Questions to Help Prompt Journaling

What is S.O.A.P.?

Journaling typically works best in a quiet place. Find a daily retreat

and explore the power of meditative prayer and writing in your life.
Learn to seek God's face during your alone times with Him. Through
writing, learn to hear God's whispers in your life

S for Scripture
Read a scripture passage for the day. Take time in reading the
selection and allow God to speak to you. When you are done, look
for the verse that particularly spoke to you that day, and write it in
your journal.

Reflect
Who are you?
What is your background?
What experiences brought you to this time and place in your life?
God took great pleasure in giving us His written love letter.
And we can assume He would also take great delight in
receiving our written response. Because God is a writer,
it is only natural that we, created in His image, are writers also.
Lynn Morrissey

Remember
What life changing mistakes have you made?
Are there any buried mistakes in your life that still hold you back?
Have you released your mistakes to God, so you can experience His
true blessings for your life?

Surrender
What event or series of
events in your life brought
you to your knees?
Where did you focus your
thoughts and efforts during
crisis?
When did you turn it all over
to God?

Praise
What victories have you experienced in your life?
What blessings has God brought your way?
Think about God's role in your life, and give Him thanks for all you
have.

O for Observation
What do you think God is saying
you in this scripture? Ask the
Holy Spirit to teach you and
reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase
and write this scripture down in
your own words in your journal.

to

A for Application
Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to
your life right now. Perhaps it is instruction, encouragement,
revelation of a new promise, or corrections for a particular area of
your life. Write how this scripture can apply to you today.
P for Prayer
This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this scripture,
or it may be a greater insight on what He may be revealing to you.
Remember, prayer is a two-way conversation, so be sure to listen to
what God has to say! Now, write it out.
http://lifejourney-church.org/lifejournal-meet-god-every-day/

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.

William Wordsworth

There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man

that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes.
William Makepeace Thackeray

Abandon Rigidity With Your Journaling

Remember, there is no right or wrong way. You may find that you
prefer a certain penhow it touches the paper and how the ink
flows. You can start writing something and leave it in midsentence
as another thought enters your mind. Perhaps that interrupting
thought is more importantsomething urgent, needing to reveal
itself on to paper. Your journal is yours. There are no grades and no
teachersexcept you, the practice, your journal, and the delight of
what it may reveal and teach you.

Red House Baptist Church2301 Red House Rd.

Richmond, KY 40475www.redhousebc.com859-623-8471

One of the seldom-practiced but very valuable spiritual

disciplines is journaling. Though not commanded in Scripture,
God has blessed its use since Biblical times. Journaling is one
way to express the pursuit of Christlikeness commanded in
1 Timothy 4:7: Discipline yourself for the purpose of
godliness."
Journaling focuses our mind and soul on issues of spiritual
growth. It slows us down enough to discern what God is saying
doing. It becomes a spiritual autobiography. Luke 1:3, Jer.
30:2
A journal is a book in which a person may keep a variety of
things, including a record of the works and ways of God in his
life, of daily events, of personal relationships, of insights into
Scripture, of prayer requests, of his feelings about and
responses to these things, and the interpretation of all these
from his own spiritual perspective. The Bible itself contains
many examples of God-inspired journals. Many Psalms are
records of Davids personal spiritual journey with the
Lord. The journal of Jeremiahs feelings about the fall of
Jerusalem we call Lamentations. A journal not only promotes
spiritual growth by means of its own virtues but its also a
valuable aid to the other spiritual disciplines as well.
Journaling is about discovery. There is a difference between a
diary and a journal. A diary is a record of daily events in ones
own life. The journal may take as its stating point the same
events as a diary, but in journaling, one looks inward to see how
one is affected by the events, and Gods loving redeeming hand
working in those events.
"Many of us have profited greatly from the journals of favous peoplemissionaries like David Livingston. David Brainerd and William Cary, or
theologians like Augustine or Philosophers like Kierkegaard and Blaise
Pascal. These move us to faith, devotion and action.D. Cobb

