Page 74 - The Importance of Prayer Student Textbook

Step 4: Find a good way to review what you’ve written.

This step might take a while. That’s okay. It’s best to write your thoughts now and figure out how to
review those thoughts later. If you don’t write it now, you won’t have anything to review later. Likewise,
if you don’t write it now, you’ll probably miss the details that make it worth reviewing. Capture it first;
figure out how to review it second.

Why is reviewing your journals important? If you don’t have a way to review your journal entries, you’ll
find it harder to stay engaged. People do things that seem to work for them. If you never go back and
see how God brought all the pieces together, you’ll miss key parts of how God works through prayer. It’s
in the review that see connections, understand God’s leading, and gain an eternal perspective of God’s
activity in that moment. When you see those things, you want to see them again. It’s in the review that
God reminds us of His faithfulness.

Here are a few final thoughts. There is a cumulative impact of doing simple things over time. In the
beginning, prayer journaling might seem like another responsibility in an already busy life. Keep doing
the small things. There is a cumulative impact of doing simple things over time.

Years ago, a mentor taught me a principle about preaching. He said, “Read yourself full, write yourself
clear, pray yourself hot, preach yourself empty.” That statement has helped me tremendously in
preaching. But I also think the same ideas connect with prayer journaling.

• Read yourself full…be in the Word, read good Christian resources, fill your mind with the things of
God. In doing so, it provides a great framework for your prayers.
• Write yourself clear…in your prayer journal, allow God to bring clarity to your mind as you write out
what God is teaching and how He’s leading. There’s something in the discipline of writing that brings
clarity.
• Pray yourself hot…your circumstances are divinely orchestrated for your good and God’s glory.
Chase Him in prayer. Record the chase in journaling. The more you see God’s activity in written
form, the easier it becomes to pray fervently again.
• Preach yourself empty…share with others what God has done for you. People are drawn to stories
of God’s activity. When you’ve captured God’s story in a prayer journal, it brings a real-life example
to the eternal truths of God. God will allow you to share these stories with others (either in
conversation, writing, or preaching).

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. When you continue to record your prayers, you’ll be amazed what God
can bring together over time.

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