Do you ever feel like your prayers are everywhere? Or have you ever poured your heart out in prayer and even hit a gusher, only to forget what you prayed about the following day?
Or, do you often hear God speak to you in the quietness of your prayer time, but in a few days, you’ve lost clarity on what God was saying?
Then, what you likely need is a prayer journal.
As a Christian who desires spiritual growth, you need to utilize as many tools and resources as possible to drive transformation in your life. One such tool is keeping a prayer journal.
And no, keeping a prayer journal isn’t just one of those aesthetic things people do in the name of Christianity. It is an ideal way to keep a record of your faith, enjoy your prayer journey, and deepen your walk with God.
What Is a Prayer Journal?
A prayer journal is simply a physical or digital notebook where you write down your prayers and faith impressions. You can use it as both a reminder and a prompt to pray or a tracker for the spiritual progress you make.
Biblical Basis for Keeping a Prayer Journal
If you’re wondering if keeping a prayer journal has any scriptural backing, take a look at the life of David.
Most of the Psalms he wrote were written versions of prayers he had made during the various seasons of his life. You’ll see clearly how he consistently poured out his heart to God and remembered God’s faithfulness with each chapter and verse.
Not only did the Psalms David wrote help him record his prayers, but they also helped him keep God’s laws and precepts always before him to direct his steps. Little wonder God dared to proclaim David as a man after His heart.
And hey, don’t you and I deepen our faith in God whenever we through and meditate on what David wrote in his prayer notes?
You can do the same, too – always remind yourself of God’s faithfulness and requirement of obedience by keeping track of your prayer sessions.
Furthermore, here’s a list of scriptures that encourage the habit of writing out your prayers and communications with God:
Psalms 102:18
This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
Habakkuk 2:2
Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.
Reasons Every Christian Should Keep a Prayer Journal?
You’ve probably been hearing so much about keeping a prayer journal. Still, you’ve not started doing so because you need powerful reasons.
Well, here are very crucial reasons every Christian should keep a prayer journal
Keeping a Prayer Journal Deepens Your Intimacy with God
Keeping a prayer journal (just like every other kind of journaling) has a way of slowing you down to reflect and pay attention to what God is doing with you.
With all the hustle and bustle life throws at us every day, we usually don’t know when prayer becomes something we start to do absentmindedly and only to fulfill righteousness.
But that’s not what God wants for us. God wants it to be that whenever we come to Him in prayer, we are calm and open enough to bare ourselves before Him and also reach in and know His heart.
That’s the kind of intimacy God wants us to experience in the place of prayer – the kind that makes prayer more than a transactional request to have your needs met.
When you make a habit of being still and present in God’s presence, you train yourself to discern the voice of God and understand the things He says to you.
With time, you’ll be able to hear God clearly without any form of confusion.
It Helps You Track Your Spiritual Growth
When you make a habit of journaling during your prayers, you’ll be able to keep track of how far you’ve come spiritually.
A prayer journal helps you know the areas where you may be lacking (and need God’s help) and the areas where you’ve gained some muscles.
For one thing, keeping a prayer journal helps you recognize patterns in your faith walk. This reckoning enables you to discern the season of life you’re in, as well as what God would have you do in that season.
It Strengthens Your Faith in Seasons of Doubt
A prayer journal can come in handy when you are going through tough seasons in life. Those times when it feels like God does not really hear your prayer? Reading your old entries of answered prayers will open your eyes to see that God indeed hears you.
And when you have a handful of evidence of answered prayers, your faith has no choice but to rise. You’ll be reassured, more than words can do, that God will surely deliver you from whatever situation you may be facing.
It Empowers You to Birth Eternity In the Place of Prayer
Sometimes, the prayers you make in the course of fellowship with God are not merely desires from your head. They are verbal expressions of God’s thoughts impressed upon your heart.
If you’re intent on fulfilling God’s plans and purpose for your life, then you’d want to keep track of these thoughts God impresses on your heart.
They are pathways to the fulfillment of God’s eternal plans and purposes for your life.
Now, when you keep a prayer journal, you will never lose track of your birthing process in the place of prayer. You get to keep the flame burning consistently and stay empowered to establish God’s kingdom on earth.
It Helps You Stay Grateful
When you keep track of your prayers and their respective answers, you cannot help but stay grateful to God.
Whenever you feel God has not been good to you, just a glance at a few pages of your prayer journal entries will help you recall His kindness.
A Prayer Journal Helps You Stay Committed to Prayer
When you use a prayer journal and start to enjoy all the benefits we’ve stated above, you’ll hardly want to stop putting in new journal entries.
Keeping a prayer journal also helps you remember the prayers you need to pray – especially for other people.
And sometimes, you may need to pray some kinds of prayers over and over again. Keeping a prayer journal will surely help you remember and also stay motivated to do so.
What to Include in Your Prayer Journal
A prayer journal isn’t a complicated tool. It is a simple, guided notebook designed to help you document your prayers effectively. So, no rocket science here.
Here are some things you can include in your prayer journal:
- Prayer you want to or are led to pray.
- Bible verses God highlights to you.
- What you can hear God say to you
- The prayers God has answered (and how He answered them).
- Dreams, visions, and words of prophecies.
How to Start a Prayer Journal Even If You’ve Never Used a Journal
If you don’t know where to start when it comes to keeping a prayer journal, no worries. I got you.
In all sincerity, the most important things you need to start with are a note (digital or physical) and a heart that genuinely wants God.
The heart is necessary because you do not want your prayer journal to become a religious rite. You want it to be a tool for deeper intimacy with God, as we have just seen.
- Take your notes along with you whenever you pray.
- Take a few minutes before, during, or after your prayer to write down whatever it is you have said in prayer or whatever comes to your mind in those moments.
- You can even start by simply writing what you’re grateful to God for and turning them into prayers.
- Visit your previous journal entries before writing new ones. This is how you keep track of your faith and spiritual progress.
Common Misconceptions about Keeping a Prayer Journal
Maybe the reason you don’t have a prayer journal isn’t that you don’t know how to start. Perhaps you have some silent objections or loud misconceptions about a prayer journal.
But let’s get those out of the way so you can embrace this unique spiritual growth tool.
- “I’m not a good writer.”
Keeping a prayer journal has nothing to do with literary prowess. You only need to know how to write complete, coherent sentences to do so.
What truly matters is that your heart is aligned with God’s, and you can write down the things you receive in God’s presence.
- “I don’t have time.”
You really do not need to make any separate time for journal your prayer time. If you already have a regular prayer time, simply take your prayer journal with you each time and pause occasionally to take notes. That’s all.
- “What if I am not consistent?”
While it is a fantastic idea to stay consistent with your prayer journaling, God will not punish you if you miss a day – or two. What matters is that each time you get to journaling your prayers, you’re doing so from your heart.
However, you can also set up systems to help you stay consistent with journaling your prayer. Read this post to see the practical steps you can take to build consistency.
Conclusion
I need you to remember that keeping a prayer journal as a Christian is a vital practice. And what truly changes the game is the heart you bring before God each time you pray.
Click here to download our Daily Prayer Journal. Your prayer life will thank you for it.
Let me know in the comments when you will start keeping your prayer journal.
