Review

The function of prayer is not to influence God,
but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.
―Søren Kierkegaard

Over-packed lives can rob us of the opportunity to learn from the past, to see how yesterday might inform today. “Where did the time go?!” we ask ourselves, often struggling to remember what we did just a week ago. Here we can benefit again from taking time to look back over the past 24 hours. By intentionally reviewing our interactions, responses, feelings and intentions, we can avoid letting days speed by. We can pause to learn more about ourselves and about God’s activity in our lives.

Try to look back objectively as you review. Rather than interpreting, justifying, or rationalizing, the intent is to observe and remember. Allow your mind to wander the situations you’ve been in and to notice details. The questions in this exercise should help you bring specific experiences to mind.

When or where in the past 24 hours were you cooperating most fully with God’s action in your life?
When were you resisting?

What habits and life patterns do you notice from the past day?

“Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul … Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
[Psalm 143v8b,10]