Do you ever write letters to God?
Typically, when people think of what it looks like to pray they think of sitting in silence, reciting prayers and talking to God. However, prayer journaling is another way to spend time with God and can be extremely impactful. The process of writing out your prayers, your hopes, your struggles, your fears, your gratitude, is powerful. It becomes a great source of expression as well. The truly beautiful part about prayer journaling is that you get to see God answer your prayers. You can go back and read old passages you wrote and see how God has worked in your life. It’s an incredible way to see the presence of God in your daily life.
I have prayer journaled on and off for several years. I have one journal that spans from 2015 to 2019 and it’s one of my most treasured notebooks because every time I go back to read entries from 2015 me, I thank God for how much He has worked in me and transformed me. This notebook holds the tears I shed searching for true love, my fears and worries I faced in high school and college, my gratitude for the family God blessed me with, and most importantly the journey of faith I have been walking on.
For Lent, I also did a 40 day prayer journal that allowed me to spend time with scripture everyday, reflect on how it spoke to me, and write prayers to God. While I struggled some days to fully immerse myself into the scripture and journaling, it still serves as a reminder of the struggles of Lent but the beauty we experience through those Lenten struggles as we prepare for Easter.
I thought I’d share lines from some of my entries:
Dear God, help to remain in your presence.
Help me to always be guided by you and the Holy Spirit.
Help me to forgive.
Please Father, surround me in your light.
Help me to have the grace to be patient in all things.
Thank you Father for helping me get through all the hard times we’ve faced together.
I encourage you all to pick up your pen, grab a notebook, and allow your heart to pour itself out to our Lord in written prayer.
Thoughts Of A Catholic Girl 