How to Make a Simple Prayer Journal

Today I am honored to invite my dear friend Ruthie Gray to the blog. Ruthie is a woman full of wisdom and life experience, just the kind of woman I love to learn from. Plus, she loves to share life around a table with a steaming mug of your favorite beverage~ wink. Below she shares how to make a prayer journal. So very timely for us doing the 40-DAY PRAYING THE PROMISES OF THE CROSS. .  SIGN UP TO TAKE THE 40-DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE FOR YOURSELF BELOW! 

 

 

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Now here’s Ruthie on making a prayer journal…

 Use our prayer journal DIY tips to learn how to make a homemade prayer journal and ideas to get started.

“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.” I Timothy 2:1 (MSG)

 

 

“I’ll pray for you!” You tell your friend as you rush through the grocery store after bumping into her on aisle 9. She just shared a deep burden with you.

And then, you forget.

Until the next time you see her.

In that instant, you send up a “quick one” on this dear one’s behalf.

And berate yourself for doing it again.

Sound familiar?

I’ve done it too. I have a solution, and it’s super simple.

Here’s how to make a prayer journal for beginners!

Get in the car.

Go to TJ Maxx.

Pick out a cute, lined notebook.

And make it into a prayer notebook, or a prayer journal.

Ok, it doesn’t have to be TJ Maxx. It can be Walmart. Or Target. Or Dollar General. Or Amazon!

Just get one.

{A Moleskine journal is always a great choice!}

But first, what is a prayer journal?

What is a Prayer Journal? 

Prayer is vital to the Christian life. Learn how to make a DIY prayer journal with these great ideas.

Quite simply, a prayer journal is a place where you record your prayers, a prayer diary of sorts. Some journals have pre-made pages with Scriptures or prompts to pray through. But you don’t need anything fancy to get started! Below is how I made my prayer journal, and helped to develop a stronger prayer habit.

Also, prayer journaling is a great way to reflect on what God has done and record His goodness for future generations.

This idea is just one of many prayer journal ideas, but hopefully it will give you a great starting point. A prayer journal is also a wonderful place to write down war room Scriptures to pray.

Let’s learn how to make a homemade prayer journal.

 

How to Make a Simple Prayer Journal:

If you're ready to learn how to start a prayer journal, read these tips for how to make a prayer journal for beginners.

1. On the first page of your prayer journal, record a list of attributes of God.

“Yet You are holy, dwelling in the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3)

When you think about how to start a prayer journal, a natural starting place is praise to God. The Scriptures say He loves to dwell in the praises of His people. When we praise Him, Who is indeed worthy of all praise, He draws near, and we become in awe of Him.

We must never forget to give honor and glory to our God. We mustn’t treat Him as a ticket to grant our wishes.

That’s not how this works.

Begin prayer each day, selecting two or three attributes for praise.

You can search for these in your Bible, or better yet, download this free, useful resource of printable names and attributes of God, designed by our own Arabah Joy!

2. Write each day of the week at the top of seven adjacent pages in your prayer journal, beginning with Sunday.

(Reserve one page, front and back, per day.)

 

3. Under the pages marked Sunday through Friday, write at least one person for whom you will pray.

This is your chance to write down that person you keep forgetting, and you can also write her need(s).

If you do write a need, be sure to date it, so you can record updates. This will be exciting to track as you see answers come about!

Jot in names of others as you become aware of needs.

If you are stuck and unsure where to start in praying, why not try these prompts for your prayer time.

Do you have a prayer journal? Learn how to start a prayer journal and use our ideas for making the prayer journal work for you.

4. Write “praises” on the day marked “Saturday”.

On this day, record special blessings that occurred during the week. Anything from having an unexpected need met to being spared from a near car accident.

A lot happens in a week. Sometimes my Saturday has three or more entries. Last week, I recorded eight!

“His mercies are new every morning.”

blue prayer journal

Let me share with you a few of my prayer stories:

~Don’s mother, who is in hospice and in her 80’s, just received Christ as her Savior, after many years of prayer!

~My high school pal’s husband survived a horrific accident last year when a tractor tire blew in his face. He suffered internal injuries, endured reconstructive surgery, and lost a few teeth. After just eight months, he is fully recovered and back to work.

