Calling all Journallers

The following has been prepared for those who would like to keep a journal to help them in their devotions.

Calling all Journallers

Thanks for agreeing to keep a journal. I trust you will find it an adventure and an aid in your learning, devotions and meditation on scripture. My heart in encouraging you to begin using journals is not that you engage in a merely scholastic exercise to puff you up with knowledge, but that through the process, you will hear God speak to you prophetically through his Word and that you will grow in relational knowledge of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

With this in mind, I have prepared the following sheet to kick start you into making the most from your journal.

Questions to aid your reflection

You can use either one of the following sets of headings or questions to help you to get into a text of scripture and rummage around inside it.

Set One

Ask the questions, Who, What, Where, When, Why, How.

Set Two

Use any or all of the following headings, Initiation, Information, Intuition, Inspiration, Intention, Instruction, Incarnation, Intercession, Invitation.

Initiation - what is your first impression as you read the text?
Information - what are the key facts of the passage communicating?
Intuition - what does your heart or instinct say about this particular passage?
Inspiration - what new revelation comes to you as you read the text?
Intention - What was the author's intention in writing? Look at it carefully.
Instruction - What do you have to actually do as a result of this Word?
Incarnation - How can you make this text live through you in your faith?
Intercession - How and what does this inspire you to pray? Write it down.
Invitation - How is God - who loves you - inviting you to interact with him?

There are many other ways you can journal, including writing prayers, poems, thoughts, pictures, recording prophecies, dreams or visions that God gives.

The bottom line is to do whatever you find helpful to draw you closer to God. You can also direct some of your journal thoughts towards God and make your writing prayerful. King David was one of the first journallers. His meditations were so worshipful that people are still reading them today. Go for it!