My Prayer Journal

If you know me at all, you know I have a slight love affair with binders. They're pretty awesome. I think it stems back from my nerd-ness in college. I was obsessed with my class notes, often rewriting them if they weren't perfect. Yes, major geekiness, but I graduated Summa Cum Laude, so my anal retentiveness paid off.

Anyway, after purchasing this prayer tool for a friend's birthday, I decided that I wanted one. But I wasn't in love with the binder (I'm not a fan of displaying logos, hence my LV aversion) so I figured I could make my own. And I loved the results!

I simply ordered a small binder, some notebook paper that fit, section dividers, a daily planner and voila! A simple prayer journal that I could customize and fit my needs exactly! :) And bonus that the binder came with an attached little pocket for my pens and highligher! :)

I separated the notebook into four sections so far:

1. Daily Planner: Since I carry this around my house and to church functions, it seemed wise to put a planner inside. I gave my pretty 2011 planner to my younger (and much in need of organization) sister. 

2. Notes: I use this to take notes when I listen to mass or radio programs that I love to learn from. Most of the time, I just download them to my iPod and listen right after my quiet morning time. I mainly listen to the following...

• FamilyLife Today with Dennis Rainey (love this one!)
• Homemakers By Choice with Donna Otto
• The Village Church with Matt Chandler (while I love the majority of his messages, he can be a bit too much for me at times, just FYI

3. Thanks & Praise: I used this part of the notebook to worship, praise and give thanks to God for he    has done in my life. Sometimes I write out Bible verses that say it better than me. Other times I write out the song lyrics to wonderful songs that uplift him (My Sweet Lord by George Harrison is amazing and takes my breath away sometimes.) I often just write a list of gratitudes for that day. Even the smallest things show God you recognize His work in your life. ;)

4. Requests: Here is where I write down prayer requests that I have. I also use this place to write down the requests others have asked me to pray for. I once wrote down a request that was weighing heavily on my mind. The very next day, while listening to a particular sermon, God answered my request. It was amazing and so direct, I couldn't believe it. I'm hoping to be able to go back and see where He spoke to me regarding my petitions. Now, I have a record of them!

There are other tabs I'd like to use in the future. For example, a confessions one. Right now, I just confess while praying but I'd like to have the courage to actually write them down. It's such a private thing right now and I'm working up to putting it on paper.

I hope this inspires you to make one of your own and to spend some much needed time with God. I love, love this tool! It's such a wonderful aid that one can use to record their quiet time with God. It inspires me and motivates me to not rush through my prayer time. My life whizzes right by me when I don't slow down and I don't want to miss even one of His blessings.

If you don't feel like going through the trouble of making one, you can find them already made all over the Internet. Some good ones can be found here , here, here and here. Good luck! :)