Dialogue Journaling

“The Journal is a powerful journaling and writing tool that can help you take control of your life.”  David Michael

I tend to agree with him there. Journaling in and of itself is a very powerful tool. It is therapeutic, cathartic and empowering. Ever since I started journaling again I feel much more in control of my emotions. Which, believe you me, is a very hard thing for me to personally regulate.

Now, journaling by itself is great and I love it but what I want to talk about today is called Dialogue Journaling.


SIL International defines dialogue journaling as:
a notebook kept jointly by two people, usually a student and a teacher. Each writes entries as messages to the other. 


Great. What of it? Right? Wrong.


What if I told you this wasn't just for school teachers? It's not.


Dialogue journaling can be a beautiful, productive learning tool for the ultimate teacher and you his pupil.

“Journaling, the writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice.”  Dr. Mark Virkler

Writing down prayers? I had never heard of that until I watched The Help and one of the characters mentioned it. Even then I thought it was weird, why would you write it down? Weren't prayers supposed to be an intimate audio or mental conversation? Intimate? Yes. Audio or mental? Not necessarily.

You want to know my vice when it comes to prayer? I get bored, or I can't organize my thoughts and I get distracted and end up (in my eyes) failing and giving up. Because of this cycle I end up dreading prayer time because I worry I will end up 'failing' and disappointing God and myself. 

Do you have any idea how much easier it is to keep on track while writing? For me? So much easier it is laughable that I attempted half-hearted-drowsey-before-bed prayers. If I get distracted or can't sort out my thoughts I can look back to where I was and start back up again.

Now, secondly, the God part. How many times have you related or heard an account of a spiritual experience or revelation and someone's response was "have you written it down?" Personally I've heard it a lot and many times I have sheepishly answered "no not yet", and moved on. Well, I had never realized what a detriment I was being to myself as my memories grew foggy and sentiments got muddled.

Then Yahweh answered me and said, ‘Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read.  (Habakkuk 2:2; NJB)

Duh! How had I not realized this? Why wouldn't I keep record of my most precious interactions with the Holy Spirit? Did I not treasure that moment? Did I not see its worth? I don't know what I was thinking but my satisfaction in personal revelation has shot through the roof since I've brought this into practice.

So Dialogue Journaling is essentially combining these two elements first: writing down prayers and second: recording spiritual experiences and personal revelations.

I learned about this at a class for spiritual formation that was provided by my church and it was phenomenal!

How you put this concept into practice is this:

Step 1: Write down your prayer; pouring into it your concerns and questions, your fears and joys, everything you are feeling. Be honest; there is no point in lying to an all knowing being and avoiding the sore topics aren't going to make them any better.

Step 2: Wait for His response; remember God loves you and not only does he love you but he LIKES you and he wants to do things with you. He wants to have a conversation He wants to sooth your fears and give you guidance. He isn't obligated to love you-He likes you.

Step 3: Write down His response; it is best to do this in another colored pen so that the distinction is clear when you are looking back. Just write. Don't sensor God, that's not doing anyone any good. He will say what needs to be said and nothing more or less. Let him.

A Disclaimer: Check it. Write what you think He is saying in that moment but always check it later. Remember God is never going to tell you anything contrary to the Bible and He will never belittle and demean you. If you have a question about whether or not the revelation you received was really from God just check with a fellow Christian about it. God is kind and he wont contradict what He has already said in his word.

Another tip: If you're worried about someone reading the journal and you don't want a confessed sin or a complaint about someone read feel free to write it in code. The guy that taught my class would confess sin by writing only the first letter of every word. When someone asked "well how do you remember it?" he said: "I don't, God doesn't remember my past sin and neither do I."

I tell ya, this has done wonders for me. I have always had a hard time with the "listening" part after prayer. Impressions just have a hard time sinking into me and I always thought the spontaneous thought was just my own self fulfillment. But, in Mark Virkler's You Can Hear God's Voice: Four Keys to consistent, powerful,life-giving conversations with God he points out that those spontaneous thoughts are exactly how God communicates with us. Writing them down has brought so much clarity to me and more than anything it has emphasized God's love and understanding of me.

You might as well give it a try. It might work for you, it might not be your thing but I think God likes it when we show up.

God Bless,

Carly

I pulled a lot of resources off of The Couching Pair and these are links to the two pages I looked at: One, Two