Gina Duke - Churchtown Ministries

Giver of Good Stuff for Authentic Christian Living and Women’s Ministry

  • Home
  • Gina’s Bio
  • Books
    • Organizing Your Prayer Closet
    • Publishing Dreams
    • How to Beef Up Your Blog
  • Prayer Journal
    • Organizing Your Prayer Closet
      • Reviews
      • My Book’s Prestigious Award Press Release
      • Join My Facebook Group for Organizing Your Prayer Closet
    • 31 Ways to WRECK Your Prayer Journal
    • Video Playlist Companion for Your Prayer Closet Organizer
    • Take the 31-Day Structured Prayer Journaling Challenge
    • Small Group Guide for Organizing Your Prayer Closet
    • A Tool for Your Prayer Journal
    • Easy Prayer Petition Organizer
  • Women’s Ministry
    • Free Resources
    • A Case Study
    • How to Host an Interactive Bible Study
    • Favorite Christian Speakers
  • Speaking
    • Why Book Me?
    • Speaking Topics
    • Prayer Retreat Format & Topics
    • Endorsements
    • Fee Schedule
    • Speaking Schedule
    • Gina’s Bio
    • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Gina’s Etsy Store
  • Resources
    • Series
      • 5 Misconceptions about the Church & How to Refute Them
      • Jesus’ Manifesto Video Series
      • What Do You Think about the Christ? Video Series
      • Lessons from the Lepers – Thanksgiving Video Series
      • Detect & Defuse 4 Opposing Spirits to Women’s Ministry
    • Interviews
    • My Poems
    • Prayer Journaling Tutorial Videos
  • Blog Link-Ups
  • The Chronicles of the Corporate Mom

One Sure-Fire Way to See the Hand of God (31 Days / Day 7)

October 7, 2014 by Gina | 2 Comments

prayer journal, structured prayer journaling

When I began structured prayer journaling in 2001 I was not prepared to discover this. It only took a little a while, but then I saw It! When I would go back and review my entries and God’s responses, I could see His hand working in my life. Let me say it this way: Through structured prayer journaling, I can see the hand of God!

Because here is the deal – when we succinctly write down our prayers, it is like bringing things from the Spiritual realm into our visual presence where we can then physically see the hand of God! Truth!

prayer journal purpose, prayer closet organizer

When I go back through my structured prayer journal in review mode, I can see how He has weaved events, trials and joyful moments of my life into meaning. It is much too difficult to see this when journaling the traditional, free-handed way. With structured prayer journaling, all I have to do is flip back and within a glance, I can see what God has done. I don’t have to go back read pages upon pages in hopes of catching a glimpse.

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Exodus 33:18-23

Don’t we long to see God’s glory???

So many times when I am reviewing my structured prayer journal I feel like Moses in the cleft of the rock, and I realize that God has just passed by. I can see that He has been here, in this place with me, over this matter!

Years ago, I received a job offer to what I thought would be a great job. My husband was not happy with the particulars of the offer so he did not agree with me on accepting the offer. I was upset to say the least! I told him, “You are soooo missing God on this!” Regardless, he stood his ground, and I declined the offer.

Six months later, the same person came back to me with a different offer but a gazillion times better! I was offered more money to work part-time! And I had benefits, too!!! This offer was very acceptable to my husband and it also allowed me more time to do ministry work.

After thinking through what happened, I knew that God’s glory had passed by. My husband’s first No was God’s Yes! I believe because I honored my husband’s wishes, God was able to bless me the way He saw fit, and it all worked to His benefit as well as ours. That is how good God is!!!

The cool thing about God is that He want us to see Him! (vs. 19, 21-23)

prayer-journal-Godshand.jpg

Structured prayer journaling is the place where “all of [God’s] goodness” can “pass in front of you” (vs. 19).

If you think it is too difficult to get all of your words in the smaller sections, I am going to share why even that is important, not only to structured prayer journaling, but to your prayer life as well. Tune in tomorrow!

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

Dear Guest,

When you subscribe here to my blog, you will receive these weekly features: (Click and check out the corresponding posts!)

prayertip.jpg WOMMINWED.JPG ThrowbackThursHdr

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.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print

Filed Under: Prayer Journaling Tagged With: clarity for prayer, Organizing Your Prayer Closet, Pray, prayer, Prayer Closet, Prayer Journal, praying effectively, Structured Prayer Journaling

About Gina

Gina Duke is the award-winning author of  Organizing Your Prayer Closet: A New and Life-Changing Way to Pray (Abingdon Press), that introduces the gift of structured prayer journaling.  You can enjoy her weekly #ShePrayerJournals weekend workshops on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @TheGinaDuke.

Comments

  1. Shelby says

    October 7, 2014 at 10:12 am

    Gina, your heart just keeps reaching out to touch my heart. The aspect of my spiritual life about which I’m least happy is my prayer life. Your series is really helping.

    Reply
    • ginaduke says

      October 7, 2014 at 10:52 am

      Shelby,
      I am soooo happy to hear this! Girl, I know! When it comes to prayer – something that is easy to do – seems to be the hardest. I hope this type of prayer journaling will help you greatly. I could never NOT do structured prayer journaling because I couldn’t stand missing out on seeing God at work! Thank you for reaching out to me, and letting me know that you are benefiting from this 31 days series.
      ~Gina

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Up to Date

Signup to receive my latest blog posts.

Privacy Policy

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Can You Count on God? I’ve Got the Proof that You Can!
  • The Slowing of the Soul
  • When the Peace You Possess Falls to Pieces
  • You Probably Haven’t Heard This Lately…
  • Truth Should Always Operate in What is True

Join Us on Facebook

Join Us on Facebook

Categories

  • Book Reviews (6)
  • Church (16)
  • Conduct (10)
  • Corporate Mom (13)
  • Encouragement (17)
  • Event Planning (1)
  • Faith & Follow Through (11)
  • Grace (1)
  • Hearing God (11)
  • Passion (7)
  • Pinterest Pins (11)
  • Praise (8)
  • Prayer Journaling (141)
  • Prayer Tips (69)
  • Prayer Videos (3)
  • Press Releases (7)
  • Recipes (7)
  • Reconciliation (4)
  • Restoration (6)
  • Salvation (2)
  • Scripture (4)
  • Serving Others (2)
  • She Speaks (3)
  • Thankfulness (5)
  • Uncategorized (30)
  • Women of the Gospels (1)
  • Women's Ministry (78)

Archives

Latest Tweets

My Tweets

Recent Pins

Affiliations

She Speaks Graduate

Copyright © 2021 Gina Duke | Design by The Design Diva | Development by MRM | Privacy Policy

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.