Prayer of Examen

The prayer of examen is a spiritual practice that creates a space and opportunity for us to spiritually reflect on our day. Ignatius of Loyola of the 1500s is accredited with developing this spiritual exercise to assist others in growing deeper in their awareness of God and awareness of self. The prayer of examen is quite simple, yet has profound spiritual impact in our lives.

In the prayer of examen, you are reflecting on two areas specifically; God's presence and your soul's encounters throughout your day. We do this exercise with the Holy Spirit; we invite Him to guide us through examining God's presence and our soul. By reflecting on God's presence, you are walking through your day and examining where you felt connected with God or where you felt disconnected with God. This practice allows us to develop a deeper understanding of when we are "most alive" in God or when we feel most distant from Him. By doing this, we are growing in awareness of God throughout our day and growing in relationship with Him.

You can also examine your soul in a similar manner by reflecting on your day. In this reflection, you are asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you through your day to search your soul. Specifically, we allow the Holy Spirit to bring up anything that needs to be addressed such as a sin we committed or where we might have had a disconnect from another person in a negative way. By doing this, we are growing in knowledge of ourselves and being reconciled to others.

The prayer of examen can also be combined with other spiritual practices such as gratitude. By this, you can reflect on your day with the Holy Spirit and give thanks to God for all the blessings you daily receive. For example, I practice examen and gratitude each day when I walk to seminary, giving thanks to God for all the blessings He has freely given me. Because of this, I am developing a deeper sense of gratitude and appreciation of God and others. This practice is having a profound impact on my spiritual life and daily attitude.


The Practical Application

• Create a space for yourself to reflect. This can be done at any point in your day. Typically, practicing the prayer of examen is best done at "turning points", such as at the end of a work day or as you are getting ready to go to sleep.
• Clear your mind. Invite the Holy Spirit to walk with you while examining God's presence throughout your day. Rest in the moments of when you felt connected with God or when you felt disconnected. Reflect on why you felt connected or disconnected. The goal of this practice is to grow in awareness of God throughout your day and knowledge of Him.
• Now invite the Holy Spirit to examine your soul. Allow Him to walk you through your day of when you sinned and did not clear it up with God or others. Also, ask the Holy Spirit to search your day of when you disconnected in relationship with other people. Reconcile in your heart with this person through forgiveness or anyway you are led. The goal of this practice is to restore your soul, and by doing this you will grow in knowledge of yourself.

Developing this practice can have a proud impact in your spiritual and personal life. By examining our day with the Holy Spirit, we can grow in knowledge and awareness of God and ourselves. I would encourage you to select a moment each day to practice the prayer of examen. This can be while your are walking to or from class, while driving to or from work, at the end of your day before you go to bed or even in your time with God in the morning (or whenever you commune with Him). I believe that if you establish this daily practice, you will have the opportunity to grow deeper in your knowledge of God and self.

Also, check out this extremely beneficial prayer of examen vimeo clip.



Holy Spirit, as we practice the prayer of examen, would you deepen our knowledge of God and self, bringing us more fully to life through Jesus. Amen.




Recommended resources to grow in the prayer of examen:

• Prayer of Examen vimeo clip: click here
• Article by George
  Aschenbrenner
  Aschenbrenner: click here 
• Prayer: Finding Heart's True Home, Richard Foster. 
•  Chapter 3: Simple Prayer of Examen