Prayer Journaling

This year I’m using the Wednesday posts to go through the Psalms. However, there are 150 Psalms and only 52 weeks in a year. So, this year we’ll go through Psalms 1-50.

I love the Psalms because they are a record of written prayers to God. {And I love to write out my prayers to God.} Journaling prayers is also a great way to discover God’s vision for your life. {I discuss the importance of prayer and planning in my new ebook, Visionating.}

Hopefully, as we endeavor in this project this year, we’ll find truths to apply to our life on how to get direction for our unique life path. Let’s start with Psalm 1 (NLT).

Oh, the joys of those who do not

follow the advice of the wicked,

or stand around with sinners,

or join in with mockers.

But they delight in the law of the Lord,

meditating on it day and night.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither,

and they prosper in all they do.

We’re here at the last part of our series on Prayer Journaling! Today, we’ll talk about writing the Word. If you’ve read my post last Wednesday on Copying the Bible, then you know the benefits of writing verses (or even entire books!) of the Bible.

While reading through the One Year Bible, I’ll often see a verse that speaks to me personally. When that happens, I write them down and think about them as I go through my day. I create sections called: ‘Old Testament’, ‘New Testament’ and ‘Proverbs’ In each section, I’ll use verses from the day’s Bible passage and copy it into my notebook.

Easy peasy!

To recap, here’s all the sections I use in my own prayer journal. I got this idea from Becky Tirabassi’s book “Change Your Life”

Part I: Talk to God

1) Praise: I use the psalms.

2) Admit: I confess any sins before God and ask for His help in overcoming bad attitudes and actions.

3) Request: I lay out any specific prayer requests.

4) Thank: I thank God for the recent happenings in my life.

Part II: Listen to God

5) Listening: I write down what I sense God telling me.

6) Old Testament: I write down verses from the Old Testament reading in my One Year Bible.

7) New Testament: I write down verses from the New Testament reading in my One Year Bible.

8 Proverbs: I write down a verse from the Proverbs reading in my One Year Bible.

I hope this series helped you along in your prayer journey. Next Monday, I’ll spend the next few weeks talking about a favorite hobby of mine: Knitting!!

Listening to God.

At first, it seems like an elusive concept fraught with the potential for error. But if we have safeguards in place, it’s easy for His children to hear His voice. Jesus promised this to us in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow Me.”

The main safeguard we should use when listening to the voice of God during our prayer time is His Word. In fact, scripture is a wonderful conversation piece when learning to hear from Him. With the Holy Spirit as our teacher and our counselor, we can easily interact with Him through the Word. In fact, God commands us to do so in scripture:

“Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.” (Hosea 14:2)

One way I actively dialogue with God is by praying back the truths of scripture to Him. If there’s something I don’t understand in His Word, I’ll ask Him about it. If I don’t sense an answer from Him right away, I’ll wait on it (waiting can be a challenge!!) If there’s a scripture which leaps off the page for me, I’ll slow down and listen to what God wants to say to me through that scripture. Sometimes its a rebuke,  or an encouragement, or direction, or chastening.

Then I’ll write down my thoughts as they come to me. As I write my thoughts, I ask God what is the one thing I should do to get started on the path He wants me to take. This can be related to a character issue I’m struggling with, preparation for something in the future, a relational issue or any other aspect of my life.

If I sense Him leading me to do something, I write it on a ‘to do’ list in the back of my prayer journal. After my prayer time, I’m usually still thinking about what He’s asking of me. If it’s a major decision, I’ll talk it over with my spouse since he’s the spiritual head of our family. I don’t make major decisions after one prayer session. Hastiness is unwise. Sometimes, it takes months or years of planning and preparation before we make a major move.  As I talk over major decisions with my spouse, we usually get direction or confirmation through the Word, conversations, books, sermons. Then we’ll start planning… If we don’t get confirmation or direction, we wait.

If it’s a character issue or something that just deals with me, I’ll ask God for practical ways I can incorporate His direction into my life. I don’t always get an answer right away but, if I wait, I’ll get further direction on how to do this. Often times, He’ll tell me to drop activities or simplify my life in some way to make room for what He wants me to do.

I’m still taking gradual steps on learning to abide in Him, but thus far, this has been the most effective way for me.

Next week, we’ll talk about writing His word on our hearts!

Giving thanks.

It can be tough sometimes, especially after having a rough day at work or at home. But giving thanks lifts our spirits and pulls us from the mire of murmuring and complaining.