Spiritual Journaling

Journaling is a centuries-old practice that can enrich your selfunderstanding and improve your spiritual life. If the thought of keeping
a daily journal seems a little daunting, you're not alone. Many
practitioners felt the same way until they became more familiar with
this form of soul work. Just find a quiet, comfortable spot away from
distracting noise and follow these simple guidelines.
1. Draw your inspiration from many sources. You may want to
use a number of different sources of inspiration, starting with the Bible.
Many people draw inspiration from best-selling Christian authors such
as John Piper, C. S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, John MacArthur or Max
Lucado.
2. Choose a suitable journal. Journals come in a wide variety of
formats. They can be as simple as a three-ring binder and as fancy as a
leather book with hand-made paper pages. There are even apps for
journaling on your tablet or phone. Some printed journals include
quotes and images to prod your thinking, which can be especially
helpful for newcomers to journaling. Books with lined pages are
preferable because it is easier to write legible, lengthy entries.
3. Create a daily ritual. Try to develop the habit of blocking out
30-45 minutes every day, when you're fresh, clear-headed and alert.
Some people prefer to write at night; others prefer the first thing in the
morning. Simply choose a time that's best for you. If you miss a few
days, be gentle with yourself; just pick-up where you left off. It helps
to follow a ritual that will put you in the right frame of mind. To
compose your thoughts and remind yourself whose presence you are
in, ask the Holy Spirit to inspire and guide you. Then begin by reading
a passage from the Bible or a daily
devotional aid followed by a few moments
of reflection on how it applies to your life.
4. Read slowly, and reflectively. The
key to working with reference materials is
to read slowly, even aloud, underlining or
highlighting passages that trigger thoughts
you may want to journal about. If a topic
sparks your interest, you can also use your
computer's search engine to research it
further on the Internet.
5. Write quickly. Start each day's entry on a separate page, dated at
the top so you can later find out how your thinking has changed over
time. Just below the date, add a sentence or two about what's
happening in your life on that particular day. Then drop down a line
and add a relevant inspirational quotes from the Bible or your reference
material. Expand on that thought in your own words, writing quickly,
allowing your opinions, thoughts and feelings to flow freely in a streamof-consciousness style. Don't worry about grammar or punctuation;

Continued...
you're not writing great literature. If
you encounter writer's block, write
down your hopes, dreams and goals.
Make a list of your talents, and of the
people who have mentored you, people
you admire. Make a list of things you
are grateful for. The length of your
journal entries will vary from day to
day, depending on what's going on in
your life, but most days you should be
able to fill one or more pages with your
thoughts and feelings. End each entry
with a brief, one or two line summary
of what you've learned in your
reflection.
6. Use your
journal as a
road map for
your spiritual
journey. Keep
in mind that a
spiritual journal differs from a
traditional diary in that the focus is not
solely on you, but on you and your
relationship with the Lord. It's not
meant to be a chronological recital of
the events of your life, but rather an
exploration of how God is revealing
Himself and His plan for your life, day
by day. Stay with the same general
theme for several days so as to get
beyond surface impressions and plumb
your deepest thoughts and feelings. In
effect, you'll be writing as if Jesus were
talking to you; your entries will read
like an interview or dialog with God.
7. Review your entries
periodically. Re-read your journal
entries every month to see if you are
making any spiritual progress or
whether some unresolved issues need
your attention. If you feel comfortable
doing so, share selected journal entries
with a friend, spouse or spiritual
counselor and get feedback.
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The Value

It helps in selfunderstanding and

evaluation (Rom. 12:3).

It helps in meditating on
the Lord and His Word
(Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:1-3).

It helps in expressing
ones deepest thoughts
and feelings to the Lord
(Ps. 62:8b).

10 Benefits of Journaling
We are a What do I get out of it? society, arent we? We
expect every transaction we make to result in a discounted cost to
us, not just a bargain but a super bargain, like a give away. If the
house is for sale as a
foreclosure, we expect the sale
price to be 1/2 of the normal
price.
Journaling is no different; we
expend our time and energy
when we could be doing twenty
other things, so we expect that
the resultant benefits will hugely
outweigh our perceived cost.
Here are a list of benefits to spiritual journaling:
1. Journaling lets you write a note to God. He already knows what
we are thinking, but when He sees us write it down and
communicate on paper, it holds more weight.

It helps in remembering
the works of the Lord
(Ps. 77:11-12).

It helps in creating and

preserving a spiritual
heritage (Deut. 6:4-7; 2
Tim. 1:5).
It helps in clarifying and
articulating insights and
impressions (1 Pet. 3:15).
It helps in monitoring
goals and priorities
(Phil. 3:12-16).
It helps in maintaining
the other spiritual
disciplines (1 Tim. 4:7).

2. Journaling reveals your heart. This will happen as you go back

and read your earlier journal entries; you will wonder what you
wrote and what you have done since and where you are now.
3. Journaling promotes healing; we get to lay out all of our
emotions and examine them like a doctor or a lab technician.
4. Journaling our daily gratitude, ever so small, will quickly show
us that He is wanting to lavish His love toward us.
5. Journaling softens our hearts when disappointments or hurts
have hardened it (Hosea 10:12)
6. Journaling reduces stress when our angers and feelings of
disappointment gain control of us, we become frozen; writing
them down makes them smaller and lightens our load.
7. Journaling enlightens our relationship with God. Writing down
our prayers to Him allow us to show Him that we are interested
in the love He gives us.
8. Journaling sharpens our discernment. We can analyze our
choices or conflicts; writing the process down enables us to see
where we are going.
9. Journaling helps record not only our daily accomplishments and
affirmations but also Gods. (Eph. 3:20-21)
10. Journaling helps us grow closer to God by recording what is
happening, has happened or what we hope will happen if it be
Gods will. It is more than a daily log of events in our life; it
records the spiritual connections of those events.
God speaks through His word, His spirit, and His people to open
hearts to the depths of His gospel(Acts 16:14)