Prayer can be overwhelming. It’s easy to make excuses like not having the time for prayer or having more important priorities in your life. Maybe you believe that God doesn’t hear your prayers. Maybe you’ve been praying for the same thing for years, and you haven’t seen God working in your life — is He even listening? Here’s an overview of prayer and the benefits of keeping a prayer journal. Prayer journals can help you organize your thoughts and time for more consistent prayer.

Does God hear my prayers?

Keeping a prayer journal isn’t beneficial if you don’t believe that God actually hears your prayers or cares about them. Luckily, the Bible is clear that God knows our thoughts and prayers even before we speak them and cares greatly about them. 

First John 5:15 (ESV) says, “And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” In other words, God hears us. We aren’t just talking to an endless void when we pray — we’re actively having a conversation with a living, breathing God who hears our requests. 

Not only does God hear our prayers, but He will act on them. Psalm 34:17 (ESV) says, “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.”

What is a prayer journal? How do I start one?

A prayer journal is precisely that — a journal where you write down your prayers. There’s no right or wrong way to start one. You can also use prayer journals to write down the blessings in your life that you see every day. 

Here are a few tips for starting your journal:

• Personalize your journal. Whether you want to use a physical journal or an online format, your journal should be unique and personal to you. Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration. 

• Remember that prayer journals are not only limited to prayers. You can also use your journal to write down things that you’re thankful for as you go about your day or things that you want to work on changing in your life. There’s not really a way to go wrong with prayer journals. 

• Be consistent in your journaling. Prayer journals are only as effective as you make them. Try to write down at least a few things every day — your journal doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should show consistency. 

What are the benefits of a prayer journal?

Prayer journals can be beneficial for many reasons. Here are a few:

• Tracking your prayer requests can be helpful. Writing down your prayer requests every day and being able to look back on them is a great way to physically see God’s faithfulness in your life. 

• Prayer journals can remind you to be consistent with praising God. God always deserves praise and glory—prayer journals can help remind us of that. 

• Prayer journals can help you organize your thoughts. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the idea of prayer that we find it easier to spend time in prayer. Prayer journals can provide a space to organize all of your thoughts and prayer requests in one place. 

What does the Bible say about prayer?

• We should pray constantly. Romans 12:11-12 (ESV) says, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” We shouldn’t hesitate to praise the Lord through prayer. We should be consistent and constant in prayer and praise. Colossians 4:2 (ESV) says, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” 

• God hears our prayers and will respond in His perfect timing. First John 5:14 (ESV) says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” God will always respond to our prayers, even if it isn’t a response of “yes.” God’s responses can include yes, no and not right now — each answer is perfect because it is His will.

• Prayer can help humble and grow us. Second Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 

Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey

At Centerpoint, our community believes in purpose and passion, and we would love to walk with you on your journey in finding yours. You can also find out what our community’s purpose and passion are all about by checking out some of the past sermons we’ve posted on our website. 

Do you want to grow in your faith, or are you simply curious about who this Jesus guy is? You’re not alone. We encourage you to listen to our podcast series online and welcome you to come to one of our Sunday morning services in Valrico, Florida.