Practice the Holy Spirit Examen Discipleship Cycle
Read John 16:7-15
According to Jesus in John 16:7, The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is even better than Jesus in the flesh right next to us. Do you value the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life that much?
What are some of the different things that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do? List them out.
Go and do
Learning to recognize how the Holy Spirit is working in your life, speaking to you and leading you, is something that takes practice. One resource to help us develop this skill is a spiritual exercise called The Examen. It’s basically a simple daily rhythm of reflection to cultivate awareness of God’s work in your life. For the next week, each night when you go to bed, take a few minutes to reflect back on your day asking these questions:
- How did I recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence with me today? Were there any points where I sensed the Holy Spirit speaking to me or inviting me to do something?
- Where did I miss out on an opportunity to partner with the Holy Spirit? Were there any moments when I chose to not respond to what the Holy Spirit was saying? Were there moments when I let the noise of life drown out the Spirit’s voice?
- After reflecting, take a moment to thank God for his presence with you today. Release the missed opportunities, yield yourself to God, and invite the Holy Spirit to meet you in fresh ways tomorrow.
Let’s practice doing this together for the next 20 minutes so that we know what to do each night on our own. If you are easily distracted, put your phone away. Use a journal or a sheet of paper to write a short answer to each of the above questions.
Reflect on what you learned
- How did it go? Were you able to stick with this rhythm for a week?
- Where did you feel excited in your reflections? Where did you feel disappointment?
- How do you think your relationship with the Holy Spirit would be different if you embraced this rhythm of reflection every day?
Download Practice the Holy Spirit Examen Discipleship Cycle (pdf)
