Years ago when I was a young human resources generalist, my boss realized something about me – I tend to forget things. I just can’t help it; I’m a little scatterbrained! I even have the plaque to prove it! On my high school “Senior Day” where they give away all of those “prestigious” awards like “Who’s Most Likely to Succeed” and such, I received the honor of being named, “The Most Absent-Minded”. It was a glorious day, I tell you!
To remedy my forgetfulness and better organize me, my boss insisted I purchase a Franklin Planner. It is a miracle worker! After years of using it, I am totally dependent upon it now. If I happen to leave the house without it, it is like leaving my brain at home!
After I began structured prayer journaling, which captures my to-do list from God, as well as prayer requests and other spiritual things that matter greatly to me, I had an epiphany, if you will:
If I am that diligent on keeping up with my daily, worldly matters in my Franklin Planner then why wouldn’t I be just as committed, if not even more so, in keeping up with my spiritual matters???!
This is what sealed the deal for me when it came to this type of prayer journaling. Without it, it is like leaving my planner at home – I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what my appointments are. It is a terrible feeling!
Without capturing all of my kingdom assignments and such, I would feel lost. I could not imagine not writing down what God is doing in my life! How else would I keep up with it all??? Remember, there are at least ten unique areas of my prayer life that represents my relationship with Christ, so without keeping a record of it all just like I do my worldly affairs, It would be worse than being absent-minded!
Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be serious and disciplined for prayer. 1 Peter 4:7 (HCSB)
Besides God’s Word, which I mostly access electronically, these are the two most important books I own.
Before you leave, let me ask you something I had to ask myself years ago, aren’t the spiritual things of God more important to manage than your daily, worldly affairs?
I think YES!
Hopefully, you agree. So, let’s keep going – tomorrow, I will be sharing a Youtube tutorial of structured prayer journaling for creating a simple template to get you started.
Let’s have a prayer for our priorities:
Heavenly Father,
We come before You today with thanksgiving and praise, recognizing that You are the Master Planner. Help us to align our plans with Yours! May we use every good resource and tool available to us to insure that our plans are Your plans. More importantly, may we not forget to include time and reflection for discerning Your plans for our day, week, month and life! May we assess our days and make room for Your will.
We give You honor and glory by how we conduct our days. Thank You for Your wonderful Son, Jesus in whose name we pray,
Amen.
I am participating in The Nester’s 31 Days of Writing; you can go here to keep up with my 31 day feature on structured prayer journaling.
Happy Journaling!!!
~gina
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Award-winning author Gina Duke is a wife, mom and the Director of Women’s Ministry at her local church. With a B.S. in Organizational Leadership, she is able to bring a clear word for authentic Christian living. Through her book, “Organizing Your Prayer Closet: A New and Life-Changing Way to Pray” (Abingdon Press), she imparts 1 Peter 4:7 with the gift of structured prayer journaling. You may also follow her on Twitter and Instagram @TheGinaDuke.
Tara Brelinsky says
October 3, 2014 at 1:36 pmThis is a good reminder for me. With home schooling my 8 kiddos, I too often forget to schedule myself. That is part of the reason when our committed family adoration hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament is so good for me. In addition to knowing I can’t miss Holy Mass on Sundays, I know that that hour on Thursdays isn’t something I can skip out on. I journaled for a while, but stopped. Now and again I will re-read my notes and old prayers intentions and it helps me to see how God’s hand worked in my life. Thanks for the reminder. I’m glad I found you on Missional women blog hop.
ginaduke says
October 3, 2014 at 1:39 pmTara, I can tell you are a precious saint! Thank you for stopping by. I love prayer journaling because like you said – it helps me see the hand of God moving in my life. ~gina
Shelby says
October 3, 2014 at 2:52 pmGina, thank you for this. It is too easy to lose track of what I have going on in general and I would rather lose track of every single worldly thing than the eternal, Kingdom ones. I just had a woman who was a potential coaching client who didn’t sign with me — we weren’t a good fit — email me about a situation and ask if I would be willing to pray for her situation. OF COURSE I would! There’s no coaching in the world more effective than prayer so I never want to forget that kind of thing.
Now… can you teach me your tricks and tips?
ginaduke says
October 3, 2014 at 4:26 pmHi, Shelby! Prayer is a most important kingdom discipline. Please follow along with me for 31 days of structured prayer journaling, and you will learn all my tips. The link is at the bottom of my post. I would love for you to join me.
~Gina
Amanda Darlene says
October 9, 2014 at 12:51 pmHey Gina! Great post- where did you get your prayer journal?
ginaduke says
October 9, 2014 at 6:17 pmAmanda,
It is called, “Organizing Your Prayer Closet: A New and Life-Changing Way to Pray” that I authored, published (Abingdon Press) and was released last November. You can pick it up at any bookstore or order it online.
Glad you liked the post!
~gina
Margrett says
January 9, 2015 at 4:22 pmHi Gina I’m newly registered follower of your blog and site. I would like to purchase the prayer journal you have pictured. It looks like a good way to write out my daily prayers and desires to the Lord. Is that something you have produced/created for sale? I’m unable to find it on your website. Thanks so much!
ginaduke says
January 9, 2015 at 5:54 pmHi, Margrett! There is a tab across the top that says “My Book and Fun Helps”. Here is the link, http://77.104.162.72/~ginad732/my-book/all-about-organizing-your-prayer-closet-reviews/
I recommend that you order my book from an online store, such as Amazon, or you can pick one up at Lifeway. If you purchase it online, it’s considerably cheaper, just please don’t not order the eBook Kindle version. If you have any issues, we can arrange for you to pay me directly and I will mail you a copy for $16.99 plus postage. Thank you for your interest in prayer journaling; You will love it. ~gina