Note: This article is written about Exodus 90, our pre-Easter exercise. Check out our article about prayer during Easter here.
During Exodus 90, we will be committing to a regimen of prayer to help us become uncommonly free.
While all of the ascetic disciplines of Exodus 90 are a type of prayer, this article will focus on the disciplines that will shape our silent contemplative prayer time during this season. These disciplines are:
🙏🏻 Make a Holy Hour each Day
🌅 Make a Morning Offering
🌜 Examine your Day
For a full list of the disciplines see "What are the Disciplines of Exodus 90?"
How to Pray
The first step to prayer is that you desire to serve God in the manner most agreeable to him. This desire will be fostered in three ways. The first is when you consider that the Almighty God deserves your worship and service. It is truly right, just, and necessary to give praise to the all-powerful creator of the universe. The second is that God became man out of love for us—for you. Not only because he is almighty but also because he is all loving you should serve him in the way that he desires. The final way to foster this desire is by contemplating your obligation to observe his law.
Ask the Lord to help you know how to pray. Have confidence that he will help you. Do not doubt the Lord. The God who loves you more than you can comprehend will not ignore your request.
Your motive for prayer must be the will of God rather than your own will. Pray because God wants you to pray. It is good if you are drawn to prayer, but it is essential that you take time to pray because God wills that you pray. In humility, surrender your will to the Lord—trust him.
What is Silent Prayer?
First, let's say what silent prayer is not. It is not merely the absence of all noise. The fathers of the church assign an eminent place to silence the in ascetical life. Interior silence can only be achieved by the absence of memories, plans, interior speech, worries, and curiosities. Silence is not merely a lack of interior and exterior noise, it is a place of encounter. We seek silence because we seek God—silence is the veil that protects the mystery.
How to Make a Holy Hour
During this spiritual exercise, you are called to commit yourself to a holy hour each day. If you can’t do an entire holy hour on a given day, do as much as you can. Preservation of the twenty minutes of silent contemplative prayer is the exercise minimum on days you cannot make a full holy hour.
For more on the structure of a daily holy hour, check out Fr. Boniface Hick's blog post about making your first holy hour
Where to Pray
Your prayer time is best done before the blessed sacrament, either exposed or reposed in a tabernacle. If neither option is available, then “go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). Find a quiet place to pray—a place free of distractions. Light a candle before you if possible. Consider bringing a crucifix into the space with you as well.
🌅 How to Make a Morning Offering
The first moments of the day can help to direct its entire course. Begin each day with God so that we can live in his presence. The easiest way to do this is by making a morning offering.
Here is one of the example prayers found in the field guide on the Exodus app.
I will try this day to live a simple, sincere and serene life, repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God. In particular I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating, and sleep which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right. And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
For more examples, check out "Morning Offering & Nighly Examen" in the field guide on the app!
🌜 How to Make a Nightly Examen
A nightly examen is a way to recount our actions throughout the day and acknowledge where we chose to respond to God’s grace and where we chose otherwise. St. Ignatius of Loyola thought that the examen was “a gift that came directly from God, and that God wanted it to be shared as widely as possible.” One of the few rules of prayer that Ignatius made for the Jesuit order was the requirement to practice the examen twice daily—at noon and at the end of the day. It’s a habit that many Christians practice to this day. During this season, we will practice at the end of each day. The following is a simplified form of how to do a nightly examen.
Call to mind God’s presence before you.
Review the many blessings of the day.
Acknowledge your sins and shortcomings.
Make a resolve and call upon the Lord.
Be filled with hope and joy.
For more examples, check out "Morning Offering & Nighly Examen" in the field guide on the app!
FAQ
If I miss a holy hour, do I need to start Exodus 90 again?
No! Amid the responsibilities of your life and vocation, an hour of prayer may not be possible each day. Do not become discouraged, feel shame, or give up on prayer because you cannot hit an hour. Do the best you can with the time that you have. If you need to start small with a few minutes and build up your time, we encourage you to do so.