I believe that God is at work in every aspect of my life.
I just need to see what he is doing.
As I said last week, I have been pondering David's words in Psalm 68:19: "Praise the Lord; praise God our saviour! For each day he carries us in his arms."
That tells me that God is so intimately in touch with my life that he is carrying me, even when I don't know it.
Now, I am reading and attempting an old prayer approach that quiets me and prepares me to reflect on what God is telling me about my everyday life. He is speaking to me about the people I meet, the emotions I feel, the gifts God is giving me unawares.
The approach is called "The Examen" by the Jesuits. It is practiced today by Christians across denominations - by evangelicals as well as Catholics.
It was developed by the founder of the Jesuits - St. Ignatius Loyola - centuries ago.
A central aspect of the examen is gratitude, although there are other facets as well. Among them are confession, praying for our needs, and seeking God's guidance.
This fits well with the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4:6: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all that he has done."
Of course, my prayer times often include something of each of these features - from thankfulness to praying for my needs. The difference is that the examen asks me to reflect on my day and the coming day, looking for God's hand in my encounters with other people and in daily activities.
As I think about it, this prayer practice promises to deepen my relationship with God as I ask him to open my eyes to what he is doing.
Here are the basic elements of "The Examen" taken from this web-site - https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/how-can-i-pray:
I just need to see what he is doing.
As I said last week, I have been pondering David's words in Psalm 68:19: "Praise the Lord; praise God our saviour! For each day he carries us in his arms."
That tells me that God is so intimately in touch with my life that he is carrying me, even when I don't know it.
Now, I am reading and attempting an old prayer approach that quiets me and prepares me to reflect on what God is telling me about my everyday life. He is speaking to me about the people I meet, the emotions I feel, the gifts God is giving me unawares.
The approach is called "The Examen" by the Jesuits. It is practiced today by Christians across denominations - by evangelicals as well as Catholics.
It was developed by the founder of the Jesuits - St. Ignatius Loyola - centuries ago.
A central aspect of the examen is gratitude, although there are other facets as well. Among them are confession, praying for our needs, and seeking God's guidance.
This fits well with the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 4:6: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all that he has done."
Of course, my prayer times often include something of each of these features - from thankfulness to praying for my needs. The difference is that the examen asks me to reflect on my day and the coming day, looking for God's hand in my encounters with other people and in daily activities.
As I think about it, this prayer practice promises to deepen my relationship with God as I ask him to open my eyes to what he is doing.
Here are the basic elements of "The Examen" taken from this web-site - https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/how-can-i-pray:
- Become aware of God's presence: Invite the Holy Spirit to help you understand from his viewpoint what has happened to you during the day;
- Review the day with gratitude: For me, this is an important step. One writer puts it this way: "Walk through your day in the presence of God and note its joys and delights." I take for granted so much of what goes on around me, but these joys and delights are God's gifts to me;
- Pay attention to your emotions: What feelings did you have during the day? Were you anxious? Angry? Bored? Joyful? Confident? That should lead to asking God what he is telling you about your emotions. Is he asking you to correct mistakes or move in a new direction at work or home? Or, is he pointing out a new path in your life?
- Choose one feature of the day and pray from it: Ask the Holy Spirit to point you to something that happened during that day that is particularly important to God. It could even be something that seemed unimportant to you at the time. Pray spontaneously in praise, gratitude, repentance or intercession; and
- Look toward tomorrow: Ask God for insight into what is coming up tomorrow. Ask him for help and understanding and pay attention to your feelings as you contemplate what is coming. Tell the Lord about your thoughts in prayer.
As one writer put it: "Do all this in the spirit of gratitude. Your life is a gift, and it is adorned with gifts from God."
Amen.
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