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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Books Spiritual Disciplines Handbook Adele Ahlberg Calhoun An Alter in the World Barbara Brown Tayor The Spirit of the Disciplines Dallas Willard The Divine Hours Phyllis Tickle Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster Interior Castle Teresa of Avila PRAYER OF EXAMEN PRAYING THE PSALMS WALKING PRAYER SOAKING PRAYER Smartphone Apps LECTIO DIVINA Examen Prayer by Michael Denk Centering Prayer by Contemplative Outreach BLESSING PRAYER Websites Contemplativeoutreach org Gravitycenter com PRAYER POSTURES CENTERING PRAYER FIXED HOUR PRAYER Descriptions adapted from The Upper Room Living Prayer Center Contemplative Outreach Gravity Center
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Books Spiritual Disciplines Handbook Adele Ahlberg Calhoun An Alter in the World Barbara Brown Tayor The Spirit of the Disciplines Dallas Willard The Divine Hours Phyllis Tickle Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster Interior Castle Teresa of Avila PRAYER OF EXAMEN PRAYING THE PSALMS WALKING PRAYER SOAKING PRAYER Smartphone Apps LECTIO DIVINA Examen Prayer by Michael Denk Centering Prayer by Contemplative Outreach BLESSING PRAYER Websites Contemplativeoutreach org Gravitycenter com PRAYER POSTURES CENTERING PRAYER FIXED HOUR PRAYER Descriptions adapted from The Upper Room Living Prayer Center Contemplative Outreach Gravity Center
PRAYER OF EXAMEN Ignatius of Loyola 1491 1556 was a Spanish priest theologian and founder the Jesuit Order He encouraged everyone to learn the prayer of Examen In fact he taught if you had to drop every other prayer in your day this one should be dropped last He believed it was that important Dawn Prayer Lauds Sunrise 5 00am So what is examen Examen is a reflection done in the presence of God on the events of your day and your responses to them Its purpose is to notice God s steadfast presence throughout our day and to discern His direction for us Examen teaches that our responses to daily events fall into two categories Early Morning Prayer Prime First hour 6 00am Mid Morning Prayer Terce Third house 9 00am Consolations things that connect us with God Desolations things that disconnect us from God Midday Prayer Sext Sixth hour 12 00pm Examen helps us become aware of seemingly insignificant moments that can ultimately give keen spiritual direction The prayer of examen also forms our hearts in the practice of gratitude PRACTICE IT Examen should take about fifteen minutes enough time to reflect listen and discern well and involves three basic parts Before you begin find a place you can relax and be comfortable Mid Afternoon Prayer Nones Ninth hour 3 00pm Evening Prayer Vespers Sunset 6 00pm Night Prayer Compline At Bedtime 9 00pm
FIXED HOUR PRAYER Fixed hour prayer is the oldest form of Christian spiritual discipline and has its roots in the Judaism out of which Christianity came Fixed hour prayer is also commonly referred to as the divine offices or the liturgy of the hours When the Psalmist says Seven times a day do I praise You he is referring to fixed hour prayer as it existed in ancient Judaism We do not know the hours that were appointed in the Psalmist s time for those prayers But eventually Christians began to follow fixed hour prayers by the Roman work day six in the morning mid morning break at nine the noon meal the mid afternoon break at three and the close of the business day at six With the addition of evening prayers and early prayers upon arising the structure of fixed hour prayer was established in a form that is very close to that which Christians still use today TRY IT The major purpose of fixed hour prayer is remembrance or remembering God hold all things despite the rigor and busyness of our schedules We are often addicted to finishing and unable to stop If you practice the hours or some of them be prepared to stop in the middle of whatever you are doing to simply be with God and acknowledge remember he is sovereign over your life and over all the earth 1 TRANSITION Still yourself and become aware of God s presence Move yourself to a quiet place free from distractions Take a deep breath become aware of God s love for you 2 GRATITUDE Reflect on and thank God for each blessing of the day from waking until this moment Make your gratitude specific based on your experiences of the day If your heart spent this entire prayer in gratitude it would be enough 3 PETITION Ask God for the grace to see whatever He wants you to see in the next step Knock and the door will be opened to you Matthew 7 7 3 DISCERNMENT Review the day with the Father and ask him to help you see 1 when you were with Him consolations and 2 when you were moving away from Him desolations 3 FORGIVENESS Ask and receive forgiveness for moments you walked separate from God Be as specific as possible Receive his grace freely 3 RESOLUTION With God make some concrete resolutions for tomorrow
CENTERING PRAYER PRAYING THE PSALMS Psalms has been called the prayer book of the Bible in both Jewish and Christian traditions Because the psalms range so widely in emotional expression from the heights of adoration and praise to the depths of vengeful curses against the enemy they have special relevance to our prayer life They teach us to hide nothing from God but to bring all that is real into the only relationship that can bless the best in us and heal the worst in us No matter what we are feeling distress trust anger or delight we find the words of the psalms accompany us into God s presence These prayers give us words to glorify confess hope ask and doubt In so doing they give us permission to share our whole being with God Some examples of Psalms to pray in the midst of different feelings and experiences Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of God s presence within us It is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer Rather it adds depth of meaning to all prayer Centering Prayer offers a way to grow in intimacy with God moving beyond conversation towards communion TRY IT 1 Sit in an upright attentive posture in a way that allows for a straight spine Place hands in your lap 2 Choose a simple word that reflects a characteristic of God or name for God Love Christ Peace 3 Gently close your eyes and bring to mind your word as your symbol to consent to the presence and action of God within you Your word should be the same every time you pray It helps to ground you in the present moment allowing you to give your undivided loving attention to God 4 Silently with eyes closed recall your word to begin your prayer As you notice your thoughts gently return to your sacred word Do this however many times you notice your thoughts As you settle you will begin to notice God s presence more and more 5 When your prayer period is over transition slowly from your prayer practice to your active life It is recommended to pray in this fashion for a minimum of 20 minutes two times a day Start out slowly with initial prayer periods of five to ten minutes working up to the desired length of time