What Did You Learn Today?

Our class is studying Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard Foster. The Prayer of Examen is an opportunity to review the day and "discover how God has been present to us throughout the day and how we have responded." Next, follow with an inner reflection on "those areas that need purifying and healing." The prayer may be practiced in solitude, but it is ultimately about community, about our relationship to self, God and others. The prayer can be broken into four parts: presence, gratitude, review, and response. You can spend as much time on one section as you are inclined; the purpose is to increase awareness not to finish a fixed task. Throughout the Bible, God calls his people to remember: the covenant with Abraham, the covenant of the rainbow, the deliverance from Egypt, and the baby in a manger. At Eucharist we are called to remember as we share the bread and the wine. In our own lives we are called to remember our associations throughout the day with the Holy. The Prayer of Examen is a practice that helps us to recognize and appreciate those moments, and to allow those moments to merge into a constant presence. Richard Foster quotes Anthony Bloom in the chapter: "Your prayer must be turned inwards, not towards a God of Heaven nor towards a God far off, but towards God who is closer to you than you are aware."

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, We are a people who think highly of ourselves but find it strange to think about ourselves in a reflective manner. We consider how the world is marked by large events and not how the world is changed through the smallest encounters. Give us the wisdom to learn more about ourselves through a daily examen asking: "Where were you God? Was my face pointed towards God or away? When was I most attentive to You God? When and how was I most closed to God?" We are amazed when the answers to our questions come from our own experiences, our own actions, and our own neglect. God, You were there! Where were we? Were we daydreaming of a different life, another day? Will we be ready to recognize you tomorrow and to grow from today? We ask to learn each day how we can live in full realization and full appreciation of your constant presence. Amen