Larry W. Tippetts wrote:
Consider utilizing 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 special guidance, write about the situation or circumstance that is leading you to ask God for help. At times, simply write the blessings you are 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 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 and how you might go about doing it. I have had experiences when I felt impressed to do a particular thing, but in writing it, I felt 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.
Writing in my journal has become one of my most effective prayer times. I have come to realize that much of my journal writing is a prayer—a written prayer. As I describe my situation or circumstances in my journal, I am concurrently pleading for divine perspective as I transfer thoughts and feelings into sentences on the page. I frequently find myself concluding my journal entry with words such as, “Oh, my Father, how I need Thee to guide me in this matter with my son. Please help me to have Thy Spirit so that I can be wise and loving in how I relate to him.” On one occasion when we needed to make an important decision regarding a large sum of money, I concluded my written analysis by simply calling on God to bless us with sound judgment in a matter of temporal importance to our family.
Turn your regular journal into a prayer journal, wherein you regularly record your heartfelt desires to God. Some people dedicate a small handwritten journal exclusively for written prayers. After you have recorded a prayer in your journal, take time to ponder what you have written and what the Lord’s response seems to be. If you are feeling nothing certain, go about your day or week, but return to the journal frequently to record what you are learning through your experiences as well as through inspiration. Most prayers are not clearly answered until we get off our knees and go about our activities. Note that as the days and weeks pass, you may receive bits and pieces of light and understanding at times when you are not even thinking or praying about the matter. In the hours or days following your prayer, you may look back and realize that God has indeed answered you, but it came so gradually and matter-of-factly that you failed to recognize it. When that happens, be sure to return to your journal and write how the Lord has answered your prayer. ~Larry W. Tippetts, Receiving Personal Revelation (Covenant Communications: American Fork, UT, 2017), 86-87
