How to Pray the Daily Examen
The Daily Examen is a five-step prayer of reflection developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century as part of his Spiritual Exercises. Most people pray it once a day, often in the evening, looking back over the last twelve or so hours to find where God was present in them. It requires no book, no beads, and no fixed words, just ten to fifteen quiet minutes and an honest look back at the day you actually had.
Ignatius considered the Examen central to a praying life. He told his own Jesuits to keep it even on a day when every other prayer had to be dropped. The five steps below walk you through the method he taught, followed by a closing prayer to pray once you finish them.
Step 1: Become Aware of God's Presence
Sit still for a moment before you look back at anything. Ask God to be present with you in this prayer. Ask Him to show you your day the way He saw it, since your own memory of it is only part of the picture. This step is brief, often thirty seconds or less, but it sets the whole prayer apart from ordinary journaling: you are not reviewing your day alone.
Step 2: Review the Day With Gratitude
Walk through the day hour by hour, from waking up to this moment. Thank God for whatever you find: the obvious gifts and the small ones you would normally skip past. A conversation that went well, a meal, a moment of unexpected patience, a problem that resolved itself all count. Gratitude comes first because it trains you to notice what you would otherwise miss. If the day was mostly ordinary, thank God for the ordinary itself. A commute with no incident, a meeting that ran on time, a child who slept through the night count just as much as the dramatic moments.
Step 3: Pay Attention to Your Emotions
Notice where your emotions rose and fell today: the moment you felt most at peace, and the moment you felt most anxious, angry, or ashamed. St. Ignatius taught that emotions are data. A spike of joy or resistance usually marks a point where God was active, or a point where you turned away from Him. Name the feeling specifically rather than labeling the whole day 'good' or 'bad.' A flash of relief counts. So does a burst of irritation at a small delay, or a pull toward avoiding someone. Each one is worth a second look.
Step 4: Choose One Moment and Pray From It
Out of everything you just noticed, pick the single moment that stands out most today. If it was a moment of grace, turn it into a short prayer of thanks. If it was a moment you regret, a sharp word, a chance to help you let pass, bring it to God directly. Ask for what you need: forgiveness, clarity, or the courage to make it right tomorrow. One moment prayed through carefully does more than a general review of the whole day.
Step 5: Look Toward Tomorrow With Hope
Before you close the prayer, look ahead to tomorrow. Name one specific thing you can already see coming: a hard conversation, an early meeting, a decision you have been putting off. Ask God for what that moment will need. End the Examen looking forward instead of staying stuck in today's reflection.
What If Nothing Stands Out?
Some days feel flat: no clear high point, no obvious failure, nothing that seems worth a full step four. That is not a sign you did the Examen wrong. On a quiet day, look for the smallest true thing instead of forcing a dramatic one. Maybe it's the ten minutes you actually had free, or a moment you almost snapped at someone and caught yourself. Most days are ordinary. The Examen is built to work on an ordinary day just as well as an eventful one.
A Closing Prayer After the Examen
Lord, thank You for walking back through this day with me and for showing me where You were in it, even the parts I almost missed. Forgive me for the moment I named today, and give me what I need to meet it differently if it comes again. Thank You for tomorrow before it arrives. Let me rest tonight knowing You were with me today and will be with me then. Amen.
Scripture to pray
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.— Psalm 139:23-24
It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.— Lamentations 3:22-23
Frequently asked questions
What is the Daily Examen?
The Daily Examen is a five-step method of prayerful reflection developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola as part of his Spiritual Exercises in the 16th century. It moves through God's presence, gratitude, emotions, one chosen moment, and hope for tomorrow, and it is usually prayed once a day looking back over that day's events.
How long does the Daily Examen take?
Most people pray the Daily Examen in ten to fifteen minutes, moving through the five steps at whatever pace the day calls for. A version prayed in a rush can take five minutes. A slower version, especially on a day with a lot to sit with in step four, can run closer to twenty.
Is the Daily Examen the same as confession?
No. The Examen can surface something you need to confess, and step four often includes asking forgiveness for a specific moment. It is still a private prayer of reflection. It is not the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Catholics who find a serious matter in their Examen still bring it to confession separately.
What is the difference between the Examen and Lectio Divina?
The Examen looks back at your own day to find where God was present in it. Lectio Divina looks into a passage of Scripture and lets it speak into your life. They start from different places and work well together: Lectio Divina in the morning around a Bible passage, the Examen at night reviewing the day. Our comparison of the Examen and Lectio Divina walks through both in full.
Can I pray the Examen in the morning instead of at night?
St. Ignatius taught the Examen as an evening prayer, reviewing the day just lived, since that gives step two through four something specific to work with. Praying it in the morning means reviewing the previous day instead, which still works, but most people find the evening version easier because the day is fresher in memory.
Do I need to write the Examen down, or just pray it in my head?
Either works. St. Ignatius taught it as a spoken or silent prayer. Praying it quietly in bed is the traditional form. A written version helps some people stay specific instead of drifting into a vague review. A few lines per step in a notebook also makes a pattern easier to notice across a week. Try it silently first. Add writing only if you find yourself rushing through it.
Is the Daily Examen only for Catholics?
St. Ignatius wrote it for Jesuits within the Catholic tradition, and it remains a specifically Ignatian and Catholic prayer form. Protestant and other Christian writers have adapted versions of it for their own traditions, since its core movements of gratitude, self-examination, and hope fit any Christian's daily prayer life. A Christian outside the Catholic Church can pray the five steps as written. The language of confession and forgiveness in step four simply carries the ordinary meaning it has in personal prayer rather than the sacramental meaning it carries in Confession.
Can children or a family pray the Daily Examen together?
Yes, with the steps simplified. A family version shortens the questions to something a child can answer out loud. Try 'What was your best moment today?' for gratitude, 'What was your hardest moment?' for the emotions step, and 'What do you want to ask God for tomorrow?' to close. Some families use it at the dinner table or bedtime instead of a longer prayer, going around the table so each person answers the same two or three questions. The five-step structure above still works. It just gets asked out loud instead of prayed silently.