PRAY

In order to help us orientate our day around the presence of Jesus, we have created some simple morning and evening rhythms of prayer for the whole church to join in with.

As we seek to learn how to pray and abide with Jesus, we will P.R.A.Y in the morning and practice the Examine at night.

MORNING

Set aside 10 minutes at the beginning of your day, possibly after you’ve done BREAD, to pray using the acronym P.R.A.Y. below.

Praise: Spend time praising God for who He is and what He’s done for us.

Repent: The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which means to turn around. Repenting is therefore about choosing to turn towards God, saying sorry where we need to, and turning to Him with the things that are facing us today.

Ask: Spend some time naming things and asking God for His kingdom to come in the things that lie ahead of you today, in the lives of those you know and in the world around.

Yield: To yield means to surrender, so spend some time surrendering to Jesus and listening to what He might want to say to you today.

EVENING

Before you go to bed, carve out 10 minutes to pray through the prayer of Examen — a prayerful reflection which enables you to review the day gone by and to look with anticipation and motivation towards the day to come.

Find a quiet place at the end of the day and open yourself to the presence of God and use these four simple steps to frame your time:

Replay the day in order to recognise your emotions and God’s presence with you.

Rejoice in all the good things of the day and where you saw God at work.

Repent of the ways in which you did not follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

Resolve to surrender and live for Jesus tomorrow.


Helpful Verses:

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23–24

“Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6.16

Interesting Quotes:

“The Examen is an immediate solution to the problem of ‘what do I pray about?’ The answer is: everything that’s happened to you today. You might have the impression that your everyday life is the dreary same old, same old. It isn’t. Daily life is rich and meaningful. Every encounter, every challenge, every disappointment, and every delight is a place where God can be found.” Jim Manney

“The Examen makes us aware of moments that at first we might easily pass by as insignificant; moments that ultimately can give direction for our lives.” Dennis Linn