Awareness Exercise
Give
about ten minutes a day to this. You can do it in your
shower!
God interacts with us in countless ways all day long,
and especially when we pray. He inspires, invites, guides
and cautions us. But he doesn’t shout or shove;
he nudges and whispers. God respects our freedom too
much to identify himself openly as God speaking until
he knows we want to hear what he says. All we have to
do to ignore him is just not listen very hard. The Awareness
Exercise is a way to listen, to identify God’s
action in our hearts and our response to it.
To begin, pause for a moment, clear your mind, recall
the presence of God and ask God to help you.
The first step is to get in touch with your feelings.
Feelings are never good or bad, because they are not
free acts. But they can be useful to tell us which way
the wind is blowing in our hearts, and the wind may
be the Holy Spirit. So look for any change you have
experienced in your feelings during the day or during
the prayer you have just made. "How did I feel
when I began this day or meditation? How do I feel now?
Did my mood change at any moment? Was it because of
some thought I had? Did I make a choice I feel good
about? Or do not feel at peace with? Has any thought
been bugging me? Is there something I need to reconsider,
look at more deeply?"
Next, make a judgment about the source of these feelings.
Is there some obvious natural explanation? Or is God
perhaps assuring you that you are on course by giving
you peace, or disturbing your peace to warn you that
you are getting off course? Have the courage to take
a stance toward the decisions and choices of the day,
to decide they were right, wrong or doubtful. You don’t
have to be absolutely certain, but come to a decision
and see if you feel at peace with it.
Then speak to God about what you are going to do now.
Look to the future. Change any choice God is asking
you to change. Take a deliberate stance of faith, encouragement,
love. Ask Jesus to be your Way. Surrender to him.
