Mark Sorensen Life has been crazy, of late. Working full time as a pastor AS WELL as a full time seminary student tends to lead to a lot of “to-do’s” in my daily calendar. I often find that, even in my down time, I am not fully present as I am looking ahead to the next project or task that must be accomplished. To tell the truth? It even feels like my busyness is not even my fault. It’s almost as if, my busyness often is seeking me out. For example. This past Christmas Eve, somewhere in the midst of preaching five services at the Woodlands UMC, UPS delivered my January semester school books and they found themselves placed nicely on my desk. I walked into my office between services and there they were: 900 pages of required theology reading due January 6. (sigh)
So, what’s the answer? Do we turn off our calendar notifications and stop working? Not reality, I know. But one simple step we can do? Pray. And, more than just pray, be fully present in the midst of our prayers. Here’s where our friend Ignatius comes to the scene.
Last semester, I read of and learned about a simple and powerful prayer credited to St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556). This prayer called the Prayer of Examen, is all about being fully present in our communication with God and broken down into four categories. Let me walk you through them.
Presence
Here, you simply stop and recognize the presence of God. It’s centering into the psalmists words found in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God”. Take some time to just focus on the nearness of God and open yourself up to His presence in your life.
Gratitude
Meister Eckhart said once, “If the only prayer you say in your entire life is ‘ThankYou’, that would suffice.” As you look back over the past 24 hours of your life, what is there to give thanks for? What can you lift up? Paul says in Ephesians, “Praise be to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with ever spiritual blessing in the heavens” (Eph 1:3).
Review
Here, take a moment and review your actions over the past 24 hours. What can you learn? A better question is this: “When or where in the past 24 hours were you cooperating most fully with God’s action in your life? When were you resisting?”
Response
Lastly, having spent time remembering, the natural next step is found in response. Take time to journal or pray and look to answer this question: “beginning today, how do you want to live your life differently?”
I found the format of this prayer to be incredibly simple. Simple, however, does not equate to easy. Imagine what a spiritual discipline this would actually be if we took this prayer seriously. Not just once or twice over the next several months, but, instead, each day of this new year.
May you find moments of stillness and in those moments may you take the necessary steps to experience God’s presence, give thanks for what He has done, review where God has been in your life and how you can live differently into His steps as a response.
