Discover God’s NearnessChikamu

Greater Honesty

Deep in the haunting Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, you’ll find Hannah Anderson journaling her prayers, spending time with her family or neighbors, or maybe even writing her next book. Whether she’s writing about the divine lessons nature can teach us or the ups and downs of life with Jesus, you can be sure to learn something new. Join us as Hannah opens up about the spiritual habits that help her grow.

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I feel like the story of my life is showing up late to the party. And usually, it’s my own party. There have been these moments in my life that everyone else could see coming, but that still surprised me. This happened to me again recently when I started prayer journaling.

Hear me out. Just because someone is a writer, just because she finds remarkable freedom in the written word, just because she journals regularly, and just because she can’t tap into certain emotions unless she writes them out doesn’t mean that she’s going to suddenly discover God’s nearness when she starts prayer journaling. Wait, who am I kidding? Of course, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

For most of my life, I’ve verbalized my prayers, and while this has been a source of comfort, I can’t say I’ve experienced God’s presence or been so honest with myself as when I’m writing out my prayers. Prayer journaling can take many different forms, but the one that has been most helpful to me is simply writing out my thoughts and feelings toward God. In many ways, it feels similar to what’s happening in the Psalms, and for me, at least, the process allows me to experience greater honesty with God. I find myself raging one minute and blessing the next. Again, the psalms are very important here because they model a similar back-and-forth, and that gives me a sense of permission to pray the same way.

—Hannah Anderson, Bible Teacher, as told to Rapt Interviews