by Colleen Spiro

Journaling is one way of praying. If you enjoy writing, it would be good to try. There are many ways to journal. One way is to write God a letter and tell him what was going on in your life or in your heart at that moment. Share your feelings and hopes and worries. Read scripture and then write about what you have read and any insights you have received about God and faith.
Other things to journal about: your prayer life, any spiritual book you may be reading, where you encountered Christ that day. Write your prayer requests and record when and how God answers your prayers.
If you journal in the evening, you can do an examination of conscience and write down about the times you think you may have turned away from God during the day.
You can write a Gratitude Journal like we have here in this newsletter, writing down 3 or 5 things you are most grateful for during the day.
You can write your journal on scraps of paper or in a notebook or you can write it on the computer. There are even programs you can use to keep a journal. Just google prayer journal.
Keeping a prayer journal helps the rest of your prayer life. It helps you to stay focused on God. And reading it months later can help you to see how much you have grown or changed in your spiritual life.
Everyone is different. Each of us will use a prayer journal in different ways and not all people feel called to journal. If God leads you to journal, you can be sure He will use it to bless you in some way.