In Part 1 we firmly impressed on our hearts and minds Jesus’ vision for our walk with God (piety), our relationships (people) and our approach toward money and material things (possessions). In Parts 2-4 we explore specific spiritual disciplines or practices by which we can participate with the Holy Spirit in experiencing growth in these areas for the sake of the world. Each practice can be done in ten minutes or less.
In Part 2 we focus specifically on piety—transformation in our relationship with God. We’ll explore four spiritual disciplines which can bring growth between us and God. Three days in our forty day experience will be devoted to each of these four disciplines. Thus, we’ll spend the next twelve days growing in piety.
Increasing Depth
One of the greatest lessons Jesus teaches about piety in the Sermon on the Mount has to do with our tendency to become shallow and superficial in our walk with God. Specifically, we move toward a faith which is focused on getting applause from others and on doing what looks good publicly. When around others, we appear truly intimate with God. When by ourselves, we are something else. Jesus warns against this in Matt. 6:1-18. It is also the topic of his anti-Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 23. Three times in Matt. 6:1-18 Jesus warns against practicing piety before others for their applause. Seven times in Matt. 23 Jesus warns against masquerading as spiritual people in order to gain respect and status. In Matt. 6:1-18 Jesus calls for a spirituality which is done in secret rather than performed for others. In Matt. 23 Jesus demands a faith which doesn’t just look pretty on the outside but deeply affects the inside as well.
One spiritual practice uniquely suited to moving beyond the superficial and external is called the Examen. It’s a habit which enables us to become “pure in heart” (Matt. 5:8)—that is, experiencing a faith that is not only external but internal as well.
Ignatius Loyola
The Examen was introduced by Ignatius Loyola. He was born in 1491 and was 1 of 13 children in a family of minor nobility in northern Spain. Reportedly, when Loyola was young, he was inspired by the ideals of knighthood and dreamed of doing great deeds. Then in 1521, while fighting in a battle against the French, Loyola was gravely wounded. During recovery, he experienced a conversion. As he filled his time reading about the life of Jesus and about the lives of those who followed Jesus, Loyola was filled with happiness and a desire to do great things for God. He was inspired by the examples of people like Francis of Assisi who abandoned themselves to God. After recovering from his wounds, Loyola did the same.
With a small group of friends whom he had met in school, Loyola formed what he called the “Society of Jesus,” also known as the Jesuits. And the heart of Jesuit spirituality lay in two practices: Spiritual Exercises and The Examen.[1] The Spiritual Exercises were a collection of the best-of-the-best prayers, meditations, and practices which Loyola developed as he began providing spiritual direction to others. Eventually he put them into the framework of a thirty-day retreat for people interested in growing spiritually. [2]
The second central element to Loyola’s spiritual counsel was called the Examen.[3] The Examen is a structured form of prayer. Loyola urged people to practice The Examen twice a day. Some did so at noon and then again at bedtime. It can be done in any location. The Examen consists of five steps.
For simplicity’s sake, I’ve taken Loyola’s five steps, reduced them to four and renamed them. In this way they are more easily memorized and internalized, and thus more easily practiced. The Examen can be practiced in about ten minutes.
Examen Step 1: Recognize (the presence of God)
The first step in the Examen is to recognize that you are in the presence of God. While we are always in God’s presence, the Examen begins with an intentional remembering that God is present in this moment. This first step is an attempt to recognize the reality of the following passages:
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Ps. 139:7 ESV)
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20 ESV)
26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:26-28 ESV).
5Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5 ESV)
The first step in the Examen is to recognize that God is present. This might be done by spending some moments in silence or by reading texts such as the ones above or by asking God to enable you to know that he is with you right now.
Examen Step 2: Request (enlightenment from God)
The second step in the Examen is a brief but critical step: we request help from the Holy Spirit that we might be wise and discerning before moving into the last two steps. We are about to examine the past day or half-day. Before we do, we request wisdom and assistance from the Holy Spirit. We want God to lead our examination. We want God to open our eyes to see what he wishes to show us. We seek to put into practice these promises:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5 ESV)
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matt. 7:7-8 ESV).
