I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
(Psalm142:2 NKJV)
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| I sent these postcards to myself, as a type of diary chronicling our trip on the Erie Canal. |
Do you ever wish you could send a letter to God, addressed to His complaint department? What if you could send Him a thank you note? Or a postcard telling Him how much you love Him?
Let's get out the stationery. For this quiet time activity, I prefer the touch of pen to paper, but if you are tech savvy, adapt this idea with e-mail or a scheduled reminder text.
In 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time, Pam shares her thoughts on the topic of writing a letter to God:
Write a letter to God about your life. What would you like to see happen in the next three to six months? What would you like to learn about God? What requests would you like answered? Maybe you are at a special juncture in life, have an obstacle to hurdle or circumstance you'd like to see change. Write out your feelings, goals and requests.
Place your letter in a self-addressed stamped envelope. Give the letter to a friend to mail back to you after three, six or twelve months. [Or send it to yourself, with an "open on" date written on the envelope.]
I found this idea helpful after the death of my father. I took a limited sabbatical...but after two months I still wasn't feeling emotionally better. I wrote a letter to God about how I wanted to feel at the one-year anniversary of my father's death. As I wrote the letter, I realized I was not going to be able to make this journey alone. I wrote down books to read. I contacted a grief counselor. I wrote out activities that I though would help me resolve my feelings and bring closure...ten months into the journey...I am much further along in my grief than I would have been if I had not take this quiet time with God to verbalize how I need him to heal me.
There are some journeys we don't want to go on, but writing to God about the difficult path ahead makes the road less formidable.
©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP).
For more devotional books by Pam www.Love-wise.com
What kind of letter do you need to write to God? Is there a subject you need to share with Him in prayer?
To read all the posts in 31 Days of Quiet click here.
Of course, Kel, you know you are speaking to my choir here! I love writing my "love letters to God." This form of prayer has revolutionized my soul and walk w/ Him. I have also written perspective pieces that really have changed mine! Great post.
ReplyDeleteLove
Lynni
Lynni- It's your choir that I hear whenever I think of writing love letters to God! Thank you for sharing your passion for written prayers. I love the practice of the unsent letters that we learned in your journaling class to help me work through grief or a loss, too.
ReplyDeleteOH, I"m so touched by your comments here, Kel. I'm convinced that God introduced us in order to knit us heart-to-heart and to be prayerful encouragers to each other as we launch out in the same direction w/ our ministries....I see us like two little girls, hand-in-hand, skipping toward the heart of God. I love you!
ReplyDeleteLynni
:)
DeleteKel - love these post cards... reminds me of my trip to Oregon with the journal, sharpie and crayons you gave me for the road! It is such a blessing to look back on those and remember everything I see there! I loved writing that letter to my childhood self in your Soul Dare class. And Lynni - I can't wait till your classes start up again. You both bless me so much. I am sitting on the sidelines cheering you on!
ReplyDeleteHugs Kel (and Lynni too!)
Kelly