Hey! Looking for fun and creative prayer journal ideas, since you have no idea what to write?
Do you want to grow closer to God, but don’t know how? Or, do these questions go through your mind:
What should I write in my journal for God?
How do I organize my prayer journal?
What do you pray for in a prayer journal?
What’s a prayer journal example?
Don’t fret. I felt stuck too, staring at my blank page, wondering what I was supposed to write in my prayer journal.
Lol! I’ve come up with 20 thoughtful prayer journal ideas so that you can develop your faith and be closer to God.
Trust me, living with faith in God is literally the best feeling.
I feel like I’m always on cloud nine, and strangely I attract lots of positive experiences in my life.
Psst…I’ve also included a gift of free prayer journal templates, along with the prayer journal ideas, so don’t forget to claim it!
Let’s jump right to it – here are 20 thoughtful prayer journal ideas to include in your prayer journal + 12 free prayer journal templates!
1. Give Gratitude
Write down a short list of the blessings you have, and why you’re grateful for them.
Whether it be family, money, a big blessing, or a small one, all of them are priceless.
Giving thanks is super important – we focus more on the things we don’t have (desires), rather than the wonderful things that we already do.
Think about it this way -someone in the world is wishing they had your skills, your health, or your loving family.
So, give thanks that you’re already blessed beyond measure! 🙂
Gratitude fuses you with positivity and happiness – it brightens your day immediately -and also gives you a super wide smile. Totally recommend!!!
2. Write Down Your Worries And Problems
Never try to handle everything alone and bottle up your emotions (Nope, nada). It’ll always backfire into a meltdown, trust me.
God always watches over you and wants you to lean on him.
He’ll always offer protection and guidance if you ask for it.
Your prayer journal is a safe place where you can vent your frustrations and sadness.
Tell God about your problems.
About your anger. About Your Guilt. About Your Sadness.
He will listen patiently, and won’t judge you.
Afterward, ask him for guidance and thank him.
Whenever I did this, I always found my worries would be solved or disappear after a while. God is good. ❤️
3. Pray For Guidance
Sometimes we feel totally lost in life and clueless about what step to take next.
That’s why it’s so important to pray in our journal – so we can get in touch with our inner wisdom and do what’s best for us.
Write to God for guidance about a problem you have, a decision to make, a desire you crave, or simply about how you can be closer to Him.
God always has your best interests at heart – and always guides you toward the right path. So no worries!
There’s this beautiful quote I love, ”You’re never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too,” ~ Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
Guidance can show up in pretty unexpected ways too!
4. Tell God about your day
Write in your prayer journal as if you were talking to a dear friend.
Write about what you did for the day, what you ate, what you enjoyed, where you went, etc., etc.
Doing this helps you build a more personal connection – you’re treating God as a dear friend, after all.
You don’t have to write formally, scribble in your most authentic voice.
God loves listening to what you have to say. Carry yourself like a child of God!
5. Write Down Your Answered Prayers
I love this one – it’ll remind you just how loved and protected you are. What are some prayers that God answered in your past? How did it make you feel?
Write as many as you can remember, and express your gratitude and love!
Doing this will build such deep trust and faith in God, you’ll hardly be able to doubt yourself. This also increases your connection to the divine super immensely!
There’s this wonderful quote by Albert Einstein, ”Coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.” Beautiful, isn’t it?
6. Describe Your Dreams, Hopes, And Ambitions
Go cray-cray (crazy) with this one. What are your wildest, biggest, and craziest fantasies that you catch yourself dreaming about? Building a business, raising a family, or becoming a chef?
Don’t say, ”Oh, my dream is to sing on Broadway, but it’s so embarrassing.” Well, someone’s already singing on Broadway right now, and they’re certainly not embarrassed.
You only get one life – make it the best life you’ll ever have.
Your prayer journal is a safe place for you to tell God anything you want, especially the deepest desires of your heart. Pray for guidance, and you’ll definitely be shown the right path.
God supports you and would love nothing more than to see you going after your purpose. God put those dreams into your heart for a reason, so why not give it a go?
Have faith, and pray that you’ll always be guided.