In the second step, we are asking and seeking for the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to reveal our heart and our true nature. We seek to put on his eyes as we move into the next step.
Examen Step 3: Review (the day’s highs and lows with God)
In the third step of the Examen, we review in detail the past day or half-day. Like an athlete watching a film from the previous game, we strive to allow the past few hours to play through our mind. At various points, we stop the film, investigate, rewind, and ask questions.
We are trying to review not only what happened in the past day or half-day, but how we acted, how we felt, and the motives that guided our behaviors. We are striving to notice patterns or habits in our day. We are seeking to identify specific situations during the day which reveal both positive and negative things to us.
We are seeking here to meditate upon and ponder all God has done during this day in our lives: I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. (Ps. 143:5 ESV)
There is a great deal of flexibility as to how we review our day or half-day in this step. But Adele Calhoun provides 6 questions which get at the heart of this step:[4]
- For what moment today am I most grateful? For what moment today am I least grateful?
- When did I give and receive the most love today? When did I give and receive the least love today?
- What was the most life-giving part of my day? What was the most life-thwarting part of my day?
- When today did I have the deepest sense of connection with God, others and myself? When today did I have the least sense of connection?
- Where was I aware of living out the fruit of the Spirit? Where was there an absence of the fruit of the Spirit?
- Where did I experience “desolation”? Where did I find “consolation”?
We wouldn’t ask all six questions each time we practice the Examen. We might just focus on one.
Ultimately, we are striving to become more conscious of the ways in which God showed up during our day and how we helped or hindered God’s activity during the day. These questions enlighten us as to the way God is moving in our day. They help us learn what God is saying to us during the day.
It is important to attend to both the high points and the low points through the Examen. Those who habitually remember only the bad will be empowered to see the good. Those who regularly can only recall the good will be encouraged to wrestle with the bad.
Here, we are asking God to search us and our day and to reveal things through that search: 1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!…23Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Ps. 139:1, 23-24 ESV)
Examen Step 4: Resolve (to live for God)
In the final step of the Examen, we move from past to future. Having reviewed the highs and lows of the past day or half-day, we now contemplate the future. What is God saying to me through the review about how to live the next day or half-day? How is God calling me to address the failures or the falls from the past few hours? How is God calling me to build on the successes and surprises of the past few hours? Are there relationships to mend? Are there sins to repent of? Are there tasks which need doing? This is a time to ask for forgiveness and for power to live in a new way for the next few hours. As we leave the Examen, we resolve to live the next day or half-day in light of what we’ve learned from the past day or half-day.
Your Turn
Let’s take ten minutes right now and practice the Examen. Consider the last half-day or last day as the focus of your Examen.
Recognize
Close your eyes. Breathe in and out, slowly. Repeat these words to yourself silently: “You are with me always. You will never leave me nor forsake me.” Recognize that God is present right here and right now.
Request
Quietly ask God to fill you with wisdom and the ability to discern. Repeat this prayer: “God, give me eyes to see what you see. Fill me with insight and wisdom as I review this day.”
Review
While there are many highs and lows to review from the past few hours, consider your answer to just these two questions: When today did I have the deepest sense of connection with God, others and myself? When today did I have the least sense of connection? Review the past few hours with just these two questions in mind.
Resolve
Having identified a time of deep connection and a time of little connection during the past few hours, now answer this question: What is God saying to me through this review? What do I resolve to do as a result of this review? Is there a relationship to nurture or repair? Is there a work of your flesh to repent of? Is there an issue to lift to God in prayer? Is there a task or project that needs to become a priority? What does God wish you to resolve to do based on your review of the day?
[1] http://ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/st-ignatius-loyola/
[2] http://ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/what-are-the-spiritual-exercises/
[3] http://www.americancatholic.org/newsletters/cu/ac0303.asp; Mindy Caliguire, Soul Searching (IVP Connect, 2008).
[4] Calhoun, 52.
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