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Best Prayer Journal Sections: 9 Ways to Organize Your Prayer Life

As you start a prayer journal, you may be wondering which prayer journal sections to include and how to use them to help you organize your prayer life.

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Yet for some, myself included, knowing which journal sections to include kept me stuck and hung up on perfection. I held off on creating a faith journal for a long time because I wanted to get it “just right” and be sure it was pretty before I started.

Yet, reflecting on why I started prayer journal, freed me from my hesitation. I took the not-so-perfect leap into a journaling habit and never looked back!

As you begin, remember, this journal is yours alone and is an extension of your relationship with God. These journal section ideas are suggestions only and yours must be functional for you!

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Best Prayer Journal Sections

These sections are a practical way to help you organize your prayer journal and act as a simple prayer model, as well. Use these suggestions to help you stay focused while you pray and be sure you aren’t just listing your requests to God. (I *might* know a thing or two about that!)

Following a similar format in your daily quiet time will guide you to a meaningful prayer life that leaves time to listen for God as well as share your burdens with Him.

Adoration

Start your prayer time by praising God for His steadfast character and His amazing grace. This is the time to be still before God and marvel at His goodness and faithfulness. Declare who He is and the reasons why you rejoice in His precious name.

In this section of your prayer journal, you may want to keep a list of God’s attributes you regularly celebrate, including:

  • God is merciful and sent Jesus to die on the cross for your sins
  • The Lord is faithful to journey with you through life, no matter what you face
  • God is steadfast and your rock when the storms of life come your way
  • The Lord is compassionate and is close to the brokenhearted
  • God is powerful, mighty, and still on His throne

Spending time at the feet of Jesus, pouring out my praise, always takes my eyes off my own circumstances and reminds me that He is in control and I am not.

Plus, it prepares my heart for the next phases of prayer and helps me focus on the Lord’s goodness instead of just listing my requests.

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Confession

It’s easy to have a prayer life that’s focused on asking God to provide, isn’t it? Yet God wants us to regularly reflect on the state of our heart and recognize the error of our ways for what it is- sin.

When we confess our sins and lay our struggles at His feet, it acknowledges our need for a Savior and invites God to be the Lord of our life once again. This process encourages true repentance and God grows us in His image as we face struggles and choose to flee with His help.

It’s the perfect prayer journal section to confess our sin, acknowledge our struggle, and to rely on God’s strength when temptation comes knocking on our door.

This section is also a great place to include an action plan for when we’re tempted to indulge in bad habits. As you pray through your struggles, ask God to show you how to stand firm in faith when the evil one tries to sway you off course.

Review your action plan in your daily journaling and be prepared with truth the next time you’re feeling tempted.

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Thanksgiving

This is one of my favorite prayer journal sections! I love to keep a list of God’s blessings and ways that He’s provided.

Reflecting on how God has provided in the past, even in small ways, helps me daily trust God with my burdens and to remember His faithfulness. Then, I’m reminded that the mountain that seems impossible, is no match for my awesome God.

This section also renews my mind with the promises of God and helps me trust God when life feels hard or overwhelming.

Supplication

This is what most people think of when they think of a prayer! They think of just laying their requests before the Lord and getting answer. Yet God’s plan is perfect, even when His answer doesn’t match our earthly desires.

It’s through supplication, the sharing our prayer requests with God, where we learn to surrender our burdens and worries to Him. It’s through moments of being still before God where we learn to trust His perfect will, even when our deepest requests go seemingly unanswered.

The supplication section of a prayer journal is a humble offering of asking God for our request and yet trusting that His will is better than ours.

As you begin to track your prayer requests, you may want to create a prayer schedule to help you pray through your requests. You can also color code them on a prayer tracker so they’re easy to see and stand out as you pray through your list.

A sample prayer schedule may include:

Monday (color red)- family (family relationships, spiritual growth, wisdom)

Tuesday (color orange)- salvation for those who do not know the Lord

Wednesday (color yellow)- friends (health, financial needs, relationships, etc…)

Thursday (color green)-wisdom, guidance, and stewardship in all areas of your life

Friday (color blue)- your local church and for missionaries around the world

Saturday (color purple)-world events/political leaders

Sunday (color pink)- self (work, relationships, spiritual growth, diligence, self-control)

Daily prayer

I find it helpful to have a separate section for daily prayer. This way you can date your journal entry and have a record of your prayers for the day.

In my daily prayer section, I include:

  • Write the Word: write a verse or verses that stood out to me in my Scripture reading. It’s also a great place to do a simple Bible study method, such as a SOAP study.
  • Prayers: I either write the prayer requests that are heavy on my heart for the day or write a simple prayer to the Lord.
  • Praises: I write a simple prayer of praise to the Lord as I reflect on how God is moving and working.
  • Gratitude: Instead of having a separate gratitude journal, I love to write my daily gratitude with my prayers.

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Scripture

This is another one of my favorite prayer journal sections! As I read God’s Word, often I’ll find a verse or passage that really stands out and encourages me. Then, I’ll write Scripture in this journal section to reflect on time and time again.

Having a list of “anchor verses” helps renew my mind with biblical truths and keeps me grounded in God’s promises when life feels heavy.

Plus, this allows me to pray Scripture for myself and others with ease since I have my favorite verses at my fingertips.

Prayer prompts

Prayer prompts are a wonderful way to jump start your daily journaling habit! They inspire your writing and help you move past writer’s block.

Plus, using Christian prayer prompts helps you focus on God’s faithfulness and may help you journal the Bible in a way you wouldn’t have before.

Monthly calendar 

While many overlook this journal section, I love having a monthly calendar in my prayer journal. It helps me keep track of important events I need to pray for and helps me focus on seasonal prayers, too.

I use my Christian planner for this, as well, and it’s a great way to use a planner for spiritual growth and to foster a healthy prayer life.

Lined paper

While this may not be an official journal section, having lots of lined paper handy helps you organize your prayer journal and stay focused on your writing. It’s a blessing to have a stack of paper handy when God lays a message on your heart!

As you set up your prayer journal, remember to start simple and let God grow you. You don’t have to start fancy or with all these sections. Instead, add to your faith journal as God grows you and as you bloom into the fierce prayer warrior He’s called you to be.

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