The Prayer of Examen

Blah Humbug: Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, is the name of the study we are in at Skycrest. The genesis of the series comes from the recognition that we are all of us prone to drifting away from an impassioned faith. While all followers have designs on a vibrant walk with Jesus, few sustain the passion necessary to completely die to self and live for Christ. The hope for the series is to identify some critical disciplines that should reinvigorate our passion.

Yesterday we examined what Gordon MacDonald calls the remembrance principle. Activating this principle is a key to inflaming spiritual passion because remembering well keeps us grounded in the truth of God's unchanging work on our behalf. When we fail to remember the steadfast truth of God, we invite our fickle, ever-changing circumstances to guide our decision making.

To help us establish a routine of remembrance, God established the Sabbath day, exhorting us to keep it holy or make it different. The idea is that as we rest from our work, we should reflect on and celebrate the good work of God. The fruit of this exercise is increased faith and confidence in the way of God, accompanied by a renewed determination to live for him.

What I've discovered along the way is that I not only need to observe the Sabbath weekly, I need to practice Sabbath moments daily. I have to carve out times in my day where I remember that God is for me. I need to discipline myself to consider the omnipresence of God so I can submit to and enjoy the power of God.

In researching ways to establish the discipline of daily Sabbath moments, I discovered the Prayer of Examen. In the first half of the 16th century, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, taught his disciples to conclude their day with what he called the Prayer of Examen. It's a prayer of examination whereby you recall the events and activities of your day and through the process of remembering, evaluate your relational harmony to God.

St. Ignatius' idea was that participants would take time each night to work through the exercises in an attempt to learn to better facilitate the presence of God in their lives. While there are many renditions of the prayer, we tailored it to present three basic steps to achieve the daily Sabbath discipline:

1. Confess your place in God. Utilize Psalm 103:1-5 to recount the benefits of being a child of God. As you read through those verses, pause to celebrate the goodness of God and acknowledge your need for God.
2. Ask yourself two sets of questions:
   a. Where did I feel the most alive, most hopeful, most in the presence of God today?
   b. Where did I feel the darkest, most despairing, most removed from God today?
3. Celebrate the mercies of God that are new every morning. Ask for strength and guidance to continually live in the presence of God tomorrow.

All three steps need to be followed to stay anchored in truth and impassioned for God. We have to remember what he did for us. We must be able to identify those times and places when we sensed his presence or even realized our distance. Noting the reasons for each will enable us to more consistently place ourselves in blessable positions. Finally when we fail, we must remember that according to God's grace and mercy, every new day gives us the opportunity to follow him.

Will you join me for the next week in daily praying the Prayer of Examen? I pray as you discipline yourself to enjoy a daily Sabbath, your passion will be renewed like the eagle's.