Prayer journaling is one of those things you hear “spiritual” people talking about, but no one seems to explain what it is. Journaling of any sort is a tricky enterprise. When done well, it can help a person interpret their life. But without` a clear methodology, it can easily become a book of rants and complaints, which is not inspiring to do on a regular basis. Prayer is the same way. Left to ourselves, we often avoid it. When we do pray, it’s hard to get beyond the begging and the whining.
Prayer journaling can be any place you record your conversations with God. However, by setting up a few standards, you can avoid the self-centeredness and participate in a genuine conversation. I developed this scripture-led method as a means of praying through my daily reading of scripture.
- Set a time and place
When Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, he told to “go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” Andrew Murray in With Christ in the School of Prayer expounds on this, saying: “the first thing the Lord teaches His disciples is that they must have a secret place for prayer; every one must have some solitary spot where he can be alone with his God. Every teacher must have a schoolroom.” Decide on a time of day, and a location you can be or a regular basis. For me, this is every morning, as soon as my coffee is ready, at a desk in my bedroom. - Have a scripture reading plan
A plan for reading scripture is a “pulley” that helps me live out the discipline. A lot of people try to read through the whole Bible in a year. I find this daunting, and seldom at meditative as I’d like. I usually focus on a book like the Psalms, or genre, like the Gospels. I read anywhere from a paragraph to a chapter. The important thing is, every morning, I know exactly what I’m supposed to be reading. - Read through the passage as many times as necessary
Think of this as a miniature Lectio Divina. Read the scripture through once, trying to gain an understanding of its overall trajectory. Read it again, looking for any words or phrases that stand out to you. - Write down the word, phrase, or verse that sticks out to you the most
Choose one phrase that stood out to you and write it down. Don’t write too much. It can get overwhelming to copy it all long hand. You are going to be dialoguing with this statement, so you don’t want to take on too much. - Write a letter to God
Respond to the passage by writing a letter to God. Tell him about how the passage made you feel. Did the passage remind you of a blessing that you want to thank God for? Did you see a promise in that you are waiting for God to fulfill in your life? It is very important to be 100% honest in your letter. Eugene Peterson say’s”prayer is not ‘being nice before God,’ it is bringing our whole selves before him.” We do not need to impress God with formal language or fancy writing. No one will ever read this. Say what needs to be said. My prayer journal includes confessions I have been scared to share out loud. I use language that would probably make you blush. Don’t worry. God’s pretty big. He can take it.
Do you keep a prayer journal? What other regular practices help you become more like Christ?
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