~Helen and Ethel (not their real names) both lost husbands – one to cancer, and one to another woman. They know my prayers have been with them daily throughout this entire process.

“Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5:17-18

I have unsaved friends, friends with unbelieving children, cancer friends, and mother friends. Caregiver friends, ministering friends, grieving friends, and just plain sad friends.

I pray for these dear souls.

Learn how to start a prayer journal with these DIY prayer journal ideas.

Prayer is powerful in many, limitless ways.

My Saturday praises looked like this:

  • My son got a job and found a church in his new college town!
  • My whole family enjoyed a rare, sweet time of fellowship, blessing one another around the campfire one early summer night.
  • Our oldest is pregnant with our second grandchild!

These are just a few of the many blessings I’ve received over the past several months.

So how about it? Are you ready to make your own DIY prayer journal? If so, the next step is to check out this FREE Prayer Notebook Workshop where we’ll walk you through exactly how to set your journal up. Just click the image below to sign up!

 

Create your own Prayer Notebook with this FREE hands-on Workshop!

I hope these DIY prayer journal ideas make it easy to take up the prayer journal challenge! 

For even more, check this post for books that will deepen your prayer life.

And be sure to check out all our digital prayer journals in our shop here. 

 

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Ruthie Gray is a wife, Gigi, and mom of four (who lived to tell about it). Since Ruthie’s passion is mentoring moms to find joy in motherhood, she provides weekly parenting advice through humor and practical application of Scripture at Ruthie Gray dot Mom. Ruthie is also the author of Stepping Stones; 8 Mindsets for the mom who thinks she’s failing at motherhood, and Count to Nine; 9 Liberating Steps for Mom Frustration and Anger.

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55 Comments

  1. Great, practical post, Ruthie! I have a little moleskine; it’s hand-sized, so I actually take it with me on my prayer walk in the mornings. (This girl CANNOT sit and pray.) I love your idea of listing attributes of God. I’m going to add that.

    One thing I do is write a request for myself, one for each day, according to my roles: child of God, wife, mom, teacher, church planter, etc.

      1. Seeing an example of how you set yours up would be most helpful to those of us new to doing this!

    1. I love moleskine too! And the idea of praying and walking. Also the role requests, that’s a good one. Thanks for hopping over to read, friend!
      And thanks to you, Arabah Joy, for the honor of guest posting!
      You have taught me much, but even more than that I value your sound wisdom and Scriptural grounding! I’m so glad God brought us together – its been nearly a year since I began following you. :)

  2. I am definitely going to do this, prayer is a daily struggle for me and I’ve been wanting to work on it so badly, so desperately… And praying for others, well that’s just knocking it out of the park..I will, I will, I must..nice and simple..love it…can you tell..lol

    1. Tanya, I’m so glad you’ve decided to take up the prayer journal challenge! It doesn’t have to be even as detailed as I did it, just so long as you have a list of people for which to pray! I pray your prayer life will be enriched because of it!

    2. Pray to God asking Him for discernment and His spirit to guide and enable you get to overcome this weakness trust me as You seek Him, He will truly help you find and know Him fully and more. Be blessed dear

  3. Love this! I have been wanting to do a prayer journal but didn’t really know how to go about it. I admit I am always telling people I will say a prayer for them and then forget. I always feel horrible when I run into them later and they thank me for praying for them. Ugh! Thank you for sharing.

    1. Yes, Cheryl, I know what you mean. I’ve done it way too many times to count. This way when I run into them, I have an encouraging word for them – I HAVE been praying! Just those four words alone give a boost to someone in need!
      I pray you will continue to use this simple tool and that it will grow your faith and prayer life!

  4. I’ve journaled in the past, but I love this new approach…so fresh, organized & yet easy. I love the idea of prayer walking, especially circles around our home & neighborhood…laying claim for the kingdom!

    1. Hey I’ve had four kids – easy is ALL I do! (My perfectionistic brain makes everything harder so this is how I deal.) I hope you will find it growing you in your prayer life and in ministry to others!

