Believe: Lent Daybook 4
Take a few deep breaths, settle your body, mind, and heart into a quiet space, and let’s begin with prayer.
Opening prayer: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you’ve created as I savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: a small brown bird, Sister Corita Kent - Source
Transcribed text: “to believe in god is to know that all the rules are fair and that there will be wonderful surprises “(Ugo Betti)
Listen: Conversion, Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
Read: Psalm 30, 32; Psalm 42, 43; Deuteronomy 7:17-26; Titus 3:1-15; John 1:43-51
Excerpts:
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and did not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
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“If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?’ do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
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Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silent, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Selah
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For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
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Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your torrents; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
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O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
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The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
—Psalm 30:1-5; Deuteronomy 7:17-19; Psalm 32:1-7; Titus 3:3-7; Psalm 42:7-8, Psalm 43:3-5; John 1:43-51
Pray & Do: On Saturdays during Lent, we’ll spend about 15 minutes practicing a devotional exercise known as an examen. This is a spiritual discipline of prayer first modeled by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The prayer practice has remained a dynamic, deeply-meaningful way to develop our capacity to hear God and our own hearts as well.
Start with silence. Take some time to be silent, without any noise or distraction, to pause and calmly think about the first few days of Lent. I’ve come to call this time a selah pause.
The Hebrew word selah (see-lah) is repeated throughout the Psalms. The definition of this word is probably a musical reference, calling for a break in the singing of the Psalm. The Amplified Bible (AMP) adds the explanatory phrase "pause, and calmly think of that!" each time the word selah shows up in the Psalms.
There’s no need to strive for profound insight during this time. Just be still.
If you begin to sense thoughts or feelings bubbling up in the quiet, notice them without trying to analyze them. You might breathe a simple prayer each time you're tempted to become distracted. For example, when you feel distracted or anxious breathe in “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and exhale “have mercy on me the sinner.” Another option is to echo the psalmist: "Selah, pause and calmly think of that.”
After about 5 minutes of silence, pray through the questions listed here:
Ask God for light. I want to look at my week with God’s eyes, not merely my own.
Give thanks. The week I’ve just lived is a gift from God. I give thanks.
Notice places you felt connected to the love of God, others, and yourself. I calmly think back on the week just completed, trusting the Holy Spirit to help me recall whatever’s helpful. I notice the places I felt most connected to the love of God, others, and myself.
Notice places you distanced yourself from the love of God, others, and yourself. I acknowledge what I’ve done or left undone that made it difficult for me to connect with the love of God, others, and myself.
Look forward to the week to come. I ask God where I need help and a greater connection with love for the coming week.
Trust God as your Heavenly Father to be present with you through Christ and by his Spirit. End your time with a simple prayer or chorus.
Go about your day and into the weekend with peace.
You might also enjoy: Examen For The End of the Week via Pray-As-You-Go
*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year A of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 (Anglican Church of North America). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1).