Why You Should Write Down Your Prayers

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. - Philippians 4:6

I was seventeen years old when I wrote out my first prayer. I wasn’t really sure how to start, so I just wrote “Dear God…” and let my pen fly. I had a lot of things I wanted to talk to God about, but my main stressor at that point in time was deciding where to go to college. Just for fun, here’s a little snippet from that entry:

“So as You know, I’ve got a lot on my mind right now. The biggest thing being college…I really do want to hear from You about this decision. I want your best for my life. But honestly, it’s hard to ask a question and then be patient in waiting for the answer. I’m a very impatient person. You know that. So I just want to ask You to give me patience.”

From that very first page, all the way to the back cover, I asked God to give me patience over and over again. And as I continued writing out my prayers, no matter how big or small my circumstances seemed, I wrote about them, asking for wisdom and guidance and grace and understanding and…you guessed it…more patience.

I prayed about big decisions like college and job opportunities. I prayed when I felt like I was going through a personal funk. I prayed for my friendships. I prayed for my future husband. Heck, I even prayed about who was going to be my date for senior prom. Nothing was off limits.

Fast forward seven years later and I filled up the journal. But before I did, I went back and read every single entry. As I flipped through the pages, I was literally in tears. I would read an entry where I was talking about how confused and frustrated I was because whatever God was doing in my life at that time didn’t seem to be making any sense. (Actually, there were quite a few entries like that.) But then a few pages later, there would be another entry where I was thanking God for answering my prayers in ways that I never expected. That prayer journal became a tool that God used to remind me how He is always faithful and He always comes through.

There were so many prayers from that journal that He so graciously answered. He made it clear where I was supposed to go to college. He developed new friendships and mended broken ones. He gave me peace in times of major uncertainty. He opened up so many different doors with my career. And, yes, He even worked everything out for my senior prom. Like I said, He always came through.

In the very last entry of the journal, I wrote this:

“A while back, someone told me that You always answer prayers in one of three ways: yes, not now, or no, but I have something better. And over the years I have clearly seen how true that really is. And what’s even cooler is that there have been so many occasions where You haven’t answered my prayers like I wanted You to, but then You took the time to show me why You answered the way You did. I don’t deserve that. There’s no reason You should ever have to explain why You do the things You do. But I think it’s so gracious of You to every now and then give me a glimpse into Your reasoning. So thank You for that.”

I truly believe that I would have missed out on understanding some of that reasoning had I never started writing down my prayers. God has used this spiritual growth strategy in some incredible ways in my life to encourage me, to give me hope, and to remind me of how trustworthy He is.

So, with all of that being said, I would encourage you to start writing down your prayers. I think it’s one of the greatest things you can do for your own spiritual growth. There doesn’t have to be a specific format to it. There’s no right or wrong way to do this.

The only thing I would ask you to do is to make them personal. Be vulnerable. Tell Him what you’re really thinking and feeling because He already knows everything whether you write it out or not. Be open and honest with your Heavenly Father. I promise you He can handle it. And seven years from now when you’re reading back through your prayers like I did, you’ll be amazed at how God has worked in ways that you never even dreamed He would.