  5. Prayer is on my mind. I have been spending more time in prayer but need to be more organized. I love the suggestions here. I am going to start a prayer journal. Thanks, Ruthie!

  6. The sweet spot of godly counsel is when the spiritual becomes practical, and Ruthie has done just that here. Pinning to my personal board and to G&T, with the hope that this post reaches far and wide, so more of us would be encouraged in this pursuit of prayer. Thank you for sharing this with us at G&T! :)

    1. So kind of you to say, Jennifer! Thanks so much for your support, for pinning, but most of all that we are getting the news of the ministry of prayer out there! God be praised, I am just His tool!

    1. Jerralea, I am with you!! War Room has definitely inspired me to awaken the intercessor in me again! I just came from the Dollar Tree and just begun to set up my journal! Thank you all for this post, suggestions, and encouragement! God Bless! :)

    2. Yes, Jerralea, I believe there is a renewed interest due to that very movie. I’ve not seen it yet myself but am anxious to soon! I’ve heard many good things. I pray your prayer life is strengthened through this tool!

  7. Thank you for sharing this simple straightforward approach to structuring prayer! I’ve got my journal ready and plan to launch into a much deeper and meaningful prayer life!

  8. I just started a prayer journal in August after hearing about war room the movie and i am waiting a new one in the mail because i ran out of paper. I struggle in my prayer life but by the Grace of God and His help itll become stronger. Thank you for this. I could also use your prayers as i am a Ministers wife and we are a part of a nursing home Ministry. Thanks and God bless!

  9. I found this post on Pinterest and love it for the simplicity. I often find myself paralyzed by perfection so the overly complex methods and artistic bible journaling with colored pencils etc distract me from my goal of prayer and praise.

  10. I love this idea. I have a journal I bought at Walmart that I have been using for a prayer journal so that I can take it with me. However, I think I am going to branch out to a binder. I have been writing a prayer each day for a specific area of my life that I feel needs prayer each day. I also include a bible verse that is of inspiration to me for the day. I do include names each day of people to pray for and I go back to write praise reports for each person I have prayed for.

  11. Thank you for this. I’m very overwhelmed with everything out there about journals. Being a month into a new walk with God, backslid for about 3 years, and all this journaling seems so great but a lot to take in and I love this simpler method. Thank you!!! Feeling like this I could do.

  12. I enjoyed your page. I am starting a prayer journal and I enjoyed reading how you started yours. It helped a lot. Thank you for sharing.

  13. Wow this is the simplest Prayer Journal I’ve ever come across, already gotten a journal and written the days and names of those I’ve always been meaning to pray for per day. Plus I’ll be praying for my family a whole lot more now. I really appreciate it Ruthie. And thanks for the flash cards on the Names and attributes of God Arabah Joy! Now I won’t have to keep scratching my head when I start praying wondering what I’m going to tell God in praise after “You are good and You are holy and… uh…” Your blog posts really bless me over all. Have a great time. Much love

  14. Writing a prayer plan for the whole week, or a prayer journal as suggested by Ruthie, is a way for us to show how serious we are with our prayers. It is a proof of sincerity. And we will most likely have answered prayers by following this

  15. Was looking for a place to share a joy with you. I stopped at Biscuits cafe today for fruit and coffee and journaling the 40 days of promises. I spent some time on the prayer for today. The waitress was buzzing around eying the journal I had bound up. I could tell she really liked what she could see. I had taken the two files to Office Max and had them bound up in one booklet. Anyway I got thru my first complete day of journaling and it popped into my mind that I should give her the booklet. I got up still undecided and she came back over and asked where I had gotten my booklet. I handed it to her and said I think you should have this. It felt wonderful to be able to share God. I want to mention that I have a husband of 8 plus years and a sweet dog of 10 plus years that are both near death. Part of my prayer today was thanking God for letting me share their lives and part of the prayer was to ask that He grant me the opportunity to share more of him. Thank God Carl is His child in all ways and we will spend eternity together. I have mixed feelings about whether the dog Gracie will be there but she has taught me a lot about God’s love. Thank you for your prayer study.

  16. Loved the tutorial. How do you attach the tabs inside? I want to do yin’s with my mentor group.

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