Examen-ing Prayer - Instructions to guide you into the habit of Spirit-led analysis of our true condition.
Preparation:
WHAT YOU’LL NEED: A blocked-off segment of 20-25 minutes in your weekly calendar, a journal, and a pen.
WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT: Examen is a Latin word that refers to the weight indicator on a balance scale, conveying the idea of an accurate assessment of the true situation. This spiritual habit is designed to help us live up to the measure of what is most true about you: that you are a child of God, in the continual care of our Father. This is NOT a self-examination, but a practice of learning to see clearly (Luke 6:39-42) by exercising your Spirit imparted mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:1-16).
If you are more familiar with this reflective prayer, skip the “Interlude” sections. These are designed to help those of us just learning both the heart and mechanics of this habit to understand the better why behind the what. If it is helpful, set a timer on your phone at the beginning of each movement. When the timer ends, progress to the next movement of the prayer.
MOVEMENT #1 (1-2 minutes) | Recall
We start by calling attention to the context of our identity; where we find ourselves because of who we are in Jesus. Close your eyes, and take three deep breaths. Let each exhale clear your mind of distractions: both good and bad, physical and mental, important and petty.
In the clarity of this moment, read the prayer of Jesus over yourself, listen to his words as he prays with his Father and ours on your behalf,
Father, it’s time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.
I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world;
They’ll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind
As we are one heart and mind.
As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a night watch.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
Now I’m returning to you.
I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing
So my people can experience
My joy complete in them.
I gave them your word;
The godless world hated them because of it,
Because they didn’t join the world’s ways,
Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways.
I’m not asking that you take them out of the world
But that you guard them from the Evil One.
They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.
Make them holy—consecrated, set apart—with the truth;
Your word is consecrating truth.
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,
I give them a mission in the world.
I’m consecrating myself for their sakes
So they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
I’m praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me.
Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.
MOVEMENT #2 (2-3 minutes) |Setteling
Now, as you sit in silence, recall that you are in the presence of God because of Jesus. Renew your awareness of God’s love for you as your one true and perfect Father. Ask the Holy Spirit to settle your heart and mind upon the reality of where your identity as a child of God reveals you to be, and the life you are invited to live with him.
INTERLUDE #1 |
Teresa of Avilla wrote: “Almost all problems in the spiritual life stem from a lack of self-knowledge.”[1]
We all have identities that we use to help us navigate our day to day lives. We use them to define our sense of being, our purpose, and thus, they allow us to have some stability and direction in this world, and that is a good thing! Many of these identifiers are, in-and-of-themselves, good: woman, parent, husband, accountant, artist. etc.. Some identifiers, no matter their commonality, are simply untrue. You are not who the world—the marketers or social media—say that you are. Nor are you solely who you say you are—whether you have a high or low opinion of yourself. Nor are you merely the culmination and fulfillment of your desires—whether they manifest as convictions or in confusion.
Whether good or untrue, our identities influence, determine, and even limit the ways we relate to and experience our everyday world—all those things and people we see and all the things and beings we do not. And so, as Teresa of Avilla astutely pointed out, if we lack accurate self-knowledge, we will struggle in relating to God, his world, and even ourselves. All our anxieties, arrogance, and apathy in faith stem from this lack of self-knowledge — a misappropriation of our good identities or merely living under the influence of untrue identities.
And so, we need to recall who we are. To remind ourselves and one another in the same way John reminds his faith family,
What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.
But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.
(1 John 3:1-3, The Message)
So, becoming like Jesus is learning to answer the question, “Who am I” appropriately and accurately. Recalling that we are fundamentally God’s children—and all the responsibilities that come with that status—and others are fundamentally sisters and brothers—and all the responsibilities that come with that kinship. When we see ourselves as God see us all the relations of everyday life, our good identities, giftings, histories, find their accurate weight, their good measure, and thus we can be our true selves and live a real, eternal life.
To help us in our endeavor to become like Christ, we put into this habit known as the Prayer of Examen.
