Start Journaling

A journal is a simple tool that will help you engage with the Bible, God’s Holy Word, in a personal and powerful way. The journal’s blank pages give you a place to process your own relationship and journey with Jesus Christ. Write your honest thoughts, answered prayers, what you believe God is saying to you...whatever comes to mind. Think of these pages as a space to write out your thoughts before God.

There are many different ways of using a journal. Some people write their prayers, others record blessings, others simply talk about what they see in Scripture. Following is a method to help you get started and some sample pages.

Scripture
As you read and study the Bible, we encourage you to write down the specific passage that you are looking at that day. This will help you catalog how God used the Bible to teach you. At a minimum, write down the book of the Bible, the chapter number, and the verse number(s). It is a great practice to physically write the passage into your journal. This will help you transfer God’s Word into your mind and heart.

Head
What does it say? This is the step of Observation. Ask yourself, what is the main point? Circle or underline words or phrases that stand out to you. Write a short summary of three to four sentences as if you were going to explain this in your own words to someone else. Here are some additional questions you may want to ask:

What are the commands?
What are the promises?
What are the repeated words and ideas?
What are the cause/effect relationships?
What do I learn about God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit?

Heart
Ask God what He wants to say to you through this portion of Scripture. This is the step of Application. Expect the Holy Spirit to lift out a phrase or thought that fits who you are and what you are experiencing at this very moment. Let Him speak to you through the verse(s). Write a short summary of your thoughts. Here are some questions to consider:

What do I learn about myself or humanity?
Where do I fall short? Why?
Where am I doing well?

Hands
What will you do with it? This is the step of Action. Write about what this verse says for you to do. Write your action step into the form of a prayer.

Prayer
One final note regarding prayer. Prayer in its simplest form is just talking to God. We can pray out loud, and we can pray through our thoughts. The Christian life is meant to be a relationship between you and God, one in which you dialogue. God speaks to you through His Word, through events, through the Holy Spirit, and through other Christians. Prayer is the way you respond to Him. The conversation, our prayers, should not just be our grocery list of needs, although it is appropriate to ask for what we need. Instead, they should be our honest, personal response to what God is saying to us. The greatest benefit of prayer is not all the answers, though there will be many, but the deepening of a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For a model of one way to pray, read Matthew 6:9-13, commonly called The Lord’s Prayer. From that passage we can see five distinct types of prayer:

Praise (v.9 - may your name be kept holy)
This is our time to simply thank and praise God for who He is and what He has done in our lives.

Intercession (v.10 - may your will be done on earth)
This is our time to ask God for His will to be done. In this kind of prayer we stand before God on behalf of others.

Petition (v.11 - give us today the food we need)
This is our time to ask God for what we truly need in life. Our requests are valid because we are children of God.

Confession (v.12 - forgive us our sins)
Unconfessed sin can hinder our relationship with God. We need to receive forgiveness and pass it on to others. It is good to pray for daily cleansing and to daily forgive others.

Spiritual Warfare (v. 13 - rescue us)
Jesus didn’t close His prayer until He asked for protection and victory in the daily battle against the evil one. This is a critical component of our prayer life.

Sample Journal Page

Scripture
Psalm 25:4-5

Show me the right path, O LORD;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.

Head
Thank you that you are the God who saves me…that you will show me the right path to follow…that you will tell me the truth and teach me…I need that!

Heart
Some days I don’t live like I’m putting my hope in you. I feel like it depends on me and then I get frustrated. Forgive me, change me…make me aware of your presence.

Hands
God, help me to depend on you more…what would that look like? Help me to spend time with you daily, throughout the day. Make me a better noticer…of you, and of others. I see you beginning to point out a new way regarding work and I’m not sure what to do with that.

Prayer
Lord thank you that you hear me, I know you always hear me. Thank you for teaching me, thank you for the hope I have in you. Make me willing to follow the path you are pointing out. I need your strength to be faithful…I’m depending on you…keep changing me!