HOW TO JOURNAL

Life Journal is designed to serve you in your intimate fellowship with God. You can be flexible in how you use it, but be sure to develop a healthy habit of spending time daily with the Lord, so that you can know Him, love Him, and become more like Him.

Step 1: Prayer
Be still for a minute with your heart open toward God. Ask God to cleanse your heart and guide you into the time together. You can echo the prayer, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

Step 2: Read
Open your Bible to the passage for the day. Read it slowly with an open heart several times as the Lord gives you words of encouragement, direction, and correction for your personal life.

Step 3: Meditate
Take some time to reflect on the words and phrases in the text. Which words, phrases, or images speak most to you? By focusing on the Word of God, you want to immerse yourself in the Word and to receive an intimate and personal message from God. The purpose of meditation is to penetrate the Scriptures and to let them penetrate you through the work of the Holy Spirit. As you meditate, ask yourself S-P-A-C-E:
Is there a …

• S – Sin to confess?
• P – Promise to claim?
• A – Attitude to change?
• C – Command to obey?
• E – Example to follow?

Step 4: Journal
When God speaks to you through His Word, write down the thoughts and reflections in your journal. Here is a simple way to do your journal entry.

• S – Scripture. Write down the main verse from the text.
• O – Observation. Write what you see in the Scripture.
• A – Application. Write how you will be different today because of what you have just learned.
• P – Prayer. Write out your prayer.

Step 5: Prayer
As God speaks to you through His Word, speak to Him in prayer. This is your part of the conversation with the Lord. One simple way is to use the acrostic P-R-A-Y.

• P – Praise the Lord. As the Scripture shows you who God is, praise Him for His greatness.
• R – Repent of your sins. The Scripture also shows you who you are. After seeing God in His holiness, we recognize our own sinfulness.
• A – Ask for yourself and others. Begin with your own personal requests (prayer of petition), both for your physical and spiritual needs. Pray also for others (prayer of intercession) as the Bible calls on Christians to pray for one another.
• Y – Yield yourself to God’s will. Your prayer time should end with a time of personal surrender to the Lord. Take enough time to present yourself before God in silence and yieldingness.