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Why should I journal?
...after all, Jesus never did! Well no maybe he didn’t - but then most people didn’t write very much or have pens or paper in those times either! Journaling is one of those things that we often think it would be good to get round to but never really do.. here’s some reasons why you might want to have another go…
Journaling is a processing tool
It helps us to think through, reflect and process what is going on in our lives, what God is saying to us and what other people are saying to us. It encourages us to identify some of the processes we go through and to own up to some of the things we honestly think and therefore base our lives upon.
Of course we could choose to write down a load of stuff that isn’t really honest about ourselves but as no one else is ever going to read it apart from God that would be pretty pointless!!
As we write down what we really think, we can then choose to bring God into the mix and cry out our prayers and questions to him. This is what David does so well in the Psalms which are his way of journaling – of pouring out what is going on in his heart.
Check out Psalm 77 (NLT) – here’s an extract..
“I cry out to God, yes I shout. Oh that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble I searched for the Lord… I think of God and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help…”
Journaling is a prayer tool
If you often get distracted (or fall asleep!) when praying on your own like I do, then journaling can be a great way of helping you. It assists you to focus on writing down the things you want to pray into: about your own heart; the people you want to intercede (persistently cry out) on behalf of because of illness or other difficult circumstances; or the situations you feel God is prompting you to pray into for your church, your community, this nation or the world.
You can write items down in a list or you can ask the Holy Spirit to help you craft a prayer that you can then really do battle with over and over again. Date when you start praying and see what happens! Jesus might not have journaled but he definitely prayed!
Check out Luke 18 v 1-8. This theme is picked up again here in Ephesians 6 v 18 (NLT)...
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
And finally the other really great thing about journaling is - you can go back to it because …
Journaling helps you to remember…
See.. if you’re anything like me you can start to think about something God might be saying, or something jumps out at you during the worship or preach on a Sunday at church and by the next day I’ve forgotten completely what it was! Or somebody reminds you about a passage in the bible that you might find helpful or gives you a prophetic word – if you don’t write these things down how will you remember them?
More than that though, what I find is that when I walk through some of those darkest moments I can go back to any of my journals and read some of the things that are there. I can remind myself that God walked through it with me then and that means He will this time too.
I can read some of the, frankly quite ridiculous things I’ve written when I’ve had those ‘woe is me moments’ , have a bit of a laugh (or cry!) at them and it reminds me that God is changing me and taking me on a journey .
Then there are those really significant moments when I’ve encountered God and it’s changed everything – recording them and re-reading them prompts me again to worship and praise God for who He is and who He’s created and called me to be. They cause faith to rise again in my heart and to push on when the pressure is hard.
Doing something to remember what God has done for you is important. When the Israelites finally crossed over the Jordan into the promised land, God told them through Joshua to take some stones out of the Jordan and to place them as memorial stones, so that they would never forget that God had delivered them into freedom. (Joshua 4 v 20-24)
“But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering I keep a grip on hope…” (Lamentations 3 v 21 The Message)
So.. how do I get started?
Here’s a few ideas…
- Get hold of a blank notebook that you can keep with your bible. You might like to use different colours for different things as you write.
- It doesn’t have to just be writing – you could draw, sketch, mind map – whatever you find easiest. If you don’t like writing use a computer or phone package to type it out. Some bible packages on the internet or mobiles have journaling built in – check out www.youversion.com
- Start with a few questions to ask yourself
- What is God saying to me today?
- What am I enjoying about life at the moment?
- What is causing me to feel angry?
- What makes me feel insecure?
- What answers to prayers have I seen?
- What would I like to see?
As you continue with your journal read back through entries and highlight themes or patterns which are coming through and might be areas to pray into further or talk to someone about.
- Check out the LifeChoices individual questions on the weekly sheet and use those to journal from.
- Get hold of the book “Life’s Healing Choices’ by John Baker that the material is based on – at the end of each chapter there are more encouragements to use for journaling.
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Ali Summers, 20/02/2010 |
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