Have you ever committed your heart to God in your journal? Have you ever recorded your dreams in a journal?
There is something special and meaningful that God can reveal and teach us through a prayer journal. A prayer journal is not a substitute for scripture, prayer, or wise counsel, but it can become a record of how God meets us, teaches us, comforts us, and reminds us of His faithfulness over time. Here’s how we can see God’s hand in our lives through a prayer journal.
Key Points
- A prayer journal can help believers talk honestly with God, record their prayers, and remember His faithfulness over time.
- Keeping a prayer journal does not replace scripture, prayer, or wise counsel, but it can deepen a Christian’s time with the Lord.
- Writing down prayers, questions, dreams, and reflections can help believers slow down, listen, and notice how God is working.
- Old journal entries can become reminders of answered prayers, spiritual growth, and God’s presence during times of waiting.
- Christians can begin simply with a notebook, a pen, an open Bible, and a heart willing to seek God with humility and discernment.
1. A prayer journal can teach us how to pray
I remember keeping a journal when I was little, barely able to scribble my letters on the page. I had one of those little journals with the lock and key. It was one of my most precious possessions. As a shy and fearful child, I went through some tough times. My “Dear Diary” quickly became “Dear Jesus” and I began writing to him that way every day, especially when I was alone or isolated at school. I didn’t know at the time that it was a kind of prayer that reached God’s heart. The Lord was teaching me to run to him, to sit with him, to open up to him. He was teaching me how to stay with Him in prayer.
2. Keeping a prayer journal can deepen our time with the Lord
I didn’t keep a journal for many years, but I remember the time in my life when the Lord began to lead me back to writing a daily journal. I began to open my heart to my Heavenly Father every day in my journal, to be vulnerable with Him, to cry out to Him, to confess to Him: write my prayers to Him. I shared with him my greatest fears and my deepest desires. I began to learn that this “secret place” was a safe place where I could open my heart to Him. It is in this place, this secret place, that I made a deep desire to remain with Him, become aware of His presence and learn more about His heart and character. It was in this place that I learned to have a true relationship with my Heavenly Father.
Prayer journaling led me to the door of my own secret place with the Lord. I did not know to what extent “life” would begin to arise from this secret place with the Most High God, my heavenly Father.
3. A prayer journal can help us listen to God’s voice
The Word of God is the foundation for learning to recognize the voice of Gode. I know that by absorbing the Word, by introducing it into my mind, I will learn to better recognize its voice because I I know itand recognize Him from His Word. As I open my journal to write each day, I quiet myself to wait and listen to what he says. “Lord, what is in your heart? What do you want to say to my heart today?” And then, from the quiet, I will start to hear him speak. I will write down what He tells me, to hold on to it. Often the Lord brings me back to these words in my journal to later confirm what He has told me, or perhaps to give me more revelation. Journaling, in addition to soaking up God’s Word, is a way for God to teach us about his heart and help us learn to recognize his voice when he speaks to us.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27 KJV
4. A prayer journal can help us notice what God connects
From time to time the Lord leads me on an adventure through my journals. Sometimes a memory comes to mind and I am directed to a particular journal to see what the Lord was doing in my life at that time. As I look through my journal, the Lord shows me things I may have never connected before. Often I write down the prayers I wrote, the questions I asked, and the things I felt as I heard Him speak to me. When I follow it in my journals, I will suddenly be able to see His footprints of loyaltythe work of His hands. It’s like he’s letting me get a glimpse of the bigger picture of what he’s been working on all along. A small piece of the larger puzzle begins to form.
“OH! Lord, that’s what You said! That’s what You did. It was You! I can see it now, and I think I might have known it then too, now that I’m learning about you and me. I can see how you were working in this situation all along!”
5. A prayer journal can help us see God’s bigger picture
I love how the Lord can use my journal to show me what He was “illustrating” all along. He doesn’t have to do this, but He does. And when He does, I sit back in awe and amazement and wonder: “My God… You were doing that all along! I can see it now through these pages of my diary!”
“My God, that time You said this thing that made no sense to me at the time, and yet I knew it was a word from You. I now understand why you told me that!“
“My God, that dream you had for me, it all makes sense to me now!”
