In my earlier post on listening I suggested that the spiritual life is the result of a life that listens. Our ability to learn to listen to our own life and to the voice of God are important factors in determining our progress on the journey to become like Christ. We see in the life of those who come before us (Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, Jesus, Mary of Bethany, Paul, The Church Fathers, etc.) the priority of taking time to push the pause button - and allowing time for reflection, being, and for listening. Joan D. Chittister in her book, The Rule of Benedict Insights for the Ages makes the following observation:

It is a lesson to be relearned in a modern age perhaps. There is nothing more important in our own list of important things to do in life than to stop at regular times, in regular ways to remember what life is really about, where it came from, why we have it, what we are to do with it and for whom we are to live it. No matter how tired we are or how busy we are or how impossible we think it is to do it, Benedictine spirituality says, Stop. Now. A spiritual life without a regular prayer life and an integrated community consciousness is pure illusion.

Did you catch that last sentance? Read it again.

“A spiritual life without a regular prayer life and an integrated community consciousness is pure illusion.”

And when read in context, I hear Chittister saying, without a life of prayer, meaning a life that fails to pause, cease from activity, quiet their life for the purpose of reflecting on it before the living God, is a life of illusion. A life of that leads to the absurd. A life that gets on a hamster wheel and strives, and stresses, and generates a lot of motion and activity - but fails to move in the direction of obeying the voice of God.

How do we practice a life that listens? Well a key word in the previous sentance is the word practice. There are exercises from the 2000 years of our Christian heritage that can help us to develop a life that listens. One of the practices that I have come to appreciate is often referred to as, The Prayer of Examen. This particular prayer exercise was explained by St. Ignatius in his work, The Spiritual Exercises.

The prayer of examen is a way of honestly assessing our lives in the light of God’s mercy. This prayer focuses our reflection on a narrow time span, perhaps the previous day or week. It is not intended to be a tallying of failures and successes but an assessment of how we have lived in union with God. The prayer of examen is to be practiced in solitude, but it is ultimately about community, about our relationship to self, God, and others. It is a great prayer to practice in the evening or at the close of the day.

The Prayer:

1. Remember you are in the presence of God. Take time to be still and quiet. Take a deep breath and remember that in God we live and move and have our being.

2. Recall the events of your day (or week) and ask God to show you all the moments of Grace (or moments of gratitude or times of sorrow - you can practice the Examen in reference to one or all of these various moments).

3. Invite the Holy Spirit to identify one particular moment from your day. After a particular event surfaces, don’t question it - relive that moment slowly and repeatedly.

4. Ask God, what are you saying or teaching me in this moment or what are you inviting me to do, remember or know. LISTEN.

5. Resolve to rest and grow in God’s presence. Imagine that God is sitting with you and you have the opportunity to speak to him face to face. Respond appropriately to what the Spirit of God has shown you (a need to thank, repent, obey, trust, etc.). Ask God to help you be more aware as you go through your day of His presence and to be more attentive to His voice. Rest, wait in God’s presence.

This is the Prayer of Examen. In this exercise we find in reflecting on our life the thread of the presence of God and we nurture a life that is more alert to His voice and to His work. I encourage you to take 15 - 30 minutes and try this exercise and see if it helps you become more present to yourself and to the Lord Most High.