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Start Writing Down Your Prayers
By Rick Warren

“I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the LORD will tell me to say and what answer he will give to my complaint. The LORD gave me this answer: ‘Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you.’” (Habakkuk 2:1-2 TEV)

Because Habakkuk wrote down what the Lord said to him, we have the book called Habakkuk. Because David wrote down what God spoke to him, we have the book of Psalms. They asked God a question, God gave them an answer, and they wrote it down.

If your prayer life is stuck in a rut and you feel like you’re saying the same prayers over and over, one of the best things you can do is start writing down your prayers. It makes it more personal, and it helps you be more serious about your prayers.

This is called the spiritual habit of journaling. It’s a habit that will help you refresh your prayer life. But don’t make it too complicated! Simply write down what you’re saying to God, and write down what God’s saying to you.

After you get your notebook, remember these two practical suggestions to help make your journaling more effective.

First, put a vertical line down the center of the page. On one side, write what you say to God. On the other side, write what God says to you. As you write down what you say to God, don’t expect him to always say something to you immediately. Sometimes he’ll answer later in the day, or he may even wake you up in the middle of the night.

Then, on the same sheet of paper, draw a horizontal line, and above the line, write “Yesterday” and record the events of your day. Underneath the line, write “Life Lessons.” The next day, look back on the events of the day before and ask, “What lesson was God trying to teach me through those events?” God is trying to teach us lessons through the everyday events of our lives, but we miss them all the time. When you take time to write them out in this way, it will help you focus on hearing God’s voice and what he wants you to learn from him.

Journaling is a very powerful habit. It helps you focus your thoughts. It helps you remember what you said and what God said. It helps you test the impressions that you get from God.

It also helps you worship as you thank God for speaking to you. “O Lord, now I have heard your report, and I worship you in awe” (Habakkuk 3:2 TLB).

Talk It Over

How does recording the events of your day and lessons you learned help you test an impression to see whether or not it is from God?

Why do you think journaling is called a “spiritual habit”?

Why do we often miss the lessons God is trying to teach us?