It’s like a beautiful thread woven into the pages of the newspaper. A thread that transforms into a woven image, which we begin to see take shape.
“He reveals the profoundly mysterious and knows what is in the darkness; with him dwells the light.” – Daniel 2:22 independent software publisher
6. A prayer journal can help us manage our dreams with discernment
I keep a journal at my bedside, especially for dreams and visions in the night. I never dreamed much, but after a dream that had a huge impact on my life, I asked the Lord for more dreams. I told him I would keep a light and a journal by my bed so I could be faithful to always write them down. Do you know that He gave me more dreams? There are many dreams that I don’t understand at the time, but often I do. Some dreams are for “now” and others for later. When we steward what is given to us and are faithful and grateful, He will give us more and He will teach us more. I encourage you to get a journal just for your dreams, place a pen by your bed and a lamp, and ask the Lord to give you dreams, to speak to you at night. Let him know you’re listening and ready to receive, then wait impatiently.
“The king answered and said to Daniel, “Verily, your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and the revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. » – Daniel 2:47 ESV
7. A prayer journal can remind us of God’s faithfulness while we wait
One morning the Lord reminded me of a powerful, life-changing moment in my life, so I went to get the journal and read the pages. That day was the last page of this particular newspaper. I read what the Lord said to me that day, and then started working backward from there, to the first day of this journal. I believe the Lord wanted me to trace His faithfulness and reflect on His faithfulness – to see His faithfulness as I walk through my life in these pages. He wanted me to see where he worked, how he prepared me, how he made me overcome certain fears, how he helped me overcome certain challenges and struggles, what he brought me out of and what he helped me into. He let me see his footprints of faithfulness in these journal pages.
8. A prayer journal can help us remember and share our testimony
God can use a prayer journal to connect our prayers to His answer. This gives us an opportunity to remember what He has done, to thank Him for it, and to give Him glory by sharing our testimony of His goodness and faithfulness. How often do we neglect the answers to our prayers? If we record our prayers and what God has done for us, how much more opportunity does it give us to live a life of testimony?
How to start a prayer journal?
You can start a prayer journal with just a notebook, a pen, an open Bible, and a heart willing to speak honestly with God. Just start with a notebook, a pen, and a listening heart. As you begin your time of prayer, ask the Lord to purify your heart and intentions. Be fully surrendered to Him, align your heart with His. Then, in the quiet, when you begin to hear that still small voice, you will be able to recognize Him. Write down what He shows you, even if it doesn’t make sense at the time, even if you don’t understand it. Pray and ask for understanding or a verse of scripture.
Thank Him for what He has shown you, even if you don’t understand yet. Write it down, save it, and wait for Him to show you what to do with it. With a journal, God can take you back and show you what He was doing all along, piece by piece. Look and listen eagerly to the Lord.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you do not know.” – Jeremiah 33:3 ESV
“The secret of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he will show them his covenant. » – Psalm 25:14 KJV
There are treasures to be discovered in the pages of our prayer journals.
Frequently Asked Questions About Prayer Journaling
- What is a prayer journal?
A prayer journal is a place to write prayers, scriptures, questions, dreams, burdens, and reflections so that you can speak honestly with God and return to His faithfulness. - How to start a prayer journal?
Start with a notebook and write a simple prayer to God. You can include what you are grateful for, what you need, the scriptures you read, and what you feel God is teaching you through His Word. - Can a prayer journal help me hear God’s voice?
A prayer journal can help you slow down, listen, and pay attention, but everything you feel must be tested against Scripture, God’s character, and wise biblical counsel. - Should Christians journal about their dreams?
Christians can write down their dreams and pray for wisdom, but all dreams are not a direct message from God. Dreams should be approached with humility, discernment, and Scripture. - Why is it helpful to reread old prayer journal entries?
Rereading old entries can help you notice answered prayers, spiritual growth, patterns in your walk with God, and reminders of His faithfulness during times of waiting.
To go further
- 5 Benefits of Prayer Journaling
- 3 Ways to Keep a Prayer Journal to Revive Your Faith
- Creative Ways to Deepen Your Prayer Life
- Building a Strong Prayer Life
- How to discern the voice of God
Photo credit: © Unsplash/Joao Silas
