Keeping a Prayer Journal

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One of the ways, many of us moms have found it to be very helpful during our time with the Lord is to journal. This was something that we introduced to the group some years ago, and many of us have made much progress in our walk with the Lord and reaped tremendous reward from it.

One mom shared that journaling helped her stay focused during her time with the Lord. Another mom shared that writing stops her mind from wandering and she found that she can also hear God better as she paused in her writing and listened to God respond.

Journaling is like writing a letter to our LORD. It is expressing our prayers on paper.

Journaling is also a way of recording our reflection on what God is teaching us through His Word.

Often times, when we pray or read the Bible, our brain is still multitasking, doing a million other things. Or as we pray in our thoughts, we tend not to finish the sentence in prayer and slowly the mind gets disengaged and soon and very soon... we are off in dreamland "praying". Writing down our thoughts and prayers help slow down our racing mind. It helps us become more reflective about what we think or feel. In the process, you will be surprised that you will probably hear God better.

Journaling also helps us keep a record of answered prayer, of what God has been doing in our lives. The journal becomes our journey of faith. Ad as we read back our old journals, we will see our stages of spiritual growth and faith, We will also see a thread of God's grace and mercy, goodness and faithfulness weaving through the pages of our lives. And we can't help but praise and worship the Lord again.

Reading the journal when we feel low and sad, lifts up our spirits cos the journal is a record of what God had done for us in our storms of life, and how He has brought us through. It reminds us His faithfulness, His perfect timing, His great love for us. And it helps build our faith again.

The Psalms in the Bible is mainly a collection of King David's prayer and reflection, his praise and thanksgiving. In the Psalms, we read of David's cry to the Lord for help God's answers to his prayers, David's praise and worship of the Lord. Our journal may not be poetic like King David's or well composed like a novel. God just want our simple devotion - simple words that express our hearts' thoughts and pains and joys. Yes, like writing a letter to a good friend. And no need fancy or expensive journal book. Just a simple exercise or note book or on MS Word on PC.

These journals, in a way, become the spiritual legacy we leave for our children - our journey of trials and testing, our journey of faith - all recorded for them to read, inspiring them to follow in our foot steps.

Just as the song "Find Us Faithful" by Steve Green says ;

O May all who come behind us find us faithful

May the fire of our devotion light their way

May the footprints that we leave

Lead them to believe

And the lives we live inspire them to obey

O May all we come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone

And our children sift through all we've left behind

May the clues that they discover

And the memories they uncover

Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

May we be the light for our children