Is it possible to nurture curiosity and get into momentum when you feel stuck, through creative writing and prayer journaling? Short answer: Yes, it is! Want to know the long answer? Keep reading!
Creativity used to be viewed as the privilege of painters and musicians, but it is not just for artsy people any more. Over the years creativity has become more and more appreciated and talked about in different contexts. Many employers have realised that encouraging creative problem solving and ‘out of the box’ style thinking at the workplace is good for business and good for employees. Technical skills and people’s expertise in different fields, combined with creative thinking have opened up ways to greater productivity. Every advancement known to mankind started with a new idea, and new ideas are inspired by imagination and creativity.
Creativity is important, because it allows self-expression, by giving space to our unique way of thinking and drawing from personal strengths and experiences, which leads to results no other person could achieve. It promotes dedication and commitment, sharpens our focus, grows our confidence and our willingness to fail and try again. Creativity can help us reduce stress and anxiety, too. Being immersed in a creative project inspires a sense of satisfaction and contentment. Partaking in any kind of creative activity produces similar results in adults when children play. We learn and grow in knowledge as well as in joy, we process the world around us and our thoughts and emotions in us.
We can safely say that creativity is amazing, and it is something we all should embrace and make it part of our everyday life, even if we can’t knit or paint and we don’t consider ourselves an artsy type, and prayer journaling is a great place to start.
Prayer journaling is a creative process and when you practice journaling your prayers, at the same time you access all the wonderful benefits I have listed above. Regardless of your writing method and style, just the writing exercise itself activates your imagination and nurtures your curiosity. In your prayer, you have a safe space to ask questions, to search for answers, to process emotions through your own experience or the story of different Bible characters.
Working with the written word is very different from working with the spoken word. In writing, you can always add more thoughts or delete some others, you can re-arrange paragraphs and reshape your thought process. You can take your time and spend days or even weeks to finish a prayer.
Prayer journaling can become a playground to your creativity, so safe and free, full of joy and positive energy.
Journaling our prayers can help us when we feel stuck in life as well. Under pressure, we often feel tempted to trying to avoid certain situations and instead just numbing our mind with binge watching Netflix or some other way. This can be helpful short term but practised often and for longer, it will make you feel stuck and very likely mentally and physically fatigued. Prayer journaling is a simple, safe and free way to gain momentum when you most need it. It will make you feel more in control of your thoughts, helping you clear your mind in a productive way.
Have you got any thoughts on this topic or personal experience with prayer journaling? I would love to hear from you!
In the meantime, remember how loved you are!
Mariann
