How to Start a Prayer Journal for Beginners

What’s Inside: All you’ve ever wanted to know about how to start a prayer journal

As Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsamane, the disciples fell fast asleep.

“Could you not watch and pray with me for one hour?” he asked them.

The answer was no. Why? Because the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.

Do you constantly wish you could go deeper in prayer?
Do you wish that you weren’t so easily distracted?
Are you tired of falling asleep when you pray?

What if your prayer life could be more structured, more creative, and more fun?

I’ve been journaling my prayers for years now and it has really been beneficial for me in growing my relationship with God.

If you’re like me, starting to prayer journal could change your life.

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What is a Prayer Journal

A prayer journal is a prayer tool that is used to help Christians keep track of all their prayers and for those things they would like to pray for.  

It is a compilation of thoughts, prayers and notes that have brought you to your knees in thanksgiving before the Throne of Grace.

Prayer journaling is simply writing down your prayer requests and can help you keep track of your daily, weekly and monthly prayers.  

You can also keep track of all of the prayers that God has answered.  

A Prayer Journal is a Compilation of Thoughts, Prayers and Notes that Have Brought you to your Knees in Thanksgiving before the Throne of Grace.

Who Can Create a Prayer Journal? 

Anyone can create a prayer journal, from the youngest person to a senior citizen- anyone can benefit from keeping a prayer journal. 

Young children can be taught how to use a prayer journal. Teens can also use a prayer journal. At any age, a journal of prayer can help process feelings and emotions and help with any issue that you are struggling with. In short, a prayer journal is beneficial to anyone and every one.

What Size Should my Prayer Journal Be?

A prayer journal can be any size.  I prefer smaller journals as they are more compact and are easy to carry around.  I’ve made prayer journals as small as 3 by 6 inches and as large as a notebook page. 

Your personal preference is the biggest factor in deciding how large or small you make your journal.  Do you want to take your journal with you?  Will you toss it in your purse?  Will you keep it in your backpack?  How, and where you carry your prayer journal? These questions will help you choose what size is right for you.

Benefits to Prayer Journaling

There are many benefits of prayer journaling- I’ve narrowed them down to 6.

Routine
Organization
Focus
Results
Recollection/Remembrance

• Routine- Using a prayer journal every day helps us to make time to pray. When you see it lying on your desk or in your bag,  it is a great reminder that you need to stop, take time, and spend some time with God.  
• Organized prayer life-  Praying verbally is great, but if you’re anything like me,  it can be easy to forget what you have prayed for.  Writing your prayers in a journal helps you to stay organized and remember exactly what, and who, you have prayed for. 
• Focus-  How many times have you sat down to pray and your mind wandered? Having a routing of writing prayers routinely, as opposed to only verbalizing prayers  reinforces what your mind is praying and dwelling upon.  Keeping a prayer journal helps you be focused on God instead of distractions
• Recollection and Remembrance- Do you sometimes have a difficult time remembering what you prayed for? A prayer journal solves that issue. 

Results-  When you keep a prayer journal, you can clearly see how God answered your prayers and keep a record of His faithfulness.  Having written notes on those prayers builds up faith and reliance on the Lord.  

It’s important to keep our results God focused and not works focused.  Our prayer journaling shouldn’t become about us, but it should always remain God focused. 

Recollection- How many times have you told someone that you were going to pray for them and didn’t?  Writing their name in your prayer journal and following through with prayer is a great in remembering to pray for yourself and others.

Resilience-  Let’s be honest.  How many times have you started to dedicate yourself to prayer, fallen short and stopped altogether?  Having a prayer notebook helps you be more resilient because you have a record of your past prayer time.  I keep my prayer journal on my ‘devotional desk’ and every time I see it,  it reminds me that I can start again fresh at any moment.  It’s really important to give yourself grace within your prayer life. 

Related Post: Spiritual Benefits of Journaling

Different Types of Prayer Journals

Some people love digital journaling and others love the hands on feeling of writing on paper, in a notebook or in a bound journal.  

None of the above choices are wrong.  It’s important to find what you like and what works best for your lifestyle and personality.  We all have different needs and preferences. 

Choosing the Right Type of Journal for you 

My favorite type of prayer journals are ones that have a wire binding.  I also like bound journals but the downfall is that they usually don’t lie flat.  You can also use old planners, or little booklets.  One person’s prayer book may not be right for another person as all of our needs are different.

