Continuing from Pray Always II, Larry W. Tippetts wrote:
Since that time I have found the combination of walking and prayer to be highly therapeutic both physically and spiritually. I have learned that there is actually a worldwide movement promoting the combination of prayer and walking. Just type “prayer walking” into an Internet search engine for numerous websites and book suggestions.
While visiting my mother in another state, I enjoy walking along the river near her home. I arose early one morning, and as I walked I systematically thanked the Lord for every blessing I could think of what He had given me in my life. As I turned around for the walk back, I asked the Lord for specific blessings for my family and our world, with an emphasis on what He would have me do. I had a pocket journal with me and I was continually writing little notes to help me remember what I was learning. When I arrived back home I quickly transferred my rough notes to a permanent journal.
Journal Writing and Prayer
Be specific in your prayers. The most frequent confessions I heard while serving as a bishop involve pornography. One of my therapeutic suggestions was to be more specific in their prayers about this serious sin and to pray multiple times a day—not just morning and night. Instead of praying with words like, “Help me be a better person” or “Please forgive me of my sins,” I would suggest they name the sin verbally—“Father, please help me overcome my sin of indulging in pornography and self stimulation.” I would then encourage them to use similar wording in a disposable private journal and record their progress on at least a daily basis—more often, if needed. I promised them that the specificity of prayer and the written progress reports in their journal would help them keep the spiritual motivation at the forefront of their minds. I explained that the greatest resource in overcoming this was not the bishop—although I could help—but the Holy Ghost. I asked them to be alert for ideas and impressions and then record them in their private journal so they could remember and follow up. Over a period of weeks and months, they felt empowered by the divine assistance they were receiving—Christ’s enabling power. Those ward members who used a journal to monitor the specific behavior tended to make the most rapid progress.
Consider using your journal just before or just after you pray sometimes. Before you pray, take a few minutes to write the thoughts and yearnings of your heart. If you are seeking a special blessing or asking for specific guidance, write about the situation or circumstance that is leading you to ask God for help. At times, simply write the blessings you are feeling particularly thankful for. If you are facing a major decision, take some time to write the pros and cons associated with that decision; it will help you to be more focused in your prayer. After you pray, especially on those occasions when you felt specific spiritual strength, guidance, or insight come to you, record what you learned or felt in simple, clear statements in your journal. Often your prayer will turn your thoughts to a specific course of action. In that case, write what you are to do and how you might go about it. I have had experiences when I felt impressed to do a particular thing, but in writing about it, I realized there were many different ways I could go about accomplishing it. In some instances I felt confident that I could go forward to resolve the issue. At other times I found myself returning to my knees for further light and knowledge.
~Larry Tippetts, ‘Personal Revelation’ (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2017) 85-87
