Prayer Journal Inspirations

In reading some other peoples' blogs this week, I was inspired to make my prayer journal a priority once again. It is such a powerful tool in my spiritual walk. Not only does a prayer journal help focus my devotional time, but it's a tangible way for me to see God working in my life and in others' lives!

As my daughter and other children grow, I want to instill in them the power of prayer, and I was excited to see how making a family prayer journal may help to encourage them in cultivating their own prayer life.

I fixed up my current spiritual journal and divided it into sections:
1. Immediate Family (Rob, Faith, Wes, baby)
2. Extended Family (Mother-in-law, my parents, siblings, Rob's siblings, Grandparents)
3. Church (Leadership & Pastor, General Body/Membership Requests
4. Friends
5. Unsaved/Needing Spiritual Growth contacts
6. Missions (Seeds of Hope & our Sponsor child, MAF & our endeavor, teams & individuals on missions trips from our local church)

I tried to locate pictures of each family member, including those family Christmas card photos we get in the mail each year, and taped a photo on each individual/family's page.

Now this prayer journal is not going to be filled with long written out prayers (as I've done in past). This one will be all point form or Scriptures pertaining to each person/family. I would like to try and pray through a page or two a day (or perhaps even a section a day). I will show answered prayer items by highlighting those points and writing in the date. Wouldn't it be neat to flip through this months/years later and see waves of yellow all through it?

Perhaps I've inspired/encouraged somebody out there to deepen their prayer life once again, or to start making it a priority. Remember, it doesn't matter what format we use, as long as we're communing with our heavenly Father.


If you're into scrapbooking or digital scrapbooking or just want to get those creative juices flowing in some way, you should check out Legacy Prayer Journals. This lady has put together kits of templates you can purchase and fill out yourself in a scrapbook theme way. Another neat little idea I found was a DIY {kid's prayer journal}.

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Sunday Morning Psalm

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord Almighty!

My sould yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young--

a place near your alter,

O Lord Almighty, my King and

my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

Blessed are those whose strength is

in you,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimige.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, O God of Jacob.

Look upon our shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in

the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the Lord Go is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

O Lord Almighty,

blessed is the man who trusts in you.

-- Psalm 84

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Step 4

God continues to lead Rob and I toward serving with Mission Aviation Fellowship. We are beginning Step 4 in the application process now: a longer written application with 6 personal references each.

This written application is basically a repeat of the formal interview. As we go through this process of answering questions and evaluating things, I appreciate the timeframe that MAF sets for it. Even though I feel as though we have answered many of these questions already, I am glad we have opportunities to go over them again and again and recognize how God is working in our lives and thought processes in regard to the mission field.

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