Richard Foster goes explains that “(The Prayer of Examine) has two basic aspects, like two sides of a door. The first is an examen of consciousness through which we discover how God has been present to us throughout the day and how we have responded to his loving presence.”[2] It is first side, the examen of consciousness that we move into now.
MOVEMENT #3 (5-10 minutes) | Examen of Consciousness
Once again, quiet your heart. Take three deep breaths as you recall the loving presence and full life that your identity as a child of God invites you to take up residence.
Now, process your week’s high points. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you reveiw your week from beginning to end, identifying God’s presence and provision review. Take note especially of those encounters and experiences where you were most aware of God’s nearness, most responsive to the Spirit’s leading, most like Jesus in your actions and attitudes, and your soul was most at peace. You may ask questions like:
For what/who am I most grateful for?
Where was I aware of God’s nearness?
When was I responsive to the Spirit’s leading?
Where was I most like Jesus in my actions and attitudes when relating to God (as Father), others (as brothers & sisters) and myself (as God’s child)?
What action, mindset, or rhythm should I try to repeat with intention?
What patterns (or habits) helped me become more like Jesus in how I related to God and others?
INTERLUDE #2
There is a basic assumption in our faith that we never fully live up to who we are meant to be. We are “always arriving” as on pastor notes. This realization stems from our identity as children, who are ever-maturing, having to learn to grow up and all that this natural process demands. It also comes from a realization that we are children amid a rebellion, whose own hearts’ are drawn to ways other than God’s way for us.
Like Jesus, we too are expected to grow, and to mature through the struggles of such growth.
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
“While he lived on earth, anticipating his death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was a son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffured, just as we do.” (Hebrews 5:7-8)
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
(Romans 8:16-17, ESV )
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through…
(Romans 8:15-17, The Message)
And so, we learn to pray with the psalmist, not with trepidation but with great expectation, for the God who birthed us to help us mature, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me, and know my anxious thoughts! See if there is any hurting ways within me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Ps. 139:23-24)
Which leads to, “The second aspect is an examen of conscience in which we uncover those areas that need cleansing, purifying and healing.”[3]
MOVEMENT #4 (5-10 minutes) | Examen of Conscience
Once again, quiet your heart. Take three deep breaths as you recall the loving presence and full life that your identity as a child of God invites you to take up residence.
Now process your week’s low points. Ask the Spirit to search your heart and bring to your memory those moments in the week when you were least aware or even ignoring God’s presence, least responsive or out-right rejecting the Spirit’s leading, least like Jesus in your actions and attitudes, and those encounters and experiences when your soul was anxious or unsettled.
You can ask the following questions:
For what/who am I least grateful for, or what drained me?
Where did I miss God’s nearness?
When was I dismissive to the Spirit’s leading?
Where was I least like Jesus in my actions and attitudes when relating to God (as Father), others (as brothers & sisters) and myself (as God’s child)?
What action, mindset, or rhythm should I try to keep from repeating with intention?
What patterns (or habits) kept me from becoming more like Jesus in how I related to God and others?
INTERLUDE #3
Paul reminds us that
“…while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly…[for] God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6,8)
Remembering God’s grace that we live in, we can look forward to tomorrow and prayerfully ask the Father for his work to become complete in us, and so we enter our final movement of the Prayer of Examen.
MOVEMENT #5 (3-5 minutes) | Looking Forward to Tomorrow
This is where you get to use the journal! Reflecting on your conversation with the Father thus far, and what the Spirit has revealed, right down your reflections on the following questions:
Is there anything, or a relationship with anyone, where I need to take a step toward restoration tomorrow or this week?
Is there anything God is asking me to (1) start doing, (2) stop doing, (3) start believing or thinking, (4) stop believing or thinking, (5) to commit to, (6) or to stop committing to?
End your time praying as Jesus taught us to pray as his sisters and brothers and fellow heirs.
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the Evil One.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13
[1] Quoted in Peter Scazzero’s, Emotionaly Healthy Spirituality, 65.
[2] Foster, 27-28.
[3] Ibid. 28.