Keeping a Prayer Journal

Having a faithful prayer life is important in your relationship with God. Act 6:4 states "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." And Romans 12:12 says "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer." These two verses, found in the King James Version of the Bible, illustrate the importance of prayer. We are to pray continually; when we are rejoicing and even when we are having problems.

A prayer journal is a record of your spiritual life, a journal that you dedicate writing what you pray for in. I use a standard spiral notebook that can be found at any store. Keeping a prayer journal will help you have a faithful relationship with God and will keep you accountable in your daily life. It will also help you to stay focused while praying and not let your mind wonder.

I believe prayer has three important components: praise, confess, and request and thus a prayer journal should as well.

PRAISE

"And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people." Romans 15:11

We should praise God for what He has done in our lives. Thank Him for answering a prayer. Thank Him for making it through another day. Thank Him for showing you something new.

When God does something for us, write it in your prayer journal. Even write down the date it happened.

CONFESS

"I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah." Psalm 32:5

We are to confess our sins to God. God already knows our transgressions, but by confessing it we are acknowledging that we know we did wrong and want his help to overcome it.

We should write down our sins in our prayer journal. When you have overcome that sin, crossed it out and write the date. By writing your sins down you are holding yourself accountable to God.

REQUEST

"And all things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Matthew 21:22

After praising God and confessing our sins, then we can have a clean heart to request things from God. What kind of things should we request? According to Matthew 21:22, we should ask for all things, meaning everything. We should ask for help in our personal lives and other family and friend's lives. Some examples including praying for a safe trip of a friend, praying for a promotion at your job, or just asking for a sunny day. The sky is the limit - there is nothing you can't ask the Lord.

Every time I pray, I write the date, my praises, my confessions, and my requests. I also pray for other items I had previously written. When a prayer is answered, either the way I wished or not, I cross out the prayer in my journal and write the date next to it that it was answered. Now I have a written record of my prayer life. At any point when I feel God is not listening, all I have to do is look back at my prayer journal and see all the prayers God has answered. God answers all prayers, it may not be immediate and you may not even realize that the prayer has been answered.

Years later when you look back at your prayer journal, you will see all the answered prayers and see how your prayers and spiritual life has matured over time.