7. Write down your monthly, yearly, and long-term goals
Setting goals that resonate with us gives us a sense of purpose in our lives. I mean, who wouldn’t want to jump out of bed from excitement? Lol!
Anyways, ponder about your biggest dreams. Don’t limit yourself, pray to be shown the right way.
I won’t go too much into detail, because I’ve already written a goal-setting guide, so here’s a summary!
- Figure out your goals(dreams) for the next 10-20 years. Money is not a problem.
- Break it into goals for the next 3-6 months.
- Break it into a goal for the next 1 month,
- THEN break it down into a goal for the next week.
- Create daily habits to achieve your goal.
Do you see what we’re doing here?
We’re breaking our huge dreams into small actionable things we can do each day. It’ll eventually lead us to achieve our goals.
8. Reflect on the past lessons you’ve learned and how much you’ve grown
The purpose of life is to spiritually grow and mature. God puts forward challenges and hardships in our lives to guide us closer to our truest selves – love.
The obstacles that we faced in our past teach us valuable lessons if we choose to learn from them, instead of bury them deep down.
I used to be a huge people pleaser – and I had a ‘friend’ that would treat me like garbage. I ended up leaving them. Even though that experience was painful, it taught me to know my self-worth – which I’m super grateful for!
Ponder for a minute about the life lessons you’ve learned in the past and tell God about them. Thank Him for it.
Look back at your past self with love, and write about how much you’ve grown and changed.
This might be one of the most powerful prayer journal ideas you could do!
9. Write down your favorite verses, quotes, or affirmations:
Oh my gosh, I love this one! I love decorating my prayer journal with inspiring words and affirmations. It immediately brightens my mood when I open my journal.
So, if you find a quote, verse, or affirmation that you deeply connect with, write it down in your prayer journal notebook!
Definitely try doing this prayer journal idea!
10. Write down the small acts of kindness that you found unexpectedly.
Jot down ordinary acts of humanity you’ve seen or experienced first-hand. Whether it be someone smiling at you on the street, holding a door open for you, or a friend buying you a gift.
Love and kindness are everywhere – look around and pay attention, instead of focusing on what’s wrong with our world.
Write down and thank God for the beautiful acts of love and kindness you’re able to witness. Remember, purity and faith are always more powerful than hatred and fear.
Doing so will restore your faith in humanity – we humans are all on this journey of life together, after all.
”Man’s goodness is a flame that cannot be extinguished,” ~ Nelson Mandela
11. Pray for the world
Keep things simple, and recite prayers in your journal. Pray for yourself. Pray for your future and goals. But most of all, pray for the world…and even for God.
Write down your prayers with absolute faith that God will answer them. He’ll always do what’s best for you and meant for you by divine will.
After that, give thanks that all your holy prayers will unfold at the right time – and 100% in the perfect way!
I’ve created a special prayer template you can use to write down your different prayers – download the free prayer journal template to get it!
12. Pick out your favorite Bible verses and write down what they mean to you:
Do you find yourself resonating with a special verse in your Bible? A verse that just speaks to you? I feel the same way, some verses immediately click with me more than others.
I love writing the verse down in my prayer journal, then also adding my personal notes underneath it!
First, I wrote down what I understood from the verse. Then, I’d explain why I adore the verse so much.
So, once you’ve found a Bible verse you like:
- Write it down!
- Scribble down the lesson you got from it. Explain the meaning in-depth.
Now, here’s another awesome tip for you. Answer this question in your journal: How can you apply this lesson to your daily life, from now on?
13. Describe positive experiences and memories
What’s an incredible memory you absolutely adore, because of how faithful and happy it made you feel? Think back to the past…
Writing your favorite memories reminds you that God really does take care of you – and wants to see you filled with love and joy.
So, it’s a fun way to reflect back on your sweet memories, and instantly give you a wide smile!
You could write about the family dinner you went to, the sweet old lady that you carried groceries for, your friends that supported you during a dark time, the promotion you got at work, yadda yadda yadda!
Big or small experience, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you felt faithful, right?
14. Let your words flow
Perfectionists, beware of this one, Lol!
