I had a really good prayer this morning. It was so good that I was tempted to take notes. This reminded me of a lady I met on my mission who keeps a prayer journal–basically she writes down all of her prayers so that she won’t forget what she said and what God said to her.
I’ve had a number of journals in my life. I’ve used everything from your traditional hardbound book to blogging. My journaling has included subjects such as miracles in my life, favorite quotes, and your typical log of day to day activities. I even had a big book and small book journal at one point for my secular and spiritual experiences respectively (the large plates and the small plates, see?… I’m such a spiritual nerd.)
Writing has a cathartic power for which nothing else can really substitute. It’s more reflective than speech. When I have to dictate my chart notes at work it almost seems too burdensome not to be able to write them myself.
Anyway, this post was meant to be about prayer more than about writing. But I think there’s something to be said for putting the two together. Maybe a prayer journal is something I could get behind as a therapeutic possibility for people who are looking for a little extra guidance in their lives but haven’t necessarily felt a concrete push from God on a single occasion. Maybe the message becomes more decipherable over time with some sustained attention.
Pray always to come off conquerer. I have a lot of little battles waiting to be conquered, so I’m happy to make that my advice to myself today.
This reminds me of Pres. Eyring’s recent advice to have a “thank” journal – to jot down each day all of the blessings and tender mercies that touched our lives that day. And since prayers should mainly be prayers of thankfulness and thanksgiving, praising God and recognizing his hand in our lives, for some reason I thought the correlation made sense with your thoughts.
Thanks for the encouragement to make prayer more meaningful…