A prayer journal is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with God in a practical way. You can use a prayer journal to let out all the feelings you’ve had buried inside of you and to grow closer to God. Also, prayer journals are great ways to get started praying if you are new to communication with the Lord.
In this article, we’ll define what a prayer journal is, so you can understand exactly what it is. We’ll also discuss why you need to start one today and the top 7 benefits of having a prayer journal. Some of them may shock you!
Plus, we’ll look at how to start a prayer journal with two different resources – the Prayer Journal Planner and the Daily Prayer Journal (a freebie). I’ll go into detail for each item so that you will know exactly how to use them or create your own with a notebook and some colorful pens. The most important thing is just to get started in whatever way that works best for you!
Finally, I’m going to startle you with some crazy ideas of how you can make the most out of your time in prayer with God. The two ideas I’m going to spring on you are a prayer room, something you may have heard of before, and the idea of “wrecking” your prayer journal. To find out more, be sure to stay tuned for the rest of this article!
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What is a Prayer Journal?
A prayer journal can be whatever you want it to be, but my definition of a prayer journal would be a diary or love letter to God. It’s a way to write down your prayers to stay focused on what you want to say and reflect on your past prayers to see which ones have been answered. It’s a great way to stay organized and consistent with your prayer life!
Why You Need a Prayer Journal
According to Time, the average attention span for humans is 8 seconds. After that, they lose concentration. You may be wondering what this has to do with a prayer journal, but it has everything to do with why you should have one! People get distracted too easily.
Haven’t you ever prayed and had your mind wander to something else (what you need to do today, what you want to talk to someone about, and what you think about your past)? It’s easy to let your mind drift from your talk to God when you are praying in your head. However, if you write it down, you have a much higher chance of success in staying focused.
So, writing down your prayers gives you a much better chance at keeping your mind on God. Let’s look at the other benefits of having a prayer journal to see even more reasons you need a prayer journal.
The Benefits of Having a Prayer Journal
1. Build a Stronger Relationship with God.
Remember that you are writing a prayer to God. You can treat your prayer journal as you would a diary, revealing your deepest, darkest secrets. God knows them all, so you have nothing to hide, but He still wants to hear that you are trying to communicate with Him in the best way possible. A prayer journal is a great practical way to reach out to God.
2. Organize Your Thoughts and Ideas.
Having a prayer journal is also a fantastic way to organize your thoughts and ideas, so you can focus clearly on what you want to say to God. When you are writing in a journal or diary, you can avoid many distractions, like your mind wandering to other subjects if you were to pray in your head.
3. Monitor Your Spiritual Growth.
A lovely benefit of a pray journal is the fact that you’re now keeping track of your prayers and your spiritual walk and growth. The more you write in your prayer journal, the closer you will get to God. As your relationship with God grows, your faith will explode! Plus, you’ll create a bond with God that is irreplaceable no matter what happens in your life!
4. Reduce Your Stress Level.
Another perk of a prayer journal is stress relief. As you pour your heart out, you’ll be sharing your innermost thoughts, ideas, feelings, emotions, and secrets with the Man upstairs. Getting all of this out can greatly reduce the amount of stress you are under.
Remember that you are safe when you talk to God. He’s the one person that can rid you of your worry and anxiety.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.1 Peter 5:7
5. It’s Therapeutic.
Starting a prayer journal is very therapeutic. It might save you the cost of seeing a therapist or counselor. Of course, if you have serious issues, you should still see a medical professional, but seek God first.
Ideally, you should be able to combine counseling efforts with your prayer journal. Make it a part of your life, something you do every day.
6. Gain a Greater Sense of Self-Awareness.
As you become more comfortable writing to God, you will be more open and honest with Him, and your ups and downs will be transparent to you. This level of self-awareness is amazing! You will grow as a person and become a stronger Christian because of the time you are spending with the Lord.
7. You’ll Want to Pray More.
You will get an open relationship with God that expands past writing in a prayer journal. In addition to your prayer journal, you will start praying to God on your way to work, school, or wherever you travel during the day. You’ll want to pray before meals and keep praying continuously.
Always be joyful and never stop praying.1 Thessalonians 5:16-17
How to Start a Prayer Journal Using Templates
Templates or printables, as I call them, are a great resource to use when praying. So far in my shop, I have two prayer journals to offer you – the Prayer Journal Planner and the Daily Prayer Journal. I’d love it if you’d check them out in my shop! If you love them, let me know so that I can create even more awesome printables with you in mind!
1. The Prayer Journal Planner
This one is the best! It’s 10 pages long and packed with value for you. You can download the Prayer Journal Planner in my shop!
Let’s review the various parts of this valuable resource. Keep in mind that you can create your own prayer journal, something we will go into in the next section! Do what works best for you.
One suggestion I would say on the Prayer Journal Planner would be to print the whole thing once. Then, just print the pages you will use on a regular basis. This will help you save on ink and paper! You could also print it and use a notebook to record your answers to the questions/ideas that lead you through your prayers.
1. The Daily Prayer Schedule
Using a daily schedule for your prayer journaling is a great way to stay on top of your prayer life. Did you know that there are people out there who pray during every hour of the day?
You can enter the date on the schedule and include your prayer requests during the times you pray. It’s a great way to hold yourself accountable to prayer. Also, it’s a wonderful way to look back at your prayer life to see what it used to be like and how it’s improved. Continuous or frequent praying can improve your life!
