An examen is a prayerful review of the day that focuses your attention on the movements of God in your life. By reflecting on the events of the last several hours, you can look for moments where you felt more alive and connected to God and others. You’ll also notice the events that caused you to withdraw or experience anxiety, restlessness, or frustration. Practiced daily, they help you notice patterns that may confirm and clarify your vocational calling.
In this season of your life, you’re wrestling with many questions as you navigate the various options for your vocation. In the following seven examens, you will be guided on a journey of deep, inner awareness to notice God's love for you, the movements of your own heart, the things that affect you negatively, your connection to others in community, the ways you give the best part of who you are, what is important to you, and what you want to be about. We pray that these exercises might establish some foundational practices that can aid you in discerning and noticing God's movement in your life, to begin to create a framework for healthy discernment upon which a larger discernment process can rest.
Noticing God’s Love For Me
Identity: Who has God made me? - By Eric Nicolaysen, Des Moines, IA
As I begin this series of Examen prayers and in this moment of prayer in particular, how am I being received as I arrive?
I may be focused on my own condition as I arrive to prayer now. Perhaps I’m excited or tired, full of longing, or uncertainty. My condition is important, but it is not my starting point. My beginning has to do with my reception, and my reception depends entirely on the One receiving me.
I remember reunions of people - friends, family, spouses - that I’ve both witnessed and experienced in airport terminals. They are often characterized by eager anticipation just before and an abundance of joy upon reunion. Before I even go to prayer, I bring to mind that God has been eagerly anticipating this moment when I arrive at prayer. God is receiving me with great love and full attention, such that I’m able to relax into my identity as his beloved child.
What a good gift I’ve been given!
Questions for Reflection
- As I arrive to prayer remembering the welcome and embrace of God for me. What does this welcome embrace feel like today?
- If my heart or mind are in the grip of any pressing thoughts or feelings, can I let go of those as I open myself to God now
- I may want to open my hands, signaling my surrender of these thoughts or feelings.
- Was there any time in my day where I felt the welcome of God?
- When did I feel most loved today? Sometimes the love of God comes to us through another person.
- When did I feel most out-of-tune with who I am as God’s child?
- How did I relate and respond to others today? Did I treat them as loved deeply by God or something else?
- I ask God for the grace in the next 24 hours to notice his loving welcome of me as his child.
If you're interested in more content like this, you can download our whole ebook How To Notice What God Is Doing, 7 examens to prepare your heart for Cause Con.