Journaling can be one of the many ways to connect with God and really come to know His voice and His heart towards you. It has become something that I do everyday and has helped me to be transparent before the Lord and even with myself. I know that spending time with the Lord can be intimidating but if we are to know His heart and will for our lives we have to spend time with Him. Here's a quick list of the few things I go through as I am writing each morning.
1. Check In—Ask, “What am I feeling?” Write a few sentences of what you are feeling—
anxious, happy, sad, angry, fearful, joyful, encouraged, depressed, etc.
2. Recap Yesterday—Take a few sentences to write what happened yesterday—only the
high points not necessarily a list of "I went to the store, jogged 5 miles, went to Publix
etc.”, but instead writing what happened that was significant and how it affected your
heart and life.Also write out very briefly any instances where you overreacted. An overreaction could be when you withdrew/went silent/hid or it could be when you got really angry or felt
your stomach churning. You will begin to see a pattern which will lead you to your
core lie and open the door to more freedom and healing in that place.
3. Talk to God—For a few sentences tell God what you appreciate about Him or whatever
else comes to your heart and mind. (Be real here).
4. Confess—Write down any sins/attitudes and then surrender to Jesus and invite him into
your day and all that you are doing.
5. Invite Him to Speak to You—“Jesus I so much want to learn how to hear your voice. Do
you have anything you want to say to me? Do you have any words for me?”
a. Listen for a few minutes and write what he tells you. b. Then ask him some very specific questions and type out what you sense or what impression comes to your heart/mind.
• Jesus, would you show me how much you love me? Give me a picture, a memory, a verse, that shows me. • What do you think of my heart? • What do you think of my life?• What do you think of me as a man?
6. Refer to your Bible—Consider reading a paragraph from one of the gospels(try Luke for
starters.) Ask Father, “What do you have to say to me?”
7.Keep in Mind:—A. The temptation will be to self check— "God couldn't be saying that to me, I’m making this up." Be aware of this, and trust in faith what you are hearing is of God. B. Be sensitive to the enemy and his attempts to rob you of life in this time. Guilt, fear, condemnation, reproach, shame— you must say "NO!" . Be confident that God will not speak to you in a voice that brings guilt, condemnation, shame, reproach or dread. Refer to James 4:7 in the Message by Eugene Peterson.
Note: If you really want to capture a great summary of all that God speaks to you in your times with Him, highlight His words to you in a different color. Then open up another file and copy and paste His highlighted words to you into that file. (i.e. Fathers Words June 2011). Then at the end of the week read over Father’s words. You will be blown away. Consider having a separate file of His words for each month so you can reference His guidance/affirmation throughout the year.
TRAIL.
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