You may have found this page by trying to find out how to start a prayer journal. I have had a lot of experience with spiritual journaling. It can be very rewarding in helping you be better focused in your prayer life and spiritual growth in general.
Hopefully, we can help and you are in the right place. One thing that many growing Christians have in common is called “a quiet time where they can read God’s word, share any prayer request with him spend that special time with just you and your Lord.
There are many benefits to starting a prayer journal. Prayer is essential to the Christian life, and a prayer journal can help you deepen your prayer life and grow in your faith. A prayer journal can also help you keep track of your prayers and help you remember and more clearly see how God is working in your life.
What Is a Prayer Journal?
A prayer journal is simply a small book, notebook, or maybe your laptop, or phone where you can write down your prayers when you have your quiet time with God. Prayer journaling helps you stay focused on your various prayer requests and helps you continue to pray specifically and grow stronger in your faith.
Learning how to start a prayer journal can begin as easily as getting a small, inexpensive, blank notebook, a pen or pencil – and maybe a highlighter. Or, you can buy a journal from a Christian Bookstore that is designed as a prayer journal.
You can keep up with them and be consistent with the things you are asking God. You can use it however you want, but we encourage you to start simple and just start writing down your prayers.
Some people make it into an overall spiritual journal and use it as a prayer journal and also as a diary for their spiritual lives and prayers. As for me, I would generally write out my thoughts to God and also write any thoughts that I thought might be coming from Him to me.
I also would encourage you to incorporate encouraging scriptures or some plan for daily Bible verses, God’s word, into your prayer time. You may also want to carry it with you or use it as a reference in your Bible studies. You can make your journal as broad or as narrow as you like. However, I would keep the focus on the communication in your prayer journals to be between you and God.
Prayer Journal For Digital or Paper?
Ok, as a minister I have relied on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and wonderful smartphones. If you choose any of those, that’s fine. However, with personal journaling, there is something uniquely special about having a small journal with your Bible and writing (the old-fashioned way) in your journal.
I have had much more success when I journaled with a small paper notebook. I suggest that. However, if you decide to go the digital route, then stick with it and go for it.
For ideas about your prayer journaling, see Prayer Journal Accessories
Prayer Journaling – Not An Exact Science
On this page we will list some benefits of journaling and also give you some ideas for sections that should be included in your prayer journal. However, don’t be locked into that as a rigid system.
This is not about having a notebook where you can check off the things that you do. A spiritual journal is meant to be a guideline or a pathway to help and encourage you in your walk with Jesus Christ. It should not be looked at as another tedious task that someone tells you to do so you can feel close to God.
If you are a born-again Christian, you are close to Him. You have a relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ – the Son, and The Holy Spirit! You may not be experiencing or feeling how close God is in your life, but that doesn’t mean He has left you. As you learn how to start a prayer journal and use it regularly, it can help you understand and learn to communicate with God He is waiting on you to spend quality time with him.
Benefits Of Having A Prayer Journal
There are many benefits to starting a prayer journal. Some of them may be seen or felt fairly quickly. Other benefits may take time. You will learn quite a bit by just going through the process of learning how to start a prayer journal.
(Just a quick note. All of the things below are things that may benefit you now or over time. Don’t be overwhelmed or try to force the things listed below. Don’t think that each of these things must happen every time you use your journal. Many of these benefits will start to happen naturally as you journal).
Maybe you don’t enjoy writing. Then maybe you shouldn’t worry about writing very much as you get started. You may just write down a couple of thoughts on some days. Remember that a prayer journal is to help you focus on God, and His Word, and can allow you to hear His voice in a better way.
1- A Prayer Journal Helps You Stay Disciplined in Prayer
One of the main benefits of a prayer journal is that it helps you stay disciplined in your prayer life. It can be easy to start praying and then get sidetracked or distracted. But if you have a specific place and plan to write your prayers, lift up your prayer requests, and help you stay focused and consistent in your prayer life.
If you can try to make this a part of your everyday life, your quiet time with God may flourish even more than you can imagine.
2- A Prayer Journal Helps You Keep Track of Your Prayers
Another benefit of a prayer journal is that it helps you stay focused on long-term prayer requests and helps keep track of your prayers in general. It can be easy to forget what you have prayed for, but if you have it written down, you can look back and praise God for how He has been working in your life. This can be a great encouragement to you as you see how God has answered prayers.
3- A Prayer Journal Helps You Experience A More Intimate Relationship With God
One of the best benefits of a prayer journal is that it can help you experience God in a greater way. Focus on God’s attributes and the love that He has for you. As you spend time writing out your prayers, you will find that you are spending more time thinking about God and what He has done for you. This can lead to a deeper relationship with Him as you grow in your faith.
4- A Prayer Journal Can Help You Think More Clearly About Your Spiritual Life
A prayer journal can also help you keep a more balanced spiritual life. You can write about your joys, your pains, and your hurts. This can help you healthily process your emotions and thoughts. It can also help you see the bigger picture of your life and how God is working. This article from TheCreatorsClassroom.com can give you some prompts to help you stay focused.
5- A Prayer Journal Can Help You Grow In Your Faith
Finally, a prayer journal can help you grow in your faith. As you spend time writing out your prayers, you will find that you are spending more time thinking about God and what He has done for you. This can lead to a deeper relationship with Him as you grow in your faith.
6- A Prayer Journal Can Help You Stay Motivated About Prayer
As you keep a journal of your prayer life, it will help you become and stay motivated about the importance of prayer in your daily life. As you spend time with God and write your prayers and thoughts to your Lord you may see more and more of God’s goodness. You will find yourself being more thankful for what He is doing in your world and look forward to the conversations that you have with Him.