When I reach this section of my prayer journal, I try not to be general. Instead, I look for specific instances from the prior day for which I can be thankful. This enables me to see each day as a gift…even the rough ones.

I’ve read that regular gratitude also has wonderful health benefits!! So there’s more to thankfulness than just a positive mental attitude, it can shape other important areas of life.

Here a review of the sections to keep in the Talking to God section of your prayer journal which I’ve gleaned from Becky Tirabassi’s book ‘Change Your Life’:

1) Praise: We choose a psalm as a starting point to give praises to God

2) Admit: We confess anything that has been heavy on your conscience. Also, we ask God to help us in that particular area.

3) Request: We present our needs and concerns to God.

4) Thanks: We thank Him for different things He’s done in our lives.

P.S. You don’t need a fancy journal to use. I have a marble composition notebook which suits me just fine!

Next week we’ll switch gears and talk about the Listening to God portion of our prayer journals. This is where we stop our chattering and listen for His voice for guidance, direction and wisdom.

The first day I used my prayer journal, I opened my Bible and found this verse:

Psalm 116:1-2 “I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!” (NLT)

He hears and answers my prayers. After reading this, I eagerly scribbled my requests to Him. I had so many! After praising Him and after confessing my sins to Him, I had a clear line of communication to present my concerns. I started out with one simple request:

Help me.

Help me be the person you intend me to be.

Help me manage my days so I can be effective through my roles as a wife, mother and writer.

Help me develop in the fruit of the Spirit.

Help me.

Today, I pray for my family and the most pressing concern on my mind at the moment. For instance, I had issues with this website last year. I had to untangle some complicated CSS code to get it to operate I asked God to help me with the CSS code. Later that day, while I was working on a web page, the solution became clear. Problem solved.

This experience humbled me. It showed me God is intimately concerned with the minute details of my life. And, if I rely on Him for the “small” things and stop trying to work things out in my own strength, He’ll come alongside and help me.

So present your requests to Him. He hears. He answers. He bends down to listen.

Next Monday, we’ll talk about giving thanks.

Admitting to God.

Confession of my sin is the second part I cover while prayer journaling. It’s when I come clean to God about areas of weakness. However my natural human tendency is to avoid admitting any wrong doing. It’s easier for me to justify my actions…

Easier in the short term.

If I don’t confess my sins to God regularly, they pile up and over time it keeps me from honest fellowship with Him. This leads to strained relationships with my family and friends. Strained relationships lead to strained effectiveness in God’s particular calling in this season of life. Not good at all.

So, while it can be hard, I write in my journal about my sins and ask God to help me overcome areas of weakness in my life. The effects are amazing. Each time I confess to Him, I feel loved by Him even more. God is first and foremost a Father.

As a mother, I know the degree of love I have for my son is small compared to the depth of love God has for each of His children. So yes, admitting my sins to Him is tough at first but because He loves me, I know He only has my best interests at heart.

Steps to an Effective Prayer Life

Last November, I was fiddling through some books I had and came across an excellent book which I red many years ago: Change Your Life by Becky Tirabassi. In one section of the book, she outlines a method for prayer journaling which I have started using and it has had a great impact on my relationship with Christ.

Tirabassi advises readers to get a notebook and divide it into eight different sections. They are:

Section One: Talk to God

• Praise
• Admit
• Request
• Thanks

Section Two: Listen to God

• Old Testament
• New Testament
• Listening
• Action Steps

Each section covers specific aspects of prayer and enables you to go deeper in your personal time with God. Today we’ll discuss the ‘Praise’ section. The Bible commands us to praise God regularly with our mouth. (Psalms) Praising God has many benefits. WhenI praise God, I remove the focus from myself and instead focus on Him. By doing so, my problems, worries and concerns fade in importance. After doing this long enough, I start to build faith and trust in who He is and what He can do.

How to Praise God

Praising God is simple. I recommend getting a One Year Daily Bible which has a passage from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. In your daily reading, flip to the Psalms, read it and use the verses to form a personal prayer of praise to Him. Saying the words aloud builds your faith and you can also write them in your personal prayer journal.

Here’s an example from Psalm 1:

“I praise You Lord because you don’t allow me to walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. Instead you enable me to take delight in your law day and night. I praise you Father because you make me like a tree planted by rivers of water. I bring forth fruit in my season and You prosper whatever I do.”

What are some ways you ensure that you intentionally praise God?

Next Monday, we’ll discuss section #2 of your prayer journal: Admit.