Journaling

       Is it your desire to have a more intimate relationship with God?  Would you like to understand His Word better?  Would you like to know how He sees you and what His plans and purposes are for you?  The Bible says, “My sheep will hear My voice,” but if you’re like me, you are not always sure you’re hearing.

      I believe journaling—and to be more specific—two way journaling, where both you and God are talking and you are recording it on paper, is a great tool for achieving this.  I have been attempting to journal consistently several times a week now for several weeks and have been excited about the results!  I wish I could talk every one of you into trying it for three months because I believe you would be astounded and inspired by what you hear and would be "hooked."
      As I’ve mentioned before we have found Mark Virkler’s material extremely beneficial in this area, so I am including a brief outline from his book, 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice, in case you are interested.

      He says there are 4 keys to hearing God’s voice and believes that if a Christian will use all four keys at one time he, or she, will hear God’s voice.  (God’s voice is defined as the still small voice within, which we recognize as spontaneous thoughts and pictures that light upon our mind.  Fyi: we are not talking about the audible voice of God here, which very few people have heard.)  Mark is so certain of the effectiveness of this method, he says he guarantees it will work. 

The 4 keys are:

    1. Stillness—quiet yourself down—find a quiet place where you can be alone and become still.

    2. Vision—fix your eyes on Jesus—focusing the eyes of our hearts upon God causes us to become inwardly still, raises our level of faith and expectancy, and makes us fully open to receive from Him.

    3. Spontaneity—tune to flow—becoming aware of spontaneous thoughts and pictures in our mind.  These are not thoughts we have ‘thought up’ but instead they seem almost to float into our conscious mind.

    4. Journaling—write them down.  Record what you are saying, hearing and seeing.

       Another way of saying this is, Hearing God’s voice is as simple as quieting yourself down, fixing your eyes on Jesus, tuning to spontaneity, and writing.  Mark says, “Memorize the preceding statement and share it with others.  It will help them break out of a culture of rationalism and discover spiritual intimacy with Almighty God for themselves.”

       He is also very insistent that we have 2 or 3 people with whom we can share our journaling to make sure it is God we are hearing.  One of these should be our spouse, if we are married.

      Under the Journaling tab, I have posted a list of journaling topics.  Right now I am journaling through the Sermon on the Mount so I have posted that, too.  Use these questions as starting points.  If another direction seems more appropriate as you quiet yourself before Jesus, be sure to go with it.  He may have something very specific to tell you.

      I would love to hear what you are discovering in your journaling.