Teresa A. Blythe, 50 Ways to Pray: Practices from Many Traditions and Times (Nashville: Abington Press, 2006), 73-76.

Intention
To seek God’s desire for us in a given concrete, life situation.

The Exercise

• Prepare. Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed as you enter this adventure with God.
  Have a journal on hand to write your reflections or jot down your thoughts. Light a candle and begin
  this process with a prayer, asking God to open your mind and heart to God’s desires. Ask for honesty
  of heart, and inner freedom from any destructive habits.
• Desire to follow God’s leading and be indifferent to all else. Ask God to help you become indifferent
  to anything that is not of God. This does not mean you are uninterested in the outcome of your
  discernment, but it means you are willing to leave the outcome in God’s hands. If you feel you
  cannot find in yourself this place of “holy indifference” to the outcome, then express to God your
  desire to be open to God’s leading, saying something like, “Lord, help my lack of indifference.”
• Frame the question. Name the issue you wish to discern. It should be a concrete and concise
  question. Questions that are most helpful are those that can be answered yes or no (as in “Should
  I start to look for another job?”) or those for which you can list realistic and concrete choices. Your
  question may change over time in discernment. Write out your question and sit with it in prayer. Pay
  attention to any insight, emotion, or felt body sense that arises in you.
• Look at the question rationally. First, list two or three choices that would answer your question.
  Make a list of pros and cons for each choice. Gauge at this point which choice you are leaning
  toward. How does each choice feel after considering the pros and cons? Weigh your lists. Which
  pros and which cons feel more important than the others? Make a tentative choice before moving
  on to the next step.
• Look at your life situation. The tentative choice you made will affect the context of your life. How
  will this decision affect your family? Your lifestyle? How is your circle of friends affected? How does
  the choice fit into your personal spiritual journey? What image of God pervades as you consider this
  issue? What is the background history of the issue under consideration? What are the facts at hand?
  Now that you have spent some time with this choice, hold it in the light of your desire to follow God.
  Notice how free or unfree you feel as you imagine yourself pursuing this choice. At this time, do you
  want to go back and consider other choices? If so, do that now and proceed with a new tentative
  decision.
• Look at your beliefs and values. When you think about your choice, how are your personal and
  spiritual values honored? What “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22) is evident? Is the choice in accord
  with the Biblical witness? Does this choice increase your generosity, openness to others who are
  different, your self-esteem? Does this choice allow you to love as Jesus loved?
• Listen to your intuition. Imagine your thoughts dropping down into the center of your being and
  becoming very still. Listen to your breath for a few minutes. Now, allow any images to emerge
  freely for you. Does any image predominate? In what way does this image relate to your choice?
  What is your gut feeling about the path you have chosen? As you ponder your options, what is your
  present body language? How does your body feel? Can you identify a felt sense within your body
  that is related to this choice? After listening to your intuition and to any images or bodily senses that
  emerged, do any new ideas or choices emerge?
• Use your imagination. Imagine yourself living out the choice you are most leaning toward at the
  moment. Then, imagine taking a different course. Which feels more right? More free? In which choice
  did your body feel relaxed and energized?
  • Imagine that you are very old and looking back on this decision. What will you wish you
    had done?
  • Imagine that your best friend came to you with a similar question and was leaning toward
    a similar choice. What would you advise?
  • Imagine that you are explaining your decision to the wisest person you know. What do
    you imagine they would say to you?
• Examine your consolation and desolation. As you continue to test the option you are leaning toward,
  examine it to see if you are feeling more consolation or desolation:
• Consolation. A mostly positive movement of the heart (even in the midst of grief or longing); an
  increase in faith, hope, and love; inner and lasting peace; joy; an inner knowing that encourages,
  supports, and enlivens your decision. Consolation generally draws you closer to God.
• Desolation. A mostly negative movement of the heart (even in the midst of good fortune or
  excitement); a turning away from faith; a restlessness, heaviness, or anxiety; an inner knowing that
  discourages, calls into doubt, or dulls the energy around your decision. Desolation generally makes
  you feel far from God.
• Make your decision. Based on all you have experienced in the questions and tests of this process,
  make a decision. Notice your immediate reaction. Is it one of consolation or desolation? You may
  choose not to act on the decision right away, testing to see if your feelings and thoughts remain the
  same for a few days. At some point, though, you must act on faith on the decision you have made.
• Test the decision. How does the decision feel after taking action on it? Do you have energy to live
  it out? Are you feeling more consolation or desolation? Does your decision fit with the law of love
  that Jesus calls us to? How have the people in your life responded to the decision? What “fruit of the
  Spirit” (Gal.5:22) have you noticed? Do you feel closer to God or father from God as a result of taking
  action on your decision? If, after testing the decision, you believe it not to be a call from God, do not
  panic. This is a time for ongoing discernment. Do you need to adjust your decision?