So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do't fall! ~ 1 Corinthians 10:12
Step 10: We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Principle 7 (Celebrate Recovery): Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
In Step 10 and Principle 7 we will begin to put into practice all the steps and principles we have learned thus far. We are beginning to live in reality vs. denial, we have made our amends and now we desire to grow in our relationships with God and others.
Principle 7 nicely complements Step 10. Taking our daily time with God for self-examination helps us prepare for our personal inventory.
Something I learned about a couple of years ago was The Examen. The Examen is an ancient practice in the Church that helps us see God’s hand at work in our whole life experience. It is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day where we can detect God’s presence and discern his direction for our life.
Here is how I like to work The Daily Examen:
1: Ask God to bring to your awareness the moment today for which you are most grateful.
- If you could relive one moment, which one would it be?
- When were you most able to give and receive love today?
- Ask yourself what was said and done in that moment that made it so good.
- Breathe in the gratitude you felt and receive life again from that moment.
2: Ask God to bring to your awareness the moment today for which you are least grateful.
- When were you least able to give and receive love?
- Ask yourself what was said and done in that moment that made it so difficult.
- Relive the feelings without trying to change or fix it in any way.
- Take deep breaths and let God's love fill you just as you are.
3: Give thanks for what you have experienced. If possible, share these two moments with a friend.
The Examen is a different way of taking daily inventory, but I like how it combines my prayer time with God and a daily reflection. There are many ways to work The Examen I hope you will look into it further and consider trying it. I think you'll find it a sweet time with God as you look back over your day.
If you can't see the video screen below click here for our Road to Recovery theme song.