Here is an example of how to use the schedule to write down your prayers. Remember, everyone is different and prays at various times, so make it personalized for your prayer life and write whatever you wish!
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- 5:00 AM – Need extra patience today.
- 9:00 AM – Bless my breakfast.
- 1:00 PM – Bless my lunch.
- 5:00 PM – Gratitude for my day.
- 6:00 PM – Bless my dinner.
- 8:00 PM – Pray for my co-worker.
- 10:00 PM – Repent for my sins.
2. People to Pray For
This is a great part to have in your prayer journal! You can keep track of all the people you promised to pray for and what you are praying on their behalf. There is room for 10 people, but of course, you can make copies of that page and include even more people or make a list in a notebook.
You might say something like, “I want to pray for Mary Martin and her struggle with an addiction to drugs.” Using a prayer like the Celebrate Recovery Serenity Prayer may help guide you on what to say for someone who is struggling with a hurt, habit, or hang-up.
If you don’t have anyone to pray for at the moment, pray for the leaders of your country, your family, your neighbors, your mailman, and soldiers who are out there fighting for our freedom.
3. Prayer Journal
The prayer journal section is full of 10 leading questions and 18 prayer journal prompts to guide you through your prayer. It’s basically a fill-in-the-blanks workbook in this section – perfect for a beginner trying to learn how to pray for the first time. There’s also a prayer for you at the end of this section.
Let’s review the parts of the prayer journal so that you can see what is included. Please note that each section is much longer than this; this is just a quick overview of the different parts of the prayer journal. There is plenty of space after each section for you to write out your answers if you wish to do so.
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- Include the date of the day you are praying.
- Talk to God as you would a friend.
- Count your blessings and tell God you appreciate it all.
- Praise the Lord for all of His glory.
- Ask Him to reveal Himself in your life.
- Talk about how you’d like to become the best Christian you can be.
- Ask for forgiveness of your sins.
- Include any prayer requests you have for yourself.
4. Notes
The Notes section is about a page long. I would suggest using it for any part of your prayer that was not included in the prayer prompts. If you can think of anything I did not include in the prayer journal, go ahead and write it in the Notes section.
Another option for the Notes section is to write down the prayers God has answered for you. If you prayed for someone in the People to Pray For section, you could write down your findings for those situations and how it all turned out. This is a great way to connect with God and to see how He’s blessed your life.
2. The Daily Prayer Journal
The Daily Prayer Journal is a free download, a one-page sheet that you can print for each day of the week. At the top, you can enter the date, which is a great way to go back later to review your prayers and see how your life and prayer requests have changed with time. What was once important to you may have changed.
With this prayer journal, you will include the things you are grateful for (the gratitude section), a request for God to show you the way to live your life, a section for you to list the things you need help with, a place for you to repent your sins, and an area for you to follow-up with your answered prayers at a later date.
So, a quick review of the Daily Prayer Journal would be:
- Include the date.
- List what you are thankful for.
- Ask God to show you the way.
- List what you need help with.
- Repent for your sins.
- List your answered prayers to review later.
More Ways to Enjoy Your Prayer Journal
1. Wreck that Journal.
I have two more great suggestions for you as you create your own prayer journal or use one of my templates. The first is to “wreck it.” Okay, you are probably thinking, “What are you talking about, crazy lady?!?” Bear with me; I will explain. The whole “wreck your Bible” thing became popular a few years ago, and I don’t see why you can’t “wreck your prayer journal,” too!
What does “wreck” mean? It doesn’t mean to spill coffee on it or rip your pages. It just means to dive into it so much that it looks a little worn out. You can do this with your Bible or your prayer journal.
Just add stickers, washi tape, post-it notes, flags, and more colorful decorative items! Get creative and make your prayer journal something you love to look at.
It’s a smart idea to grab some markers, crayons, colored pencils, highlighters, gel pens, and pencils to decorate your prayer journal in a way that makes sense to you. If there’s a particular prayer that you want to come back to, flag it and add stickers or colorful notes to remind yourself why you wanted to pay special attention to that prayer.
2. Create a Prayer Room
My second suggestion is to create a prayer room (sometimes referred to as a war room) in your house, in your garage, in your garden, and any other place where you can create a quiet time and place to think and spend time admiring God’s love for you.
Having your own war room, a place of peace and quiet, away from the distractions of the world, could be a real game-changer for your spiritual life. Take some of the prayer journal ideas listed in this article to reflect on how God’s blessed your life and the things He has in store for you in the future.
You can use your time in that room to meditate on God’s word or write out Bible verses. Of course, the best thing to do in a prayer room is to pray! Just write in your prayer journal. For more great ideas on how to create a war room, check out Project Inspired.
Conclusion
Are you struggling in your prayer life? Do you try to pray but don’t know what to say? Have you tried prayer journals, prayer prompts, or anything like that? I think those ideas could really help you!
If you have prayer requests, I’d be happy to pray for you. Just reach out in the comments section below or leave me a message using the contact page.
I hope you are now excited because you know how to start a prayer journal! I’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget to download the Daily Prayer Journal and/or grab the Prayer Journal Planner in my Shop! I’d love to get a review from you on those items, too!
I hope you have been blessed by this article and look forward to the next one. If you love it, please share it on social media; help me get the word out! Also, if you have an idea for a blog post, get in touch with me. I want to create the content you are craving, so please share!
