Keeping A Prayer Journal
Submitted By Men’s Fellowship Group member Ron Simpson
One of the most important lessons I learned when I did "The St. Ignatius Spiritual Exercises" was to maintain a "Daily Journal" recording my deepest feelings and conversations with Our Lord. The importance of The Spiritual Exercises is to form a close relationship with God the Father. In other words, to place God at the centre of your life while living your life as His disciple and doing His will.
In the Spiritual Exercises, a colloquy is an intimate conversation between you and God the Father, and Jesus, or between you and Mary or one of the Saints. We speak and listen as the Spirit moves us: expressing ourselves, for example, as a friend speaks to a friend, or as a child speaks to a parent or mentor, or as a lover speaks to his or her beloved.
When I first embarked on doing the Spiritual Exercises, looked forward each day to record what was feeling; what I was learning from the lesson that day: to apply it in daily life and most importantly how the Holy Spirit assisted me in listening to that voice of love. After I had completed the Spiritual Exercises for the first time in 1995 — 1996 (in the form of Annotation #19), I would from time to time go back and read some of what I had written. It was overwhelming for me as could only come to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit was there in my presence guiding and giving me the words to express my deepest feelings.
Since retiring in 2002, I made it a goal to spend time each morning with The Lord which I refer to as "My Golden Hour". I select a verse(s) in the Bible, meditate on it and pray asking the Holy Spirit to guide me in my thoughts, words, actions and deeds during the day. For me the Secret here is whatever you think on a day to day basis will become your reality. This will go a long way in ensuring that the deliberations and decisions make will be with your Best Friend, our Lord and with the Holy Spirit as your guide.
Typically, my daily journal includes thanking God for all that happened, praying for individuals, speaking to God, Jesus the Holy Spirit about my prior day’s activities, all the while asking for His guidance and blessings in the Service of others.
Daily prayer, meditation and journaling helps me to live my life dedicated to My Lord and doing His will so that I may fulfill my mission here on earth as to His plan.
