[Written Spiritual Direction Session] Dialogue Journaling

Do you ever talk to God—and expect to hear back from Him?

Back in episode 109, I shared a little conversation that God and I had as it related to something He was calling me to do during Lent a couple of years ago.

It’s one of many conversations I’ve had with Him. Some that I’ve just sensed in my spirit as I’ve prayed about something. But some that have taken place on the pages of my journal.

That’s right. Sometimes these conversations happen in writing in something called dialogue journaling. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at what dialogue journaling is and what it can look like as it relates to your relationship with God.

Oh, and don’t forget, if you’re listening to this live, we start our Lent Journaling Retreat tomorrow, March 5, 2025. It’s not too late to jump in, even if you are a week or two late. You can join us by going to lovedoesthat.org/lent2025.

What Is Dialogue Journaling?

As we start, let’s define what dialogue journaling actually is. And it’s actually pretty simple: It looks like you having a conversation with someone or something else.

In some cases, you might have a conversation with a certain part of yourself: your shame, your inner critic, your younger self. You write from your personal viewpoint, and then you take on the personality of your shame or inner critic and write from their point of view.

Another example might be if you’re trying to work out a relational conflict in your journaling, and so you write out imaginary dialogue between you and your spouse or you and a friend. You’re trying on different phrases, trying to verbalize what is going on inside of you and how to communicate that to someone else, and trying to anticipate their response or dream of a best-case scenario.

But we can also use dialogue journaling as a conversation with God. We write something and then, when we sense something from Him, we write it down.

Hesitation about Dialogue Journaling with God

Now, I can imagine one of the first things that might pop into your mind is, how do I know it’s God talking to me and not just my own imagination? And that’s a great question!

I would tell you a few different things.

First, over time, you will learn to discern His voice from yours—or even someone else’s. Jesus says in John 10 that His sheep know His voice. Let Him teach you what His voice sounds like if you aren’t quite sure yet.

Second, if you’re not sure that something specific you write is from God, go ahead and write it down and then take it to the Lord. Ask Him, “Is this from You? If so, what does it mean? What do You want me to do with it?”

And third, as you start dialogue journaling, ask God to speak to you. Expect to hear His voice in some way. Ask Him to guide you.

Practice Dialogue Journaling

Dialogue journaling is definitely something I would encourage you to try. As I said, the best way to start is by asking God to speak to you. Thank Him for being there with you and prepare your heart to hear from Him.

Then start by writing whatever is weighing on your heart and mind. It can be as long or short as you like.

When you feel like you’ve said what you wanted to, that you asked the questions you wanted to ask, then simply pause and see if you sense anything from the Lord.

If and when you do, write it down. Many times, this will be as if He is talking directly to you, so the pronoun “I” will refer to God and the pronoun “you” will refer to you.

When you sense He is done, you can then respond to Him. And then go back and forth as many times as you need, until you feel you are finished. Sometimes this is very much a back-and-forth conversation, as if you were sitting down together and chatting. Sometimes it’s a “I’m going to talk for a while and then God’s going to talk for a while” type thing. Whatever works best for you.

Sometimes it helps to use different colors to distinguish the speakers on your journal page, or to use tags at the beginning of each block of words, much like a play is written and each actor has his lines marked.

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Client Example

Now, it’s great to learn about something like dialogue journaling, but I also want to give you a picture of what it might look like. And to do so, I’m going to share an example of dialogue journaling from one of my written spiritual direction clients.

Every client and I find a way to write to one another. For this particular client, Rachel, she would simply send me her journal pages and I would respond to those.

Now, you and I both know that spiritual direction is a sacred conversation. It’s not something I share with you lightly, and I do share this with her permission. Her heart is to help others connect with God and find healing, so know that she and I are both praying that this will minister to you. The names of people she has referred to have been changed to protect their privacy.

In this example, Rachel writes for a bit in her journal first, and then God responds. This one isn’t a back-and-forth example, though that certainly happened at other times in her journal.

