Morning Examen

The Examen prayer is one of the foundations of Ignatian prayer. This version of the Examen is to be prayed in the morning, assessing your desires, feelings, and possible challenges as you face a new day. God will be journeying with you today, and the best way to start is with prayer.

Transcript

Good morning.

As you prepare to begin the day,

Your mind may not be as calm as you hope.

Still,

We ought to thank God for a new day with new opportunities for grace.

Good morning,

God.

I come to you as I am now,

Imperfect,

Tired,

Hopeful.

Thank you for my beating heart and my breathing lungs,

Which have given me yet another day in your creation.

Desire is so important an indicator in Ignatian spirituality.

Indeed,

Just your desire for a moment with God indicates the presence of God with you right now as you go about your morning routine,

Perhaps commuting,

Perhaps at work or at home.

As you begin to recognize this presence,

Ask yourself,

What desires do I have for today?

Now,

Take a survey of your feelings right now.

How did you sleep?

Have any feelings or excitements or fears spilled over to the morning?

Do you feel confident?

God knows these feelings well because God created you.

Feelings happen to you.

They do not define you.

As you begin today,

You go forth as God made you,

Loved with certain talents and gifts.

This is your identity in God.

With this in mind,

Do you anticipate any challenges today,

Good or bad?

Now,

Take your desires for today,

Your feelings right now,

And the challenges you anticipate and give them to God.

What would be your one sentence to God right now as you face a new day?

Speak it to God right now.

With a spirit of renewal and trust,

Let us end with a prayer by Jesuit John Veltri.

If I am to lie low,

Help me to do it patiently.

If I am to do nothing,

Let me do it gallantly.

I pray just for today,

For these 24 hours,

For the ability to cooperate with others according to the way Jesus taught us to live.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

May these words that he taught us become more than words.

Please free my thinking and feelings and the thinking and feelings of others from all forms of self-will,

Self-centeredness,

Dishonesty,

And deception.

Along with my brothers and sisters,

I need this freedom to make my choices today according to your desires.

Send your spirit to inspire me in time of doubt and indecision so that together we can walk along your path.

Amen.

For more resources on prayer,

Visit godinallthings.

Com slash prayer.

Amen.

Reviews

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Love Andy’s examens, the music is a little loud for me on this one

Love having a Christian meditatiion to start the day!!

Although I don’t identify as strictly Christian, I feel many religious studies have wisdom and this meditation is no different. Peaceful and meaningful. Thank you

I really enjoy this sple, guided process to get my heart, mind, and soul in the right place for a good start to my day.

Thank you 🙏

This is a wonderful way to start the day! A new favorite.

Useful thank you.

Thank you Andy finally found someone who is God center

I am so blessed to have found this here. It’s a great way to start my day. Thank you!

I would like to start each day with this beautiful meditation and prayer.

Andy, thank you for sharing this brief yet focused prayer for starting the day. Thy will be done. 🙏🏻

Thank you for this comforting and self loving meditation which has helped me to feel a little more focussed 🙂

Wonderful way to start the day. Thank you.

Wonderful morning prayer. I will listen to this often. Thank you

Thank you for a simple approach to morning prayer. This is exactly what I needed. I love the Jesuit prayer at the end. 💕

Thank you for leading me through The Examen this morning. It was just what I needed. Look forward to praying with you tomorrow.

The perfect prayer delivered PERFECTLY, I have a proper spiritual experience every night. Thank you Andy, I have never walked so closely my Father

Thank you. This was a good start to the day to help get my thinking and spirit aligned 🙏🏾

Love that this is in Insight Timer! Great way to start the day