Page 72 - The Importance of Prayer Student Textbook

Appendix A: Prayer Journaling

This section on journaling is being written by pastor Paul Gotthardt. Paul is one of the most successful
men I know of who has mastered the discipline of prayer journaling. I also want to encourage you to
visit https://www.thisisthegospel.com/ This is a site where you can find discipleship training material
that is translated into tribal languages spoken in Africa. Also, please note that the Day One Journal that
Paul refers to can only be used on a Mac computer or an I phone.

How do you capture, contemplate, and celebrate God’s activity in your life?

Over 2,000 years of Christian history, we’ve reaped the benefits of the written word. In this instance, I’m
not talking about Scripture; I’m talking about the power of writing. There is great joy that comes from
reading about God’s activity through His saints throughout history. The only way we get that
opportunity is because someone took the time to write down God’s activity in that moment. That
discipline is at the heart of prayer journaling.

When we pray, we can tap into depths of the Christian experience that are reserved for those who
diligently seek Him. When we journal those prayers, we can capture the feelings of the moment, the
details of the situation, the Scriptures we claimed, and the answers God provided. Prayer journaling is a
powerful tool in pursuing and worshipping God.

Where do you begin with prayer journaling? Begin where God has you today!

What are you asking God for today? Write it down. How is God leading your life today? Write it down.
What Bible passage is God using to bring direction or comfort or healing into your life today? Write it
down. Begin where God has you today!

There’s no right or wrong method for prayer journaling. There’s just a method that works well for you.
After 25+ years of prayer journaling, I’ll share some of the pieces that work for me. I’ve adjusted many
of these over the years and I’ll probably make more adjustments in the future. Again, there’s no right or
wrong method for prayer journaling. There’s just a method that works well for you.

Step 1: Find a good journaling system to capture your thoughts and prayers.

Over the years, I’ve purchased inexpensive notebooks, leather journals, computer applications, phone
apps, 5-year journals, and other similar pieces to help me capture my thoughts and prayers. Each one
has benefits and drawbacks. At this point, I use 3 separate pieces in prayer journaling. Here are the
pieces I use and why I use them.

I use a computer app called Day One. Day One helps me capture large amounts of information, add
pictures, journal out prayers, and then keep all of it in an orderly way (that’s easily accessible). For my
first 15+ years of prayer journaling, I bought a lot of paper journals. At one point, I had over 20 journals
with bits and pieces of God’s activity. I recognized that my journaling system did not allow me to easily
go back and review God’s activity. I also recognized that my system was cumbersome and took up a lot
of space.

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