In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving this coming weekend.
It is my most favourite holiday of the year, for it is always good to be reminded to give thanks … and there is always something to be thankful for.
Over the past number of weeks I have encountered, in a handful of places and ways, St. Ignatius’ prayer of Examen, and I find it to be a good outline for sincerely thankful prayer.
Ignatius of Loyola was born, in Spain, in the late fourteen hundreds and lived into the mid fifteen hundreds. He was a Catholic Priest who founded the Jesuits. The Prayer of Examen is from his book The Spiritual Exercises.
The Prayer of Examen is not rote but is reflective and personal/intimate.
The steps and order of prayer are as follows (from http://www.ignatianspirituality.com):
1. Become aware of God’s presence.
2. Review the day with gratitude.
3. Pay attention to your emotions.
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
5. Look toward tomorrow.
Basically one starts out seeking God’s presence. Really this is more about us entering consciously, into his presence, then it is he entering into ours, for he is always with us … we simply are not always aware of this fact.
Then you look over your day, noticing all in it that you are thankful for.
Though we Christians do not normally put much stock into our emotions, and many would even say to not trust them. Yet God can speak to us in our feelings of joy, sorrow, melancholy, fear and anger. He may even awaken us, through the noting of our emotions of the day, to act in some way.
Then, choose one specific part of the day, it will come to you, to specifically pray about. Perhaps it will prompt to make an apology, a confession, a dinner for a friend in need.
Finally, pray for the day to come. For strength, for courage, for wisdom.
(click here for more details on how to pray the Examen).
Basically such reflective, personal prayer can not only be relevant when praying, but throughout the day, as our reflections begin to make us aware of God’s presence in all of our days. We can become sensitive to God’s presence in our life, in our days, not just when our head is bowed, or hands lifted in praise but when we are paying the bills, running kids to soccer and dance, standing in line at the grocery store.
It can convert us to followers of God who are intimately aware of his presence in every part of our day, not just the times we bow our heads.
itsawonderfilledlife 