This is praying time, and the act of listening in prayer is the same act as listening in writing."
~Madeleine L'Engle
I read Scripture. I listen. I pray.
I pick up pen. I listen. I pray.
This writing becomes prayer, heart stretched right out, poems laid bare.
One of my held-close, always-come-with-me journals is my Prayer-Poem Journal. It is, like nearly all endeavors, rather derivative, and I'm indebted to Walter Brueggeman for the inception of this journal...
For 42 years, Walter Brueggemann began his seminary classes with prayer. A prayer awed to Heaven, echoing heaven's Words. A prayer that read as a poem; a psalm of sorts.
Whatever passage of Scripture was to be studied by that day's class, Mr. Brueggeman incorporated that Scripture into His prayer, either directly or topically. At the bottom of each written prayer, he noted the Scripture out of which that prayer-poem grew. Also, he noted any happenings of import that day in the headlines, or in his heart. He rooted the prayer-poems in earth.
After 42 years of praying Scripture before each class, these prayers were collected into Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann
For example....
The Din Undoes Us
(written in anticipation of reading 1 Samuel 2-3: [Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening])
Our lives are occupied territory…
occupied by a cacophony of voices,
and the din outdoes us.
In the daytime we have no time to listen,
beset as we are by anxiety and goals
and assignments and work,
and in the night the voices are so confusing
we can hardly sort out what could possibly be your voice
from the voice of our mothers and our fathers
our best friends and our pet projects,
because they all sound so much like you.
We are people over whom that word shema has been written.
We are listeners, but we do not listen well.
So we bid you, by the time the sun goes down today
or by the time the sun comes up tomorrow,
by night or by day,
that you will speak to us in ways that we can hear
out beyond ourselves.
It is your speech to us that carries us where we have never been,
and it is your speech to us that is our only hope.
So give us ears.
Amen.
~ Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann
How to Journal Your own Prayer-Poems that are Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth:
1. Read passage of Scripture.
2. Listen for the verse God whispers directly to your heart.
3. Pick up pen and write the date down in journal.
4. Copy out the specific Scripture
5. Now, listening, write a prayer founded in that Scripture. And let it line itself up slowly, word upon word, like a poem, repeating itself if need be, creating patterns, reflecting the gritty details of your life with naked honesty. Look full into the face of God and speak your heart in regards to that verse. Respond to His Word to you through prayer...
And again --- no comparisons regarding quality of words or concerns of doing it "right". Your only work in journaling, which is to pray, is simple, honest communion. That is all. Let the words lead you closer.
6. At the bottom of the page, note one significant event happening in your life currently, general or specific, that ties into this prayer-poem (e.g. As I pray that our children will hear directly from You.)
(For more models of prayer-poems, consider reading here)
We are rooted in earth, us of dust with these feet of sod.
But with His Word and our inked ones,
these penned prayers of a dialogue of listening,
we are Awed to Heaven.
:::
Notes to the inbox about the Spiritual Discipline of Journaling...
Why I Journal -- Jerri Phillips
I write with brutal, tear-stained honesty the agony of right now because when the path is easy, it is also easy to forget the pain so deep that one cannot breathe....
I journal because one day someone will follow behind me, and when they are in the place of such pain their very being is filled with it, I don’t want to forget where they are or how they feel. I don’t want to forget the desperate need of a kind word, a soft shoulder, and a loving touch.
I never want to add wounds because I have forgotten the pain of my own.
I journal so I can understand where people are by where I’ve been and recall the hand of God in my heartache to I can be His hand in theirs.
~ Jerri
And cheering for Cathy's who is, for the first time, faithfully journaling as is Heather. And Christin shares a discovery fom her journal that testifies not only to how journaling sets up markers that we can later revisit, but of a stunning encounter with God....
:::
Related: Every Wednesday I'm posting living out a spiritual discipline. Currently, every Wednesday focuses on the practice of journaling.
Part One:Journaling as a Spiritual Discipline: Light Catchers
Part Two: Journaling: Being Real with Jesus
Part Three: Journaling: As Family Worship
Part Four: Journaling: Burning Bush Conversations
Part Five: Journaling: How to Set Up and Organize a Journal
Part Six: Journaling: Many Creative Ways
Next Wednesday: Journaling Potpourri --- the fragrance of your notes. If you'd like to share a glimpse of your journaling story, or a photo, with this quiet community... consider this your warm invitation to slip a note into the inbox.