Set a short timer, about 5-10 minutes, and think about God. Prop open your prayer journal, and write away! Don’t think – just write. Don’t stop.
It doesn’t matter if you have the handwriting of a 5-year-old, or make a ton of spelling and grammar mistakes.
Just flow with it, and write down whatever comes to mind about faith, prayer, and God. Let it all out.
Afterward, you have two options,
1. Look back at what you’ve written and (no, don’t cringe) be aware of your thoughts, or 2. Keep scribbling.
15. Draw and Doodle
If you get bored of writing, there’s no harm in doodling! Leave some space in your prayer journal to draw. It doesn’t have to look professional or proper.
Remember, it’s your prayer journal, so decorate it however you want. Personalize it for yourself – and honor God.
It’s a great way to express your creativity – I’m always guilty of getting side-tracked and doodling images such as crosses before I’ve written down my prayers for the day!
Anyways, let your imagination flow, and don’t judge yourself.
16. Check out Prayer Journal Prompts
Prayer journal prompts are a great way to get your creative juices flowing!
Choose a prompt that you’d be able to write passionately about, you can find tons on Pinterest and on Google.
These prompts will aid you immensely in becoming closer to God. Here are a few examples:
- In what ways has God been faithful to me lately?
- What did I do today that honored God?
- Who/What do I hold a grudge for, and why should I let it go and give it to God?
- When do I feel most distant from God? How can I get away from this situation?
17. Join a Prayer Journal Community
Joining a like-minded community is a wonderful experience, especially to form friendships and unite through prayer.
You can join online communities, but I believe offline communities are way more enjoyable. Find one that suits you – bible study groups, prayer groups, church sessions, etc.
Don’t be shy! Join a prayer journal Facebook group, or if you want to take one step further, join an offline prayer journal community.
18. Daily Prayer Checklist
Do you want to turn prayer journalling into a regular practice? Well, adding a checklist to your prayer journal will definitely help you become consistent.
Make sure to keep your journal in an easy-to-reach place – preferably on your desk – and block out a few minutes in your day to use it.
Psst…I’ve already included a weekly checklist for you in the free prayer journal template, to make your job easier!
Tick off the boxes once you’ve completed a session! Commit to showing up every day. 😉
19. Write notes from a Bible Study, Conference, Podcast, or Church Session
Take notes and receive more guidance on how to follow God, by learning from bible studies, podcasts, church sessions, etc!
There’s always something new to learn! Using your prayer journal to take notes is a good way to use it.
It’s also a helpful way to remember what you learned. Use it later to improve your prayer sessions.
20. Copy Down a Well Known Prayer You Like
Open up your brand new prayer journal and write down some of your favorite prayers on the first page. It sets up the base for a faithful prayer journal!
If you do come across any new prayers that enlighten you, write them down as well.
Here’s a list of the different types of prayers to write in your journal:
- For Yourself
- For Your Loved Ones
- For The World
- For Those Who Have Wronged You
- For The Universe
Free Prayer Journal Templates – What you’re waiting for!
Alright!!! What do you think of these prayer journal ideas? Now for the finale…
As promised, I have a little surprise for you – 12 prayer journal templates that you can download for free. It’s best if you print them out, and use them along with a few prayer journal ideas.
You can download them here: Click this link.
Also, when you sign up, I’ll add you to my email list. I’ll send you a couple of short emails over the next few days, which are completely value-filled, with no promotions.
If you enjoy the content I send, thank you! You can stay on the list. If not, you can update your preferences or unsubscribe.
Final Thoughts About Prayer Journal Ideas
Okay, so by now it should be obvious that prayer journals are amazingly powerful, to strengthen your faith, connection to God, and much more.
Believing and trusting in a Higher Power allows you to relax and have a calm state of mind. You’ll also find that you attract more positive experiences and miracles into your life.
Choose some prayer journal ideas that you really like, and start writing them down in your prayer journal.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the prayer journal ideas and the free templates.
Which one was your favorite prayer journal idea? Let me know what you think in the comments, you could also suggest your own prayer journal ideas if you’d like me to include them!