Rachel Wrote

Father, I’m struggling to set healthy routines again. I ended up writing until well after 1 o’clock again last night, because I didn’t even start until past 11. The last 5 days or so have been too busy, not with work, but with odd jobs and meeting people, and I’ve realized that I’m trying to fit too much into my life again. When I’m here at home, alone, I feel too drained to write, drained by too much ‘people’ time. Even though almost all of it has been with people I am able to be completely myself with, it was still too much. I took last week off from teaching because I felt so overwhelmed by things on my birthday, but then I ended up seeing more of Mary and Mom because of that. Lord, I’m beginning to understand that I need to have time alone, every day. Quality time alone, where I can be aware of Your presence, immerse myself in You without time limits.

Over the last few days, I’ve been out or connected with people on Zoom for several hours at least twice a day, and in between have found it hard to come back to You. I’ve needed ‘mindless’ time to let my mind have a rest from being with people. Father, I never used to be this way. I know I’ve become aware just how much I relied on a façade, so much so that I thought I was being myself, I deceived even me with the persona I donned. And as I look back, I can see that that had a major part to play in the constant exhaustion, the regular bouts of depression and the complete breakdowns that characterize most of my adult life. For the first time that I can remember, I am able to find out who I really am and be that person. I am discovering that I am indeed fearfully and wonderfully made, and I rejoice in who You made me to be.

Before I went back to work, I felt confident in myself and in who I am as Your child. But I don’t seem to be adapting to having 3 days a week carved out to be with others almost constantly. I know I have built in breaks that give me time to switch off from one intense hour before starting the next, but I don’t feel that I’m managing my time very well. By the time I finish, take the dogs out for a while, have dinner and clear up, I don’t feel like talking to anyone, not even You. I just want to let my mind focus on something completely pointless like a nonogram or a jigsaw puzzle. And then time runs away with me, it’s late when I start to spend quality time with You, and I end up not going to sleep until well after midnight, so that I can’t wake up when my alarm goes off at 7.

Father, I want to live for You, to immerse myself in You and not waste time on things that have no value beyond giving me a way to switch off. But I’m not doing that. And I’m still eating out of control, making poor choices that don’t nourish my body, because I’m trying to stuff down emotions that I’m not dealing with. I’m still gaining weight, a couple of pounds every week, and now I’m at a weight I have never been in my life. I don’t want to live like this. It’s not vanity. I’m not trying to impress or attract anyone. But I feel uncomfortable in my body now. Hardly any of my clothes fit so I stick to what feels comfortable even when I would like to dress up a bit. None of my ‘nice’ clothes fit anymore. And most importantly, my body is a temple of Your Holy Spirit, and I am abusing it instead of looking after it.

People keep telling me not to worry about bad eating habits at the moment, saying that I’m still grieving and it’s ok to do this. But it doesn’t feel ok. Even while I’m bingeing, I feel guilty that I’m making unhelpful choices. Some days I do so well all day, and then I lose the plot in the evenings and eat another day’s worth of food before bed. It’s not hunger, because I’ve eaten well and felt satisfied. And it’s not boredom, either with food itself because on ‘good’ days I love the variety of flavors and healthy foods I choose, nor with what to do with my time because I have plenty of interesting options. Yet I binge on food and I binge on mindless activities.

Lord, please would You help me to understand why I do this, this sabotaging of what I want to be and do, this subtle and addictive form of self-harm?

God Wrote

Child, My precious one, you already know the answer to your question. You are trying to avoid dealing with your emotions. You’ve faced a lot of emotions with Me recently, but you know that you haven’t dealt with everything yet. Your soul is weary and still recovering from the healing you have been going through. Your mind gets weary from too much time with other people, even, as you have discovered this week, people you can be free with.

I created you to be a woman who seeks after Me at a deep and intimate level. When you don’t make time to do that, you struggle. I know you need to work, and I have already told you that at least for the time being, that is what I want you to do. Have you realized that there are students that you are getting to know better, who are beginning to respond to Me as they see Me at work in you? You are able to open up more to them, and they to you, and now that they see your authenticity, the daily struggles you face and how you turn to Me to find strength to deal with them, they are seeing that I am always with you, that I am a God who wants to share their lives with them, too, to be their shelter from the storms in their lives, as I am with you. Do you see that?

