Prayer Journal For Women

Steph Nickel reviews Shannon Robert’s “Prayer Journal for Woman.” Steph concludes that we should journal the things that we learn daily from the Lord.

What have you read and can recommend? We would love to hear from you. Share your comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.

Shannon Robert’s Prayer Journal for Women

I purchased Shannon Roberts’s Prayer Journal for Women: 52 Week Scripture, Devotional, & Guided Prayer Journal and look forward to getting started. Ladies, this was definitely created with you in mind.

It’s a beautiful black and white journal accentuated with modern calligraphy and what look like floral chalk drawings. Of course, there is plenty of room to write.

Each week, there is a brief reflection based on the week’s key verse followed by a page for notes. There are six other sections for journaling as well, each with a different heading: “Lord, Thank You,” “Teach Me,” “Guide Me,” “Things on My Heart,” “Highlights,” and “Prayer Requests.” At the end of the book, there are several pages titled “Answered Prayers” to record your prayers, when you first prayed them, and when God answered.

A Note From the Author

Below is an excerpt from the opening, “A note from the Author”:

… I’m SO glad you’re here! This prayer journal came about at a pretty monumental time in my life. 2018 was a tough year for me—filled with trials and debilitating illnesses. These matters prevented me from doing things I was passionate about, and threw me into a tailspin of fear, doubt, and insecurity. … God promises to be with us throughout this journey called life, through the mountains and valleys, the highs and the lows. My hope and prayer is that this journal will strengthen your faith and your walk with God, no matter what season of life you find yourself in. God is always at work and promises to work all things out for the good of those who love Him! I hope that you will record your thoughts, prayers, and deepest desires, and that you will be able to look back and see the incredible ways that God has moved with you over the year. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your walk with our almighty God and Savior! May God bless you beyond measure!

The Reflect section of Week 1 is based on James 1:19,

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (NIV).

Reflection Questions

The questions for reflection are as follows:

Have you ever formed (and perhaps even shared!) an opinion about something, only to change your stance once you learned more about the subject? Have you ever lost your temper, or jumped to a conclusion? How did these experiences make you feel? God calls us to listen thoughtfully, to be slow to speak, and to keep our tempers under control. Are any of these things difficult for you? Why do you think this is? Have you shared your heart with God?

At the top of the page for “Things on Your Heart,” “Highlights,” and “Prayer Requests,” is a related verse to that week’s key verse. As a follow-up to James 1:19, the author chose Psalm 145:8,

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (NIV).

How awesome to realize God calls us to be slow to anger, something that marks His character, something He will enable us to do!

Guided Journals

I love paper journals. And guided journals? Well, they’re even better in some cases. I do use the Day One journaling app on my phone. I appreciate the ease of adding photos, text, and audio, but it’s still not the same as writing my thoughts by hand.

There have been studies that show that there is a different connection between our brain and our hand when we handwrite. The flow of thoughts and words is different in some ways.

My Journalling App

So, there I go again. I’m more of a both-and type of person rather than an either-or one. I like my journaling app, but I’m not ready to give up paper journals, especially lovely artistic ones like this Prayer Journal for Women.

For the last four years or so, I have been working full-time as the office admin at our church. Not too long ago, the Lord made it clear that it was time for me to step down. I will be working part-time and training the new admin for the summer … and then, I’ll be writing and editing full-time (unless the Lord has something in mind that I’m not aware of as of yet).

So, it makes sense that now is the perfect time to start a 52-week prayer journal. I wonder what the Lord has in store for the next 12 months.

Are You Ready to Dive?

How about you? Are you ready to dive deeply into one or two verses a week and reflect on them in a focused way? Of course, I would recommend that you read the surrounding verses to make sure you keep the context of any given verse in mind. I intend to read at least the chapter the key verse comes from, if not the entire book of the Bible, over the course of the week. It would be easy enough to read the book of James in a week. However, all 150 psalms … not as easy.

The last verses the author includes are Matthew 6:26-27 and Psalm 55:17.

Matthew 6:26-27 say,

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (NIV)

Psalm 55:17 says,

“Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice” (NIV).

What a great way to end the yearlong journey, being reminded of God’s provision and the fact that He hears us whenever we call out to Him. You may need this reminder today. Why not journal about it? And, if you’re so inclined, order a copy of Shannon Roberts’s Prayer Journal for Women: 52 Week Scripture, Devotional, & Guided Prayer Journal.

What have you read and can recommend? We would love to hear from you. Share your comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.