Devotion Challenge

Spiritual Challenge for January:  Prayer Journal


Happy New Year to all of you!!!  This year Shelley and I felt compelled to provide a topic of spiritual challenge each month in addition to our prayer blogs.  Since our focus for January is a New Year, New Love, New You we decided that we want to push the boundaries of our own comfort zones and find areas to grow.  Then of course we had the hair brain idea of asking you to join us because more is better when attempting change and for support in change. 

For the month of January, the spiritual challenge is to begin a prayer journal.  All through scripture you will find exhortations to “remember” the goodness, works, ways, thoughts and the attributes of God.  Psalm 77: 11-12 says “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”   One way of remembering God’s work and direction in your own life is to write out prayers for reference in the future.  Your prayers can be written out in snippets, in part, or in whole and then as God answers your prayers these too can be added to your journal.  

The prayers can be responses to the Lord from your reading, your own daily devotional prayers, praise and thanksgiving for the blessings you have been given, or maybe your prayers for others.  The goal of a prayer journal is threefold; 1) to encourage your prayer life, 2) to look back at your prayers and remember God, and 3) to look back and see how God has answered your prayers.  As you sit with God for any length of time you will begin to gain understanding in situations that might have alluded you before.  God will communicate to you through your thoughts, interactions with others, or in a myriad of ways.   These outcomes too can be added to your prayer journal for future reference and to remember how God has spoken to or directed you. 

If you have been a Christian for a long time you might have heard this practice referred to as a spiritual discipline.  A spiritual discipline has the purpose of creating habits designed to bring you closer to God which is also one purpose of our challenge for January.  Keep in mind that the main goal of this challenge is not to become “formal” pray-ers or even to document your prayers but rather to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus where we know and love him more. 

So grab a notebook, anything you can carry around with you easily, and jot down your prayers, praises, and conversations with God.  What is on your heart that needs to be put into a prayer??  God already knows so put it into words and allow the Lord to increase your faith or challenge you as you wait on God to move.  At the end of the month Shelley and I will give you feedback on how our month has gone with this discipline.  Please contact us through our e-mail at Elohimprayer@gmail.com and give us your feedback on this challenge. 

Philippians 4:4-7 says “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

And finally as we go deeper into our relationship with the Lord our whole mental attitude can shift and so that we desire a more holy and faith-filled life and a better way of being.  “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8