Now that your spiritual direction session is scheduled ...
How to Prepare for Spiritual Direction
How you prepare for spiritual direction will be different when you first start direction to
when you are a long time attender. Preparation may also look different from person to person.
Below are some ways to prepare that might be helpful for you in every season of life.
I hope this helps your sessions to be more fruitful and transformational.
Pray
I am sure you knew that this was the first step!
Spiritual direction should be entered into prayerfully.
A few days before your session begin asking the Holy Spirit to be with you and guide you during your session.
This is especially helpful to do if you will not have 30 minutes or so before your session to pray.
Notice God's
conversations with you
One of the most important things to be doing in your daily life is Lectio and Mental Prayer. These are the precious and most sacred times of our day when God, through His written Word, speaks a living word to our hearts. These are the times where we are having conversations with God. We speak, He listens. God speaks, we listen. If you are faithful to this daily, you will begin to notice what God is inviting you to in your current season. This is the heart of the material to discuss in spiritual direction. If you are not spending time in the Word and with Jesus, how will you know what God is saying to you?
Examen
Self-reflection and examen is a necessary part of spiritual direction. Ask yourself some of the following questions:
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How do I feel my prayer life been going?
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What has my prayer life looked, and is it working?
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Have I been struggling with a particular sin?
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How has my sacramental life been lately?
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Have I been wrestling with anything spiritual? (a question about Church teaching, a virtue, your own feelings in prayer, etc)
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What or who has been distracting me from staying faithful to my prayer commitments?
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How have I been feeling in prayer?
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Where do I sense that I need to grow?
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Have I been resistant to God in any way?
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What kind of season do I feel that I have been in? (dry, on fire, quiet, serving, repentant, consolation, desolation, dull, hesitant, questioning, etc)
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Have I been avoiding prayer? If so ... why?
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Where do I feel I need more support?
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Have I been following my Rule of Life?
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Have I been doing what I set out to do after my last direction session? Was I faithful?
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Have I had any experiences in prayer lately that I would like to discuss?
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Am I discerning any descisions right now?
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Is there a situation lately that has challenged or encouraged my view of God?
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Pray Again
Come honestly: remember, spiritual direction is not about performance. In spiritual direction, there are no right or wrong answers only honest ones. A transparent walk with the Lord is always a transformational one!
Come noticing: come noticing where you have been responsive to God and where you have been resistant to Him. God desires your presence, not your perfection.
Spiritual directors are trained to journey with you and to help and encourage you on the way not to judge. You won't have always been faithful to prayer. You won't have always done what you said you were going to do. That's okay. Grace and mercy abound in God's Kingdom.
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Come willing: come willing to face what God has been inviting you to and to look at how you have been responding. Come willing to hear what the Lord is saying to your heart and willing to give it a try - or to be willing to ask God to help you be ready to give it a try.
