April Spiritual Practice: Examen
Beloved Imago,
Let’s build on our practice from last month, confession, by expanding the awareness we worked on, into a new practice called The Examen.
The point of the Examen is to help us notice God. And not only notice God, but understand where he is working within us and around us. In this practice, we focus on the last 24 hours to see where you and God were together that day. It happens in 5 movements which I will lay out below. As you enter this practice, focus on wanting to know how you and God interact. This practice can become a great tool when used regularly to help you understand yourself and your God more.
Remember, as with any practice, the goal is not to shame ourselves! The goal is returning to God, over and over. There is no perfection, nothing to “get” in the Christian life - remember, in Christ, it is already ours (see Romans 8:17, Hebrews 4:16)! Let’s practice noticing God around us and in us together as a community. We can certainly find beauty, Imago.
The 5 movements:
1. Pray for God’s light.
The point of the Examen is not daydreaming or reminiscing but rather looking for some sense of how the Spirit of God is leading us, so it only makes sense to pray for some illumination. The goal is not simply remembering, but graced understanding, which is a gift from God. A prayer to begin could be: “God, enlighten my mind and warm my heart that I may know where and how we have been together this day.”
2. Review your day in gratitude.
The past 24 hours contained many beautiful gifts–gifts of existence, of work, relationships, food, challenges. Gratitude is the foundation of our whole relationship with God (see January’s practice). So use whatever cues might help you to walk through the day. Walk through the past 24 hours, from hour to hour, from place to place, task to task, person to person, thanking the Lord for every gift you encountered (if there are some things you can’t remember, that is okay!). Allow your thoughts to drift from moment to moment, no matter how insignificant they may seem.
3. Review the feelings that surface in the replay of the day.
Simply pay attention to any feelings, positive and negative, the painful and the pleasing, as they surface. You may feel directed toward certain moments. Let your thoughts linger. Rather than interpreting, justifying, or rationalizing, the intent is to observe and remember what you felt. {delight, boredom, fear, anticipation, resentment, anger, peace, contentment, impatience, desire, hope, regret, shame, uncertainty, compassion, disgust, gratitude, pride, rage, doubt, confidence, admiration, shyness} Sit awhile with your feelings.
4. Choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and pray from it.
Pick one of the feelings that most caught your attention. Where was God in that moment? Why is that feeling sticking out to you? This may give us a clue into something God is trying to tell us, or some way He may be working in our lives, since we’re not always aware of God’s presence and involvement in our day-to-day. Now express a simple, spontaneous prayer related to these reflections (remember, there is no “right” way to pray, relax).
5. Look toward tomorrow with hope.
Face your immediate future. What thoughts/feelings surface as you consider the tasks, meetings, and plans that face you? Do you sense God inviting you to make a change? Whatever it is, turn it into journaling or prayer–for help, for healing, whatever comes to mind. To round off the Examen, you can recite the Lord’s Prayer.
A final comment on this practice:
Set aside a time frame to do this practice. I suggest 20 minutes or less. As you work through the movements, you will probably get a sense of how long to linger there. And! If you only get through 1 or 2 or 3 of the movements - that is perfectly okay! Let’s trust that the Holy Spirit is guiding our thoughts and reflections and that whatever we got to in that time frame was what we were led to. And! If you fall asleep in your allotted time frame - perhaps the Spirit knew you needed to rest and was joining you there. Amen.
Kid’s Version:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
When in the morning light I wake,
Show me You on the path we take.
Say this prayer aloud. As you think over your day, what were some things you were grateful for? What was happy or sad about your day? Is there a place or person or situation that you saw love in? Remember - when you see love, you see God. So, this month, let’s look for all the ways we get to see love - in creation, at home, in our family, in our schools, in our hearts, and in how we feel for others.
Remember how we practiced gratitude? Every time you are thankful, you are responding to love. Let’s try to see God in more and more places, recognizing him as love.
Recite the prayer again and fall asleep knowing that God is in you and with you as that love you saw and felt today. And that is a beautiful thing. Amen.