You may already know of the examen prayer, but I only recently found out about it. For those of you who may not know of it, I’ll give you just a brief overview, as a single blog post cannot provide you with all that this wonderful prayer entails. So, I encourage you to research it for yourself, see if it’s a fit and with God’s grace, practice it.
This practice may seem simple enough but it’s profound in
its simplicity in that, it purposely brings spiritual power into everyday life
since it fosters intimacy with God as you grow in your awareness and communication
with Him daily.
The examen prayer taps into a love for God that our hearts
yearn for but may never fully experience because it is said that getting into a
regular and enduring practice of it is not easy for many people; wanting a
closer relationship with God, they begin the practice with much fervour but then,
for one reason or another, can’t sustain it.
O God, you are my God, and I
long for you. My whole being desires you; like a dry, worn-out, and waterless
land, my soul is thirsty for you. – Psalm 63:1 (GNT)
Perduring in the examen prayer requires a genuine desire to love
God thoroughly, coupled with willing determination. Both must be present if you
are to effectively develop the practice into a lifestyle.
The practice paves the way to a spiritual experience like no other, where you are able to discern God’s loving, spiritual communications.
This powerful practice of prayerful reflection, is done at
the end of each day, and involves five steps, however even before you get into
these steps, you must become aware of God’s presence, so find a quiet space.
Gratitude: Take the time to be
grateful; thank God for the blessings of the day just lived.
Review: Examine your day with God – carefully and honestly look at both the highs and the lows you would have experienced during the day; analyse the choices you’ve made, the decisions you’ve taken and ask God to reveal to you anything that happened that you did not recognize as divine intervention.
Forgiveness: Seek God’s forgiveness for those moments in the day where your heart was not aligned with His.
This method of praying is associated with Saint Ignatius who
subscribed to looking back at his day with God, thanking Him for being present
in his life and being attentive to where God’s grace has been present in the everyday
events of his life, as a means of developing an awareness of how God works in
his life daily.
Practicing the examen prayer is about finding God in all
things, seeing God in the tiniest of details and getting in tune with the
spiritual reality that is all around us.
It is transforming.
You and I cannot continue living life spiritually oblivious.
There is a spiritual war, and we are caught in the midst of it.
for our struggle is not
against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12 (NRSVUE)
The battle for our souls is very real and praying in this way,
opens our eyes, ears and hearts to God daily. We must willingly accept what’s
from God and adamantly reject what’s not of God.
So submit to [the authority
of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. –
James 4:7 (AMP)
When you submit to the authority of God and stand firm against the devil, all the hollowness, the emptiness you feel is replaced with the fullness of God including peace, joy, and a deep sense of satisfaction.
The examen prayer is believed by many to be an integral part of growth in the spiritual life, as observing this practice increases your awareness of what God is doing in you and around you.
Being cognitive of God’s presence today, being grateful for God’s
goodness to you today, prepares you to live differently tomorrow.
Amen †
Shelley Johnson “The Examen Prayer” ©2026 June 14, 2026
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