You have often prayed for Me to use you to reach others with My love, but you tried to do it in your own strength and in the way that others told you to do it. Handing out tracts in the markets, making conversations with all the ‘random’ people you meet each day. But that isn’t who I made you to be, Rachel. I made you the way you are on purpose because you are exactly what some people need to be able to see Me. Just as you feel uncomfortable with how others do evangelism, so many people don’t respond to that kind of message.

I know you are very introverted, even though you cover that up so that others see you as very out-going. But you’re not. I made you to seek Me in the quiet times, and to need a lot of that time every day. Because that is what makes you real to the people I want you to share the gospel with. You are still in the process of grieving all that you thought you were, all that you thought you needed. You had based who you were on people you loved and activities that ignited your passions. You are learning to find your identity in Me, and to be passionate about the things that lead you into a deeper relationship with Me.

And yes, I could make an instant change in you so that you reached that point without having to go through all of this. But how would you learn the things that you are learning now if I did that? I don’t withhold anything you need from you. But sometimes what is best for you means letting you go through these painful and difficult processes so that you really learn the lessons and then you can make better choices in future. You are already making a lot of better choices. Look at this morning. You’re tired and mentally drained, and you have a full day’s work ahead of you. You wanted to go back to sleep and get up at the last minute, then just get straight into work. But you didn’t. You chose to come to Me instead. You’re still tired, but you know why. You made less beneficial choices yesterday, and even though you’ve come to Me now, I’m not going to wipe away the consequences of poor decisions because again, there are lessons for you to learn. You already know that a good start tomorrow begins with the choices you make tonight.

My beloved child, don’t beat yourself up about these things. Come to Me with them and let Me teach you the lessons you need to learn, then trust Me for the strength and discernment to make wiser choices next time. You have come such a long way in the last 3 months, do you realize that? Yes, you still have a way to go, but I am with you every step of the way, and when you are too weary to walk, I will carry you in My arms.

Now, you need to go and prepare for your day. Have a shower, put on clean clothes, behave as you would if you were going out to work, rather than just taking what looks like the easy option and relying on the fact that your students only see you on Zoom to hide the fact that you aren’t always looking after yourself well. Your body needs to feel refreshed for your mind to also feel it.

And let’s take today one step at a time, shall we? You know that you don’t have to write to speak to Me. Speak to Me and listen for My voice when you sit with a cup of tea between classes. We can just chat over tea, you know! Come to Me and I will give you rest for your soul so that you can face the next class. So, come on. How about it? Are you ready to get up and do today with Me?

Journal Prompt: Try dialogue journaling.

What do you think? Was there anything that resonated with you in what Rachel shared in her journal entry?

Now it’s your turn, my friend. Pick something to talk to the Lord about, maybe even something that caught your attention in what Rachel wrote, and try your hand at dialogue journaling.

It might feel funny at first. In fact, it probably will, because it’s something new and different. But have an open mind and an open heart and see what God might have to say to you in response, okay?

And if you’d like to learn more about dialogue journaling—or try other type of journaling—then I’d love to invite you to sign up for a 1-on-1 journal coaching call. This is a safe space for us to chat and try different things so that you can make the most of your journaling time with the Lord. You can sign up at lovedoesthat.org/journalcoaching.

Prayer

God, I am so thankful that You teach us to know Your voice. You are our Good Shepherd, and You have things You want to say to us. Help us to quiet ourselves and prepare to hear from You. Teach us to recognize Your voice. And please, meet us on the pages of our journals. We love You so much. And we pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

RELATED LINKS + EPISODES:

• Lent Journaling Retreat
• Journal Coaching
• Episode 109: It’s Getting Real: God’s Invitation to Me for the Rest of Lent
• Episode 82: Posturing Your Heart to Hear from God, Part 1: Ready
• Episode 83: Posturing Your Heart to Hear from God, Part 2: Recognize
• Episode 84: Posturing Your Heart to Hear from God, Part 3: Receive
• Episode 85: Posturing Your Heart to Hear from God, Part 4: Respond

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