Journaling is a great way to decompress, refocus, and process your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. The best part about Christian journaling specifically, is that it prompts you to see Jesus more clearly, know who God truly is, and know what he says about you.
As a Christian, it’s amazing to know that your journaling can be a conversation with Jesus. He knows you, completely understands you, and he loves you. Because of his grace, you can ask him to guide you through these journaling prompts and grow you to become more like him.
Here’s a list of all the prompts you can use in your time with God. I go into more detail with each one so that you can know that the Holy Spirit wants to meet you wherever you’re at.
Let God renew you and transform you as you talk and journal with him.
1. Journal The Names & Characteristics Of God
Knowing who God makes it easier to know who you are and to trust him with your life. Look through the Bible or start with your favorite passage and write down God’s name and any characteristics of his that are described there.
How does knowing who God is affect you?
2. Journal Your Favorite Bible Verse
God’s word is powerful, alive and active, and at the same time deeply personal. Meditating on your favorite Bible verse by writing it out and journaling about it will not only renew your mind but bring you closer to Jesus.
Remember it’s not about quantity, but quality.
3. Journal About 10 Things You’re Grateful For
This journal prompt seems mundane, but once you get into it it becomes super fun and encouraging. When I write down what I’m grateful for, I can’t help but smile and always end up wanting to make my list longer.
4. Write A Letter To Yourself
Write a letter to your past, present, or future self. You can do all three to help you gain a new perspective, and you can even ask Jesus what he would say to your younger, present, or future self.
These letters help inspire healing for your past and are a great reminder of what’s important to you down the road.
5. Journal About God’s Faithfulness To You
Remember when God did that amazing thing for you? Choose to spend time now on remembrance, journaling about God’s faithfulness to you and how’s he met you right where you’re at.
These could be specific things God had spoken to you about or the amazing promises he has written in his word.
6. Make An Emotions List
This may sound silly, but in the front of your journal or somewhere easily accessible, keep a running list of all the emotions you feel when you journal. This will help you down the road pinpoint how you’re feeling.
The list can even help you trace certain emotions to situations in order to figure out where they’re coming from and how to control them more than they control you.
7. Write A Psalm In Your Own Words
Sometimes it’s hard to pray to God, or hard to know what we’re feeling. Luckily, the psalmists felt the same way a lot of the time and wrote beautiful verses to God in the best and worst of times during their lives.
Throughout the Psalms, there’s sure to be something that sticks out to you. A few of my favorites that you can start with are Psalm 50, 73, 84, and 138.
8. Journal About Casting Your Anxieties On Jesus
Jesus wants to hold you and take your fear and anxiety from you. His burden and yoke is light, and you can cast all your anxiety on him.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 NIV
There are many ways you can give your anxieties to Jesus, one of them is by writing them down and having something tangible to offer up to God. Even if it’s hard, you start by lifting up your hands to him as a way to give your anxiety over to him.
Fear and anxiety are no trivial things, but God is greater than they are. That doesn’t mean medicine and talking to close friends and family members isn’t a bad idea, but you can know that when you journal your cares to God, he hears you, and he wants to help.
9. Be Still And Journal What God Is Speaking To You
Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10a ESV
As you’re journaling to God, get away to the secret place to be alone with him and be still. Even Jesus went off by himself to be with God multiple times in his life on earth.
He didn’t have any podcast or music playing, just silence. In the same way, break off some time to just be still, listen to the Holy Spirit, and journal what God is speaking to you.
10. Journal Through Art
God is a creative God and made us in His image. Because of this, we can know that art is a great way to connect with Him, worship Him, and process the things going on in our lives.
Painting drawing, sculpting, collaging, whatever it is you can use it as a way to destress, draw closer to God, and write down what he’s speaking to you.
11. Journal About Who God Has Been To You This Week
For this prompt, ask yourself: “Who has Jesus been to me this week? What new characteristic of God did I learn about? What did the Holy Spirit reveal to me?”
Answering these questions allows you to focus on God and who he’s been in your life for the past week instead of getting too worked up about yourself.
No matter what your week has been like, God has been there and is there for you, all you have to do is look and see.
12. Journal About Your Identity In Jesus
Who does God say that you are? Make a list about who you are in Christ, here, I’ll start you off:
- I am a child of God
- I am fearfully and wonderfully made
- I am clean
- I am loved
- I am a new creation
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
13. In What Ways Are You…
Journal about how God made you and answer these questions. In what ways are you…
- Creative?
- A Peacemaker?
- A Conqueror?
- A Child of God?
- A Servant?
You can keep going and find more examples of who you are in God’s word.
14. What’s Your Favorite Way To Spend Time With God?
What’s your favorite way to spend time with God? Do you enjoy his presence more in…
- Solitude?
- Silence?
- Nature?
- Worship?
- Community?
- Fasting?
- Studying His Word?
- Creating Art?
- Journaling?
You may enjoy him more in something else, and there are endless ways to spend time with God, but today, find time to do one of the things you love with God and journal about your experience.
15. What If You Believed Everything That God Said?
What if you took God at his word? Everything he’s said in the Bible is true, so what would happen if you truly believed it?
To practice this, pick out one promise of God in the Bible and journal about how it would affect your life if it were true. Ask God to show up in that and trust him to fulfill his promises.
16. Two Truths And A Lie
Think of or write down a lie that you’ve been struggling with recently. Whatever lie the enemy is speaking to you, journal through two truths that combat it from scripture.
