The Prayer of Examen

It is a wonderful thing to sense the stirrings of the Spirit. Recently, the elder'’s at Olympic View Friends Church have been convicted that Christ is calling the body of OVFC to becomes a group of people that learns to recognize God's voice speaking in everyday life. When we become aware of God leading and teaching us in the ordinariness of life, we become more and more aware of the places in our life that God is calling to reform and the places in our lives that God is encouraging.

The Prayer of Examen is a strange sounding name for something quite simple: a way of letting God make an examination of our lives. This prayer is not a petition, or a prayer of intercession, but a prayer that gives God space to lead us and convict us.

The examen helps us:

• • Acknowledge sad or painful feelings and hear how God is speaking to us through them.

• Overcome a pessimistic outlook by encouraging us to notice the good in each day.

• Tell the truth about who we truly are and what we need, rather than who we think we should be.

• Become aware of seemingly insignificant moments that ultimately can give direction for our lives.

In the wonderful little book, Sleeping with Bread by Dennis, Sheila, and Matthew Linn a process for daily praying the examen as a family or alone is described:

Preparation:

You may wish to light a candle. Do whatever helps you to experience God's loving presence with you. Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in God's love, and when you breathe out, fill the space around you with it.

Step 1:

Ask God to bring to your awareness the moment today when you were most able to give and receive God'’s love.

• If you could relive one moment, which one would it be?

• What moment filled you with the most gratefullness?

• Ask yourself what was said and done in that moment that made it so good.

Breathe in the gratitude you felt and receive life again from that moment.

Step 2:

Ask God to bring to your awareness the moment today where you least able to give and receive God'’s love.

Ask yourself what was said and done in that moment that made it so difficult. Relive the feelings without trying to change or fix it in any way.

Take deep breaths and let God's love fill you just as you are.

Step 3:

Give thanks for whatever you have experienced. If possible, share as much as possible of these two moments with a friend.

My friends, we are set here for God'’s purposes, our life is not our own it is God'’s. Our existence as a church is defined by God'’s mission for the world. Let us be aware of the variety of ways God calls to us and let us obediently respond.