Journal · 4 min read
What to write in a prayer journal when you have nothing to say
A blank page is easier to face with a few plain prompts, a pen and five unhurried minutes.
You bought the notebook, wrote the date on the first page, and stopped. Or you kept a journal for a month and then the entries dried up. Having nothing to say is one of the most common experiences in prayer, and it is no sign that something has gone wrong with you. A journal can help, as long as you stop expecting it to sound spiritual.
What a prayer journal is for
A prayer journal is a place to pray on paper. Writing slows you down to the speed of your hand, which makes it harder to drift, and it leaves a record you can come back to. No one will read it or mark it. Spelling, handwriting and complete sentences do not matter.
The Psalms are the best model. Many of them read like entries written in the middle of a particular trouble, blunt about how the writer feels and addressed straight to God.
Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us.
Psalm 62:8 (WEB)
Pouring out is untidy. Whatever is in the jug comes out, and that is all the permission a blank page needs.
Seven things to write when the page is blank
Pick one. You do not need to do all seven, and a single line counts as an entry.
- The date and one true sentence. “Tuesday. I am tired and I do not know what to pray.” That is a prayer.
- Three thanks. List three specific things from the last day: a meal, a phone call, a job finished.
- A verse, copied by hand. Write out one verse slowly, then add a line about the word that stood out.
- Names. Write the names of the people on your mind, with a few words beside each: “Dad, the test results.” “Maria, the new job.”
- The thing you would rather not say. Anger, envy, doubt, boredom. God already knows it, and writing it down is a way of being honest with him.
- A question. Ask God something you really want to know, and leave space underneath.
- Yesterday in two lines. One thing that went well and one that did not.
Borrow words when yours run out
When you have no words, use someone else’s. Copy out a psalm, or the Lord’s Prayer, one phrase to a line, and stop after any line where you have something to add. The psalmists were not shy. Psalm 13 opens with a complaint most of us would hesitate to put on paper.
How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
Psalm 13:1 (WEB)
If David could write that, you can write what is true for you. Notice too that the psalm does not stay there. By its last lines the writer is speaking of trust and of singing. You do not have to reach that turn in one sitting, but honest writing often makes room for it.
Look back once a week
A journal becomes more useful the longer you keep it. Once a week, perhaps on Sunday evening, read back over the last seven days. Put a small mark beside any request that has been answered or has changed. Notice what you were worried about on Monday and had forgotten by Friday. Notice which names keep appearing.
I will remember the LORD’s deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings.
Psalm 77:11-12 (WEB)
Memory is short, especially for kindnesses. A written record lets you remember on purpose, as the psalmist decides to do here.
A five-minute way to start tonight
- Put the notebook and a pen where you will see them, by the bed or beside the kettle.
- Write today’s date.
- Write one true sentence about how you are.
- Write one thank you and one request.
- Close the book. That is enough.
Keep it short for the first two weeks, even on days when you could write more, so that it stays easy to return to. Use any notebook and any pen. A plain one is better than a beautiful one you are afraid to spoil.
If you miss a few days, do not go back and fill them in. Write today’s date and one true sentence. On nights when even that will not come, the two evening questions in Human Hope Daily can serve as prompts: answer each in a line, and you have prayed.