Reflect back on this week with Psalm 119:9-16. Is there a particular word that you have come back to repeatedly? What is it about that phrase or word that resonates with where you are in your life today?
Perhaps today is a day to look at the past week and see the patterns of what the Spirit is prompting you toward. Give yourself time to work through the questions.
Here is a way of prayer for an Examen:
1. Become aware of God’s presence. Sit in quiet for a few minutes and remind yourself of His presence and love for you. Review the events of the day/week prayerfully. Ask God to bring to your awareness the ways in which He was present with you.
2. Review the day/week with gratitude. Walk through the time with God and notice the place in which you experiencing joy. What made your soul glad as you consider the time? What gifts did the day/week bring? Pay attention to the events, the people, the circumstances – what do you see? What details seem important now that you are reflecting on the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions. What did you feel today/this week? Joy? Anger? Sadness? Fear? Loneliness? Frustration? All the emotions are gifts from God to help us see the nature of our souls and how we are responding to the world around us. What might these various emotions tell you about your life? What are in the invitations that these emotions bring forward? How did you fall short in the way that you engaged the emotions during the day?
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Ask God to show you something from the day that is significant. Pray about that feature of your day – praise, repentance, intercession – whatever arises from your spirit as you interact with God.
5. Look toward tomorrow/the next week. Ask God to give you insight. What might He want you to see? What challenges lie ahead? What gifts might you experience in the coming day? Ask for strength and wisdom and grace to enter into the next day.
Finally, take a few minutes and sit with the Lord, enjoying God's presence and love in your life. As thoughts come to you, gently lay them at the feet of the Divine – entrusting your life.
Thank you for this exercise! Sometimes I get too caught up in the negative emotions. It was helpful to see the interplay of emotions and how I learn from the mix--things are never all one or the other!