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I took my place at the kitchen island. My Bible, highlighters, and tablet showing my online Bible study were in front of me. I start to pray. “God, I thank..”
BOOM.
My eyes quickly open to see the latest toddler mess all over my floor. I clean the mess, then get sidetracked by a dirty diaper, which leads me to a load of laundry and OF COURSE if I start a new load the old load has to be transferred. One task leads to another and soon, I pass by the kitchen island and realize that I completely lost my train of thought and can’t remember what I intended to pray about.
This past year, I read the book Fervent and it really shook things up for me! I learned the importance of intentional prayer and how my prayers can move mountains. Prayer is the best weapon against the Enemy, so I knew I had to find a way to focus on praying big prayers even in the middle of chaos.
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So, I began to write my prayers. It’s really nothing fancy, just a plain old pink journal I bought from Wal-Mart and whatever pen I find. It’s not eloquent and sometimes my prayers really look more like an SOS sign from a deserted island, but they’re there and I can honestly say this one little tweak has changed my prayer life completely. Here’s why:
My Mind Stays on Track
Even if I have to leave my prayer journal to tend to the crisis of the moment, I can easily look down and see just where I stopped. This is helpful more than you’d think! I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t finish praying for something because I got distracted.
I Can Look Back
I can look back and see just how God answered my prayer. I can write notes about how the prayer was answered or even denied and what came out of that situation. I can journey backward and see God’s faithfulness in each season, good and bad and how I’ve matured spiritually. There have been so many times that I’d forget that I prayed for something, so I was unable to give God the proper gratitude for it. Writing my prayers changed that!
I’m More Intentional
Lately, I’ve been writing “headers” at the beginning of my quiet time to remind me of what I want to pray for that day. This means that I can look at my journal and know that there’s a specific person or area of my life to target. I love how it makes me feel more intentional and how I don’t miss anything!
I can honestly say that since I’ve begun writing my prayers, I’ve felt closer to God. I’ve seen God at work in my life more simply because I’m making more of an effort to notice Him!
Have you ever tried prayer journaling?
I have started writing my scripture I am studying each day. I will try writing the prayers too. What a wonderful idea.
Great idea! I’m sure that helps so much with memorizing verses!
Yes! I’ve noticed that too!! I love writing out my prayers along with notes from my reading. It also helps me to be more consistent with my daily time with God -though I still have lots of work to do in that area too. I hate seeing that my last entry was a month ago or more, so it helps me to keep writing so I don’t see those gaps as often.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh, I hear you! 🙂 I am a visual learner, so those notes help!