How Christian Journaling Can Help You Grow Spiritually

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Christian journaling has been a powerful part of my spiritual walk. Even before I kept a spiritual journal, I kept diaries and journals as a kid.

I can still remember my first lock & key diary that I got back in elementary school. I would write down my deepest, darkest 9-year-old secrets, and lock it up for no one to ever to read. (Although, I’m pretty sure my sister figured out where the key was.)

But there is something therapeutic about having a place to mind-dump all your thoughts and feelings. A place to get it all off your chest, and then reflect.

Benefits of Christian Journaling

So, why keep a spiritual journal?

Well, one of my favorite parts about journaling is reflecting. Reading back over my experiences and how they affected me and what I learned from God.

When I look back over my “God” journals, a few things happen. Three major benefits come to mind:

One, I see how much I’ve grown spiritually. It’s nice to see that I’ve made progress, even if it’s just a little.

Two, I can see how much I’ve NOT grown. Let’s be honest, we’ve all hit those spiritual walls. That season we just didn’t put a lot of effort into getting to know God. That will show up in your journals.

You’ll see questions that you wrote down years ago, and realize you still have the same questions. Why? Because you didn’t seek as you should have. Or Bible verses that you initially wrote down to return to later with notes or commentary, and the page is still blank. This usually motivates me to do better moving forward.

And three, You’ll come across verses that God gave you during tough times, or maybe you wrote down a prayer request that God answered. This will encourage you and remind you who God is and how He shows up.

Christian Journaling Ideas

So, what types of things can you write about in your journal?

Well, there are so many different things you can write about in your Christian or spiritual journal. And it really depends on you and what your spiritual needs are.

Here are 8 different ideas for using your spiritual journal.

8 Christian Journaling Ideas

1. Write down “god” moments. Anytime God speaks to you, lays something on your heart, or answers a prayer request. This practice is good for developing a “history in God”. Do this enough, and you’ll have a log of moments to look back over for encouragement.
2. Write down your prayers. You could either write down your prayers word for word or summarize what you prayed about for that day. As God answers your prayers, you could go back and write down what His answers were.
3. Bible study notes. As you study the Bible, it’s important to take notes. You might come across a verse that stands out to you or a verse you might have questions about. A journal is a great place to write down these things. Write down your thoughts on the passages and see where God takes your understanding.
4. Questions for God. I’ve at times had entire pages where I just wrote down questions I have for God. Whether it was questions about a particular story in the Bible, or more general questions like, why does God allow evil (a pretty big one). I can then pray over these questions asking for God to help me understand. 
5. Gratitude journaling. You can use your journal to write down what you’re grateful for every day. This is always a great practice for obvious reasons. Oftentimes we get so busy and overwhelmed with our minor daily frustrations, we need a “perspective check”. Doing this makes you realize things could be worse, and they are in fact a lot worse for a lot of people.  
6. Bible journaling. I have not tried the Bible art thing myself. This is where you draw, color, and/or illustrate scenes from the Bible, or what’s on your heart as it relates to scripture that you’re reading. It’s a growing trend, and lots of people enjoy doing it. I personally just don’t know if I would get anything out of it. But that’s just me. 😊
7. Dreams. Do you dream a lot? Does it often feel like God is speaking to you through your dreams? Write them down. And pray over your dreams for Biblical interpretation.
8. Write down favorite scriptures and quotes. You can use your journals just to write down your favorite Bible verses or spiritual quotes. You then have a great place to go back to for encouragement.  

How to Keep a Spiritual Journal

So, we’ve gone over some different ways in which you can use a spiritual journal.

But the next big question is what kind of journal should you use?

And oh, boy! There are so many to choose from. I have to admit, I’m a bit of a journal junkie. Like I mentioned before, I’ve been keeping journals since I was in elementary school.

There is just something magical about picking out just the right journal. The journal becomes your trusted friend that accepts you, flaws and all, with no judgement. It’s a safe place to jot down your spiritual questions, concerns, experiences, Bible notes, favorite scriptures, and so much more, without the judgement of anyone else.

So, it’s important that you choose the right journal.

You could go simple, and just get a journal with a cute cover, like the one below by Punch Studio that I use for my dreams. The cover is fancy and elaborate. But the inside is simple, with notebook pages for me to write on.

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As far as I can tell, this particular one is no longer selling. But here is a great alternative (also includes the cutest little bird on the cover). And here is one that is more similar in style to the one I use, minus the bird, and has pink colors.

You could get a journal that has inspirational verbiage scattered throughout the pages. That could be in the form of scriptures, inspirational quotes, or even prompts.

If you’re looking for a simple prayer journal with easy prompts, I’ve been using this one (picture below). It’s simple, consistent, and has little encouragements scattered throughout the journal.

You could even build your own journal! Buy a binder, print off some cute pages and a cover page, and customize the journal to your liking. I love this idea because you can change it up as often as you’d like.

Conclusion

Spiritual journaling can be a great way to help you grow spiritually. I have been doing it for years, and I don’t regret it. I’ve written everything from my favorite scriptures, to messages I received from God.

I highly recommend that you give it a try.

What will you use your spiritual journal for?

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