7- A Prayer Journal Can Help You Communicate Honestly With God
When you start a prayer journal, it can help you be more honest with God. You can write out your thoughts, feelings, and deepest prayer requests and know that He is listening. This can help you build a stronger relationship with Him as you grow in your faith. God wants us to share our deepest thoughts with Him! In these times of communication with God keep these two things on your heart when you pray:
Know That He Wants To Hear Your Prayers, Your Desires, and Your Thoughts
It’s hard to comprehend that the God of the universe wants to hear from you and know what you have to say. He created you to have a relationship with you and He has a tremendous desire to hear from you. However,
Know That It’s Ultimately More Important For You To Hear His Thoughts and His Plans For You
Although he wants you to pour your heart out to Him, the most important thing is that you listen to Him. It’s a habit that can be well-developed. Part of a good quiet time is simply that. Be quiet and listen to what God has to say.
The more you practice listening to God, the more you can hear His voice. He will never tell you to do anything contrary to the Bible. Not always, but sometimes when I think to do something good or positive that is outside of my normal thought patterns, it may very well be God speaking!
When you start a prayer journal, it can help you do that. If you listen to God, you will understand how much He loves you. As you learn to communicate more sincerely with God, you most certainly will want to share with Him in the happy times. However, it is extremely important in your spiritual progress to speak openly to him about your hurts, pains, and emotions.
There have been times when I was angry with God about something. Did I know it wasn’t His fault? Yes, I did. Did I praise God, anyway? Yes, but I still was honest with Him about my anger and confessed it. He knew it anyway and helped me grow through things like that!
8. A Prayer Journal Can Help You Exercise a Heart of Gratitude
One of the more important things that a prayer journal can do for you is to help remind you to have a heart of gratitude. Being grateful to God daily is a habit that can lift your spirits even when you go through hard times.
A simple way to start each day is by taking a few minutes to write out what you are thankful for in your prayer journal. As you start each day with gratitude, it will be easier to see God’s hand at work in your life, no matter what circumstances you may be facing.
Starting A Spiritual Prayer Journal
I don’t like to talk about formulas when it comes to prayer. The God of the Bible is a God of grace and wants to pour out blessings upon blessings on us. He loves it when you come to him in prayer. Even though much on this page seems to be a bit formulaic in nature, these have worked for a lot of people. Once again, Don’t feel like you have to do everything on this page.
Gather ideas, pray about them, and start your prayer journal in the way you think God wants you to.
How To Start a Prayer Journal – A Few Sections
If you are using a blank notebook you may want to experiment with various prayer journal sections. these may be-
A Section For Notes On a Brief Scripture Reading
Always have your Bible close by and ready and hopefully be prepared to read a passage. When certain scriptures speak to you or apply to specific situations, you may want to make note of them
A Section for Gratitude to God.
Be very intentional with a sincere prayer of thankfulness as one of God’s precious children. If you are having a rough day, you can still think of many things for which to be thankful.
A section for personal prayer or requests for yourself.
These are just life decisions, life questions, or personal needs that you need to bring to God. You can ask God to help you in simple decision-making or for the tough answers you seek for your life’s journey.
A Section for Listing Prayers of Intercession For Others.
Maybe you want to list other people altogether. However, it can be a good idea to do subsections for family, friends, co-workers church leaders, national leaders, etc.
A Section for Worship and Praise To God For Who God is.
Some may include this in one Worship/Gratitude gratitude section. That is fine too. However, you can choose to include a section that is all about focusing on Who God is – giving Him glory, honor, and praise to Him – not because of things He has given you, but just because of Who He is!
A Section To Keep a List of Answered Prayers
You will come to love this section as you look back and see the great things that God has done. Sometimes when we don’t keep a record of them we will forget. These can become some of the greatest blessings as you look back on your pages and journals of the past.
A Section To Summarize That God May Be Saying To You Today
This is an important section not to leave out. There may be a lot of days that nothing has changed or is necessarily earth-shattering for you. However, make this a practice so that you will be able to acknowledge what God is showing you or speaking to you.
Don’t Let a Journal Become a Legalistic Ritual Rather Than a Helpful Pleasure
Know that any journal that you might use is simply a tool. You want it to be a tool to help you simply focus on Jesus in a greater way. You may want to start by jal along with morning prayer or you may choose to do it in another time of the day.
I see some journals that are organized all in order – and that’s okay. However, I have done quite a bit of spiritual journaling in my life, and on many days I just simpened up my heart in no very organized way and poured out my heart to Him in those prayer journals.
So, if learning how to start a prayer journal, don’t over-organize it in a way that it will be uninviting to use. Let’s also be reminded that we should have an expectation that God wants to speak to us and work in our hearts. When we expect God to speak to us and work in his, we can be more motivated in our times of seeking God.
Start Simple
Give it a try even if you start simple. Some of my journals were very small – like 6″ by 8.”
The main thing is to get started. With whatever notebook or journal you buy from a bookstore, or one that you make for yourself, just pour your heart out to God. During those times, it can be just you and Him. And those can be such precious times
If you are thinking about starting a prayer journal, we encourage you to do it! It can be a great way to grow in your relationship with God. If you are just beginning your Bible reading journey, check out our picks for beginning Bibles.
We hope this article has helped you understand a little more about the positive aspects of journaling and how to start a prayer journal. If you are not sure where to start, we encourage you to check out our other articles on prayer and journaling. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We would be more than happy to help you get started!
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