In the beginning, the earth was formless and void.

Then God spoke.

While we’ll never fully understand exactly how God ​“spoke” in this unique First Moment, we can say that somehow, in an act of cosmic wonder, God’s voice made God’s intentions tangible.

On a human level, too, there is a sense that an idea becomes concrete only when it is voiced; it moves from formless to formed.

This is why speaking or writing — I’m thinking especially of keeping a journal — has unique solidifying power. A thought is liquid; writing hardens it into a shape. This is useful even if you end up melting it back down.

Flannery O’Connor said, ​“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”

And, to quote the tagline of Nathan Foster’s favorite pocket notebooks, ​“I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now.”

Sometimes our journaling may be exquisite and worthy of preserving for generations. Dag Hammarskjöld’s Markings, for example (read excerpts here). More often, though, personal journals are a mess of ideas best kept under lock and key.

Still, in terms of spiritual growth, there may be ways of journaling that are more helpful than others. Richard Foster offers some wisdom in this area, as does this week’s episode of Friends in Formation.

On a personal note, journaling lightens my soul and helps me listen to God. Which makes me wonder why I don’t do it more.

I’ll pass along a handful of journaling practices I’ve found fruitful:

• Jot down three specific, concrete ​“thankfuls” within the last 24 hours.
   
• Write a brief worry list; then take one item and ask the Holy Spirit what fear is at the root of the worry.
   
• Write a no-holds-barred prayer with unfiltered honesty; then pause and write how you think the Lord would respond. (1 Corinthians 13 is helpful here, knowing the voice of the Lord is always ​“patient and kind… does not dishonor… is not easily angered… keeps no record of wrongs.”)
   
• Write a prayer for someone else that engages the imagination. Instead of simply saying ​“help so-and-so,” describe (or draw) a particular good for that person or situation.

All that said, I realize that not everyone is keen on journaling and that’s fine. So far as we know, Jesus didn’t keep a journal. But for many of us, it is a useful tool for bringing thoughts into the light where they can be worked out with God.