July 2018

WHY YOU NEED A
Prayer Journal?
BY RANDY WILLIAMS
Sifting through an old
box as I unpacked into
my new office, I lifted
a handful of paperback
workbooks and begin to thumb
through them. Prayer journals.
I’d entered the Scripture reference
that I had randomly chosen
and in the blank space under the
heading, What God Said to Me,
I’d written a paragraph or two
reflecting on what I understood
from the passage that I had read
that day.
Looking back on what I had written,
I was amazed by the revelation
that I had received from
God. I was able to meditate further
on the Word, and I was silently
thankful for what God had
imparted into my life.
The next heading, What I Said to
God, gave me the opportunity in
the next couple of paragraphs to
write what I had reflected on as
a result of the reading, and the
previous reflection. I had started
this practice while taking a
discipleship course in seminary
twenty-five years ago. I was curious
a first; then, amused as
I read how the Holy Spirit had
stirred my soul so many long
years ago.
As I read I choked up a bit after
considering the spiritual dry spell
I had recently been in. Such
maturity was shown, a vibrant
spiritual life that I had forgotten
about. Lively conversations with
God lived again as if the first
time. Then, a somber realization
fell over me again as a Scripture
came to mind,
“And the people of Israel did not
remember the LORD their God,
who had delivered them from the
hand of all their enemies…”
Judges 8:34. God initiated the
a practice of erecting memorials
and establishing rituals in
the Old Testament to remind His
people so they didn’t forget—we
are still prone to forget.
Why not keep a record of your
spiritual journal? A reminder of
what God has done. My soul
was blessed as I read and con-
72 www.faithfilledfamily.com July 2018