Journaling

We know that people have spent time reflecting and meditating for as long as we have records. Yet, there are very few written reflections from antiquity. For most of our history, writing down your reflections and meditations was cost prohibitive. Only recently has the cost of writing become accessible to us to journal. Journaling is a practice that encompasses many different types of writing. Some types of journaling are prayerful meditations, and many are not. Here are some encouragements if you desire for journaling to be a prayerful practice.

Spend time reminding yourself of the many ways we are invited to pray. Prayer is being purposefully in God’s tender and loving presence. In prayer, thoughts, emotions, and words can move between you and God. There are so many ways to let yourself put words to the page within prayer. Look through other practices for questions and prompts. Many of these are a great starting place for you to explore in your writing. The Urban Monastic Way of Life includes hundreds of invitations to engage. Most prompts can be a wonderful starting point. The important point is to be prayerful as you write, being present with God in this time.