This post is all about how to start a prayer journal to get closer with God!
Prayer Journaling is a unique and intentional way to grow in your faith and document your personal journey with Jesus. I’ve kept a prayer journal for 9 months now and it’s been incredible to see God answering my prayers and spiritual questions overtime! I believe I have made considerable progress on my walk with God just from the simple act of keeping a prayer journal, and I want to encourage you to start one too!
Journaling will help you stay open, honest, vulnerable and close to God’s heart. It’s the perfect way to hold yourself accountable in your own spiritual growth! This post will teach you how to start a prayer journal, the benefits of keeping a prayer journal, and some ideas for how you can start documenting your walk with God!
This post is all about how to start a prayer journal!
What are the benefits of prayer journaling?
-Will help you be more intentional with God and help you grow closer to His heart.
-Will help you keep track of your prayer requests and reflect to see how God’s answered or delivered on them over time.
-It’s an extremely positive outlet and coping mechanism for stress and anxiety.
-Will help you to see what God is doing in your life and the ways He’s always faithful.
-It helps you to remain in consistent contact with God.
-It can deepen your understanding of scripture.
Journaling can help you to view life from a more spiritual perspective rather than a carnal one. And helps you stay focused on God during difficult seasons of life. The times where I’ve been consistent and intentional with journaling, have been the times I have felt the closest to God’s heart. God delights when we’re purposeful with Him, and daily journaling shows God that He is a priority in our lives.
How to start a prayer journal:
- Buy or find a journal at home
- Reflect on your life
- Reference the strategies mentioned in this post, or choose your own way to journal
- Start writing!
- Make sure to include the date every time you write
- Make it your own by added your favorite scriptures to the front, adding drawings, etc
- Once you’ve journaled for a while, reflect on how God’s moved in your life over the passage of time
Ways to use your prayer journal
1. Write letters to God
My favorite way to journal with God is by writing Him letters and prayers. Write to Him as if He were your best friend and unburden all your stresses at the feet of Jesus. Tell Him everything that’s on your heart for that day, including gratuities, confessions, struggles, prayers and intercessions. It helps to unburden your mind and deal with stress and document life’s highs and lows in a healthy and constructive way.
Here is a general outline of my typical journal entry to God:
Praise:
I typically begin my letters to God by giving Him praise. I love to thank Him for being such a loving and gracious God, His creation, my relationship with Him and the blessings He’s given me in my life. If there’s a particular revelation or Word He’s given me… I make sure to thank Him for giving me the ability to understand another aspect of His heart. David always gave God praise in the psalms, because God deserves to know how magnificent and awe-inspiring He is!
Confession/Repentance
Next I will write down my confessions and anything I need to repent for. Sometimes God will remind me of past sins I haven’t repented of when I’m journaling; and it gives me the opportunity to confront those sins and ask for forgiveness. When we’re honest and vulnerable with God about our shortcomings… We come into agreement with Him that our behavior is sinful. Then He can properly heal and deliver us. I also take the opportunity to let Him know of any iniquities I’m currently struggling with, and ask for help in overcoming them.
Prayer requests/Intercessions
Next I will spend time writing down the things I am praying for. As well as my intercessions for friends, loved ones or whoever else God places on my heart to intercede for. Oftentimes, someone I haven’t thought of in years will pop into my head, and I take that as a signal that God wants me to pray for them.
I think it’s important to pray that God’s will be done in every situation. But I also think He wants to give us the desires of our hearts IF they are in line with His will for our lives.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrew 11:1
Don’t be afraid to be as specific as possible, but also trust that God’s ways are higher than our own and that He ultimately knows what’s best for us. It’s up to you to decide how you want to format your journal entries. But I have personally made a lot of progress in my relationship with God writing this way!
2. Scripture meditation
Another one of my absolute favorite ways to journal is through scripture meditation! Select one or two scriptures and analyze the scripture word by word to uncover the deeper meanings of the passage. Scripture is rich with meaning and sometimes when we’re simply reading…We can gloss over the intricate details God weaves into His good book.
Sit and meditate on the scripture for several minutes and pray for God to help you receive deeper revelation of the verse. Then, take pen to paper and document everything that comes to mind. Sometimes I relate it to other scriptures, or document how I should apply the principle to my own life. Think deeply about every word, and watch God reveal the hidden meanings of the scripture that you’ve never even thought of before!
3. SOAP method
The soap method is similar to the scripture meditation mentioned above. But it may provide you with a little more structure! Write S, O, A, P down the side of your page and write a response for the following:
-Scripture: Select a scripture that stands out to you
-Observation: What stands out to you about the particular verse? What does God seem to be revealing to you? Are any words standing out to you as particularly important? What can you find out about the context, greek/hebrew translations that deepen the scripture even further?
-Application: How can you relate the scripture to you own life and put it into practice? What areas in your life do not align with what that particular truth is saying?
-Prayer: Write a prayer asking for help to implement this principle into your own life and of those around you. Give God all the praise for opening your eyes to more truth and understanding of His word
Try choosing a scripture a day and doing this deeper dive analysis on!
4. Write down your questions for God
Another amazing way to interact with God through journaling is by recording the questions you encounter in life, as you read scripture, etc. When we bring these questions to God we can prayerfully ask for discernment and clarity on them. I’ve found in my own experience that God had answered a myriad of specific questions weeks or months later. It’s so cool to see God answering your questions as you look back and reflect!
5. Document the revelations He’s given you!
If you’re just going about your day and God gives you a profound realization, dream or vision about something, write it down!! God could desire for you to share that revelation to bless someone else or to be a stepping stone to how He personally wants to reveal Himself to you.
6. Guided prayer journal
If you’re looking for a prayer journal that’s a little more interactive, you can order a premade prayer journal that has promptings for you to answer. One of my favorites is this
This post was all about creative ways to journal with God. I hope these ideas will help you to deepen your relationship with God and help you establish an even closer bond with God!
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