Here’s an example: I’ve believed the lie that I have to earn God’s love and provision. The truth is that I have been saved and loved by God by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). And, Romans 8:32 says that God sent Jesus for me, so how will he not also grant me everything that I need?
17. Journal Through Your Weaknesses
This is your official invitation to be honest and vulnerable with God. What are you struggling with? Jesus wants to carry that with you.
The most vulnerable parts of us hurt the most when we bring them to the light, but Jesus wants to forgive us, heal us, and simply talk through the hard things with us.
Jesus took on our weakness so that we could have a relationship with him now and a life with him in eternity. Because of who Jesus is, you can trust him with your weaknesses.
18. Journal Through Your Strengths
God says in his word that he has given us each spiritual gifts and strengths to use for his kingdom.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV
Journal through this verse and write down the gifts, talents, and spiritual gifts God has given you. How can you steward these well? How can you serve God and others with them?
Remember, your gifts aren’t just for you, they’re for the body of Christ and for the glory of God.
19. Journal About Your Growth
After looking at your strengths and weaknesses, journaling about your growth and how far you’ve come with Jesus is a great way to stay encouraged.
In this prompt, you can answer these questions about your growth:
- What would your past self not believe about your life today?
- What do you know about yourself now that you didn’t know before?
- What surprised you about your growth in your relationship with Jesus?
- How do you want to continue to grow?
20. Make A Plotline Of Jesus’ Story In Your Life
This prompt is for making a plotline about your story with God. How and when did Jesus show up in your life? What got you to where you are today? What’s your testimony?
To answer these questions, draw a timeline of your life during your walk with Jesus to get a visual of the monumental things he’s done for you. Add any memorable stories or miracles that you can remember and worship God for his faithfulness along the way.
21. Journal About Your Sabbath
What’s your Sabbath look like? How do you spend time resting with Jesus?
Your Sabbath doesn’t have to strictly be on Sundays and it doesn’t have to look the same every week. But, journaling about when and why your rest will help keep you accountable to actually seek out that time to rest with Jesus.
God rested on the seventh day after he created the universe, showing us just how important taking a day to rest can be. There’s no condemnation if we don’t do this yet, but
God cares about us and our health and wants to take care of us. Taking a Sabbath is a way of trusting Him with that and honoring who He is, which is why journaling about rest will remind us to do this.
22. Journal About Health And Self-Care
God cares about your soul, spirit, and body, and wants to be with you in your health and self-care journey. Whatever that journey looks like, you can journal about it in order to know that you are God’s temple and that you can glorify him in everything that you do.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
We are called to steward our temples well for God’s glory, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any insecurities that come up sometimes. That’s why you can know that as you journal about it, Jesus is with you and he loves you just the way you are.
By journaling through verses like these, you can make taking care of your health all about worshiping God, not your image, and you can use that as a way to thank God for the body he’s given you.
23. Journal About Serving
When Jesus lived on earth, he chose to serve others and love them, and he told those who follow him to do the same.
To be intentional with loving others as Jesus loves them, you can answer these questions in your journal in order to get fired up about serving others:
- What’s your favorite story in the Bible of Jesus serving others?
- How can you serve others like Jesus?
- What dreams of others can you serve right now, and how can you add value to their lives today?
24. Journal About Surrender
Have you surrendered fully to God? If you haven’t, you can know that He has good plans for you, better plans than what you could create for yourself.
Even if it’s hard for you to surrender, God is gracious and you can talk through your doubts and struggles with him. Because of this, you can trust him and you can begin by making a list of things to surrender to God.
25. Journal About Your Dreams
Your hopes and dreams are truly amazing, but have you asked God what his dreams are for you? God can do more than we ask, think, or imagine according to His will, so all we have to do is ask him for his vision for our life and obey him.
Journal your own plans and dreams down for Jesus. Put them into categories, and ask Jesus to reveal his plans to you today. Here are some questions you can ask Jesus to help you understand what he wants for your life:
- What dreams do you have for me, Jesus?
- How do they glorify you and serve others?
- How can I obey you when you call me to something?
26. Journal Through ACTS
ACTS is an acronym for:
- Adoration
- Confession
- Thanksgiving
- Supplication
To start, you can choose a Bible verse to go through or journal it on your own.
You can start with adoration and write something that you adore about God as a way to praise him for who he is. Next, you confess to him your sins or repent, and admit what’s been heavy on your heart recently.
For thanksgiving, you thank God for what you’re grateful for in your life, and finally you make your requests and asks known to him through supplication.
Here’s an example:
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Psalm 138:7-8 ESV
Adoration: God, you are so powerful and gracious to preserve my life. I praise you for delivering me and being who you are.
Confession: God, I’m sorry for not always trusting you when I am in trouble. I admit that I am scared of my enemies but I know that you forgive me and will deliver me.
Thanksgiving: Thank you God for fulfilling your purpose for me and for your steadfast love, even when I am in the midst of trouble.
Supplication: Do not forsake the work of your hands, Lord. Fulfill your purposes for me and show me your steadfast love.
Journaling With Jesus Matters
Journaling is a great way to decompress, refocus, and process your thoughts. It helps you see Jesus more clearly, know who God truly is, and know what he says about you.
Ultimately, going through Christian journaling prompts should be a way of talking with Jesus and praying to him about the different areas of your life.
There are endless ways to experience God’s love through journaling, but whatever prompts you chose to do, know that God cares about you, understands you, and is with you every step of the way.