The Benefits of Using a Paper/book Prayer Journal

For me, there’s nothing like pen and paper or book in hand.  I’ve journaled digitally and on paper, but I prefer having something to hold in my hand and write on.  I love to flip through my journals and recollect those special times with God where I prayed and journaled.

But using a pre-made book is also People are usually encouraged to make their own prayer journal, but using a pre-made book is also acceptable.

Using a paper/book journal allows for more personalized notes.  

Benefits of Online Prayer Journaling

Online prayer journaling on your phone or digital device is perfect for the person who is on the go. With online resources, Mom’s can  waiting in a car, taking the bus, on the subway, while in line at the grocery store… the sky is the limit. People who choose to do prayer digital journaling tend to need convenience and ease. 

There are also some great journaling apps that you can use.  My favorite app to use is Goodnotes.  You can find some of my digital prayer journaling here.  

Printable Prayer Journals or Prayer Journal Templates

Printable prayer journals and/or prayer journal templates are ready made templates that you simply print out and put in a binder.  They are easy to use and take no time to set up.  

Check out these other related PRAYER posts.

How to Start a Prayer Journal

Setting up a prayer journal can be as easy or as difficult as you like.  I would recommend going the easy route with your first journal so your expectations are reasonable and you follow through with completing it. 

We want our prayer journals to be well loved and used. If using a journal for prayer becomes too difficult, it won’t be used and will eventually set aside. 

It can be informal such as a blank sheet of paper (if that’s all you have) or a freshly bought set of blank books. Or you could make your own.

One of the most simple prayer journals is a simple wire ring notebook.  You can write the date first and then your prayer besides it. If your prayer has been answered,  you can highlight your prayer.  Easy peasy! 

Sit down in a quiet place (if that’s possible!) and start jotting down your thoughts, one day at a time. You may want to make entries on the same page every day, but then again you may not. You could choose different pages or different books for your private thoughts and work out later what to do with them when you’ve decided to put them all together into one place. Write down your concerns and cares for others. Then start praying what you have written down.

How to Organize your Prayer Journal

Organizing Prayer Journals- Some people separate their prayers into different categories that make up topics of prayer.  Here is a comprehensive list that you could use as prayer dividers or categories. You will also want to divide up your sections so that each section has a set amount of space for prayers.

Morning prayers (pray for the needs of the day)
Evening prayers (pray over things that happened during the day)
Gratitude Journaling (write a daily gratitude)
Giving Thanks
Family (pray for those in your family)
Church Family (pray for your pastor, pastor’s wife and church staff)
Government
Adoration (Adore God for who He is)
Personal Needs (prayer your own personal needs)
Close to Your Heart (prayers of a sensitive nature0
Praise (worship)
Prayer Requests
Answered Prayer (record prayers that God has answered)
Reflections (reflect on God and prayer
Big Prayers
Bible Study
Scripture Prayers (pray prayers straight from Scripture)
Word Study (pray over word studies that you have done)
Books (things to pray from books/devotionals you are reading)
Days of the Week (assign a specific prayer topic for a day of the week
Personal Evaluation (evaluate (in grace) your walk with God)
Testimony (write down a daily testimony of God’s faithfullness
God’s provision

Practical Tips for Prayer Journaling 

Here are some practical tips for prayer journaling:
1. Your prayer journal is meant to be a personal, private space.  Unless you have a lock on it, know that your journal might be read by someone.
2. Do not compare your prayer journal to anyone else’s.
3. Make prayer journaling a daily habit. 
4. Journal in the same place daily for consistency.
5. Keep your prayer journal in a conspicuous place to help you to use it.
6. Do prayer journaling at YOUR optimal time. If you are a morning person,  journal in the morning.  If you are a night owl, journal at night.
7. Do a brain dump before journaling-  get everything out of your mind and on to paper to avoid distractions. Set your list aside knowing you will get back to it later on.
8. Don’t be vague. Be specific in your prayers. 
9. Your prayer journal is about relationship with God and not a duty to be done.  

An example of praying with your prayer journal

Here is a pic of my mini prayer journal that I made with some scrapbook paper, stickers, tags, my label maker and a few scrap pieces of paper. I’ve got some upcoming posts on making a DIY prayer journal so be on the lookout! 🙂