Going deeper in prayer

The Examen

The Examen is a prayerful way of reflecting on our experience of life in the presence of God, developed by St Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. In it, we are invited to encounter God, express gratitude for the gifts of each day, and commit to make up for any mistakes we may have made. 

The Reimagining the Examen app (available on Google Play and iTunes) helps you to pray the Examen wherever you are. With gentle music and step-by-step guidance, it offers themed Examens (such as when reviewing relationships or anticipating decisions, or during times of transition), as well as ‘Examens of the day’.

The Monastic Retreats website offers some useful practical guidance on how to pray the Examen, or how you might make it into a half-day retreat.

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina (or ‘sacred reading’) is an ancient monastic way of praying with scripture. It involves reading a text from the Bible several times, and allowing the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to God’s message. Once you have chosen a short passage from scripture (perhaps one of the daily readings), the simple practice involves four stages.

  • Lectio (Read): Read your chosen passage the first time. What particular word, phrase, or image stands out to you?
  • Meditatio (Reflect): Read the text a second time, focusing on the parts that stood out to you. What might God be saying to you through this?
  • Oratio (Respond): Read the text a third time, and use it to enter into a conversation with God. How does the message you found in the text relate to your life today? Pray for God’s help.
  • Contemplatio (Rest): Read the text for a final time, and spend time in silence with the Lord. Allow God to speak to you in the silence of your heart. 

Daily podcasts of Lectio Divina are available on apps such as Lectio365, and you can find the Bible readings set for every day of the year, here, taken from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Contemplative Prayer and Christian Meditation

The website of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) is full of simple practical wisdom to teach people about meditation. It has daily reflections, as well a wealth of resources to help you meditate. Likewise, the School of Contemplative Life offers two (free) weekly online sessions where you can practise Christian Meditation with other like-minded people, as well as a wealth of other downloadable resources, and a meditation timer. 

The Julian Meetings’ website has a wealth of resources to encourage and help you engage in Contemplative Prayer. Click here for a really informative and helpful introduction to how and why you might choose to pray in silence (or, for a downloadable A5-size leaflet/flipbook to hand out, click here).

Centering Prayer is another method of silent prayer that is both a relationship with God and a discipline to deepen that relationship. APR Chair, Revd Cameron Butland, is also gathering resources for people who wish to lead online contemplative retreats, which is available to download here.

Daily Prayer online

There are a number of places that offer daily prayers every day of the year; you can listen to them on their websites, or download their apps from Google Play or the Apple Store.

Lectio 365  is a free daily prayer app, with Bible-based morning, midday and night devotionals to help you experience God’s presence in your life. It is run by the 24-7 Prayer movement, which offers a wealth of other prayer resources.

Pray As You Go is a daily prayer session, designed for use on portable devices, to help you pray whenever you find time, but particularly whilst travelling. It is not a ‘Thought for the Day’, a sermon or a bible-study, but rather uses the imagination to form a framework for your own prayer. 

The Church of England’s ‘Daily Prayer‘ is the official app to help you follow Morning, Evening and Night Prayer, wherever you are. It is available as an app (with integrated audio) or as a podcast, and follows the more traditional and structured liturgy of Common Worship. You can also join their weekly online worship at 9am every Sunday, broadcast from a different church around the UK every week. Many Cathedrals (including Bradford,  Exeter and Ely) also offer regular worship via Zoom, and most Cathedrals offer some live-streamed services too, including Canterbury, Exeter and Westminster.