Journaling Prayer

For some time now, I have added to my morning devotions the exercise of writing a prayer. It was born out of a need for focus, as the act of composition and recording brings together all my faculties towards a single task. I'm writing, I'm thinking, I'm planning. It is so easy for me to become distracted in the morning, when all the day's needs and tasks rush at me. Journaling has been a real blessing.

It has the benefit of providing a record of my heart's state, a history of the concerns I have lifted to the Lord, a bitter reminder of the pain of sin, the sweet restoration of repentance, and of the glory of seeing the Lord work in my life despite me.

Up to this point, I have decided not to publish, share, or otherwise show people parts of this journal. I feared that knowing that other people might read it would taint the personal, raw, often painfully honest conversation I have had with the Lord. However, I realized tonight that it might be an encouragement, as I have often been mightily encouraged by Scotty Smith's blog.

With this goal in mind, I'm going to publish a few of them as I go... probably quite a while after I originally wrote them, and with any truly personal details excised. I hope they are some comfort to you, and perhaps will inspire you to try a similar discipline in your relationship with the Lord.

Photo credits: Let it flow - by evan travers