Examine Yourself
A simple prayer to end your day
Let a person examine himself… —1 Corinthians 11:28
Yesterday, I had the privilege of preaching about repentance from Psalm 51, one of the greatest prayers of personal repentance ever written. The Bible teaches that repentance is not just a one-off thing you do when you pray the Sinner’s Prayer and get saved. Rather, it should be a daily practice in the life of a disciple. One of the best ways to do that is through an examen prayer (no, I didn’t misspell that).
The examen prayer is an ancient Christian practice for daily confession. Here’s a simple method that has helped me walk in repentance and regularly confess my sin. I recommend taking about 5-10 minutes at the end of each day to pray the examen prayer.
Step 1 — Acknowledge God’s grace
Ask the Lord to bring to your mind any thoughts, words, actions, or attitudes from the day that reflected his love and grace. Pause to listen. When good things come to your mind, slow down and enjoy the happiness you feel. Acknowledge that these good things were the work of God in your life, and thank him for expressing his grace through you.
Step 2 — Ask God to convict you and then confess
Ask the Lord to bring to your mind any thoughts, words, actions, or attitudes from the day that did not reflect his love or grace—things that were not aligned with his will. Pause to listen. When these things come to mind, consider writing them down. Work your way through the list. For each item, confess to the Lord. Yes, God is just in bringing this conviction. These words, actions, attitudes, and thoughts are sinful. Sometimes, it’s helpful to imagine handing each sin to the Lord as you confess it.
Step 3 — Ask God to help you walk in forgiveness tomorrow
Pray: “I know I’m forgiven in Christ. What do you want me to do?” If any specific actions come to mind, write them down and determine to do them. Ask the Lord to give you the strength to live out his grace and love tomorrow.
Step 4 — Rejoice in God’s mercy
Thank the Lord for his unconditional love and grace! Because Jesus made atonement for our sin, verses like 1 John 1:9 bring us joy. “If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is a great one to memorize!
This simple examen prayer is a great way to end your day!