At the beginning of this new week we invite you to take a few minutes to prayerfully place yourself in a posture of openness to God. Whatever lies ahead in the day and week to come, we don’t want to miss one ounce of God’s presence within it. This prayer can help attune our awareness to that presence. 

Click Here for a guided posture prayer experience “I Open” 

* Consider pausing the video with each section, to spend even more time than the short video allows.

The Prayer of Examen is a classic spiritual practice the church has been engaging in for hundreds of years. It’s an exercise meant to attune us more sensitively to the activity and presence of God in and around us – knowing that the busy demands and general noise of our lives tend to drown out that natural awareness. 

Examen is a practice of looking backwards and re-examining where God was at work, in the hopes that it will train us to more readily spot and cooperate with where God is at work in our present moments. Which is 100% a learned – and learnable – skill! 

So today we invite you to engage this classic discipline – click here for a 10-minute guided experience.

Prayer in 6 Directions Practice 

In an unhurried fashion, we invite you to greet the 6 directions in prayer, turning your body in the direction indicated with each prayer movement. 

East: We turn to the east and face the rising sun. Praise God for the gift of new life, of new days, of youth, of belonging. 

South: Turning towards the south, thanks are given for those people, events, and things which warm our lives and help us to grow and develop. 

West: The sun sets in the west, and so we praise God for sunsets, nights, for endings in our lives. 

North: As we face the north, we remember the challenges and difficulties in life. 

Down: Bending down to touch earth, we praise the Creator for the things which sustain our lives. 

Up: Finally, as we gaze into the sky, we thank God for our hopes and dreams. Centered in the

Scripture: Click Here to read Isaiah 43:16-21 

Read the passage over slowly, prayerfully and attentively a few times. As you do, allow God to highlight a word, phrase or verse – something that jumps out at you personally. 

Observations: Think about what is being said, by who, and why they might be saying it the way they are. What is the surrounding context? What other background information do you have? How and where do you see the heart of Jesus in this? Don’t make conclusions or applications yet, just observe everything you can. 

Application: Now consider how this passage might apply personally to your life. In what way does it speak to your own circumstances? How can it help you? How does it challenge you? How does it call you to love both God and others better? How does this word from God apply directly to your day-to-day life and how you are learning to follow Jesus? 

Prayer: Now that you’ve read and reflected on God’s word and begun the process of application to your life, simply talk to God about it all. Share what’s swirling in your head

Today we invite you into the practice of prayerful worship, with the song The Same Power. Before you begin to sing, pause to consider some of these words: 

“Mighty Saviour lifted high King forever, Jesus Christ Crowned in glory, raised to life The same power lives in us” 

1. Where do these words ring true for you in your experience of life with Jesus? 

2. Where are you still longing to see this become more real in your daily experience? 

With both these realities in mind, click the link below and bring your full heart before God in worship – both in gratitude, and in prayer for the breakthrough you’re still longing for. 

Click Here for The Same Power by Worship Central