In 1522, Ignatius of Loyola had his leg shattered by a cannonball and began his pilgrimage towards Jerusalem. He got waylaid along the way and ended up in cave somewhere writing his thoughts on spiritual exercises. One of those exercises has come to be called “The Examen.”

The Examen is a habit or practice that helps Christians pray about their daily attitudes and behaviors. Some have called this practice, “Rummaging for God: Praying backwards through your day.” There are all kinds of variations on The Examen. Some focus on a specific spiritual topic. Others reflect on activities during a portion of a day and still others ruminate at the end of each day.

In any case, it is a great way to regularly review our lives (particularly before bedtime) and see where we can improve.

In order to become more aware of God’s presence in our lives this week, we might walk through these particular Examen steps outlined by John Ortberg:

Review: This is a chance to recall all the events of the day and notice where God “showed up.” It won’t take very long to notice that He is with us all the time. We just don’t notice His encounters when we are too occupied with “stuff.”

Gratitude: As we flip through those events, we need to stop and thank Him for both His specific and His “common” grace. For example, we can thank Him that the sun came up (“common grace”). And we can thank Him that we had enough money to pay our bills (specific grace). For both, we should be grateful.

Sorrow: Were there any moments throughout the day when we ignored the Lord or were so distracted that we felt removed from Him. That ought to break our hearts. So, let’s tell Him so.

Forgiveness: Here is the opportunity to humbly ask Him to forgive us for our sins of omission and commission. What should we have done? What should we have avoided? Before we nod off to sleep, this is a chance to clear out our “sin list.”

Grace: Now we are ready to ask the Lord for the grace we need for tomorrow.  All of us want to live more aware of His presence. So, let’s ask for His grace to care for others. Let’s ask for His grace to be more obedient and become more like His Son.

Each evening let’s seek His face. The Examen can help.