine or sacred reading in Latin. It is a quiet, prayerful practice where we invite the Holy Spirit to open the ears of our hearts in order to hear God's still small voice speaking to us through His Word. It is not a discipline meant to master the Word or to acquire new information or knowledge, it is what Henri Nouwen calls, reading the Bible on your knees...where we allow the Word to descend from our minds into our hearts and become a personal word to us. 

Using the lectio divina method, then, we will be reading the following Bible passage several times, each time with a different intent. 

Before you get started, however, take a few minutes to quiet your spirit.  

Close your eyes and take some slow, deep breaths. Let your shoulders relax. As you do this, savor this sweet time to sit in the Savior’s Presence.

Be sure that you are in a comfortable position that allows your heart to be most attentive to His voice.  

Ask Jesus to clear away any stray thoughts that may distract you from truly meeting with Him this morning in order hear all of the things that He has on His heart to say to you today. 

Open your journal and have your pen/pencil ready.

• When you sense a readiness in your soul...read the passages below slowly.
• Take a moment now to read through the following Scripture passage slowly. You may want to read it out loud.

As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border of Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 

He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were healed of their leprosy.

One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

Luke 17:11-18 NLT

• Read it again. This time slow down and listen for God’s Spirit tugging at your heart. Are there any phrases that seem to jump off the page? Jot those down.

• Go back and read the passage one more time. This time pay attention to any words that seem to stand out to you. Take some time to sit with those words and phrases from above. Pull out your journal and write down anything that is moving in your spirit.

• Take some time now to dialogue with the Savior about these things. You may want to journal this too. I like to write out what I feel God is speaking into me in a prayer.

• Close your journal and your eyes and take some time to sit quietly with God and the things He has laid on your heart.

• As your time together comes to a close, spend some time thanking Him for meeting you here today. Then turn to meet the rest of your day knowing how much you are loved.