How To Start A Devotional Journal
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Reflecting on God’s Word is one way to grow more in Christ. It is the very key towards intimacy to the Lord because of the exclusive time spent with his words and teachings. As we progress in our spiritual journey, we get to know God more and continue to love Him even further through devotional journaling.
Starting a devotional journal will also help us keep track of God’s presence in our lives through active reflection and application of these teachings.
On How To Bible Journal, Shannon Acheson shares the sentiment of most people…looking at a blank journal page can be daunting if you don’t know where to begin!
In this blog, I’ll share a few guidelines to start an intentional yet simple devotional journal to draw us closer to God every day.
Things You’ll Need
Here are important things to get you started:
Bible
dedicated journal, or a Google doc (if you prefer to do it online)
pens and colored markers
instrumental meditation music and stickers (if preferred)
and more importantly…an open, intentional and teachable heart, which faith vlogger Ezelijah Snow shares with us in How To Do A Devotional Journal
Start Your Day With God
In an article shared by Kaitlin Kamp from Today, she expresses an important thing to remember when journaling,
This journal is between you and God, so make it your own. There is no right or wrong way to reflect! The most important thing is to keep up with it.
Start your day with intention - the intention to offer God every minute of your day, and keep Him in your mind every moment so your thoughts, words and actions reflect such goodness.
A new day is always a chance for a new start. Regrets, mistakes, and failures are best left in the past as taken as lessons learned. A new day allows you to give thanks to God for a new opportunity to experience life and His love once again.
The SOAP Method
SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer and involves four simple steps.
Scripture – In reading selected Scripture or daily devotionals, highlight phrases you connect with or words that capture your attention or stick out to you. Write them down in your journal or type them out.
You may also opt to read the Scripture aloud several times to digest the phrases or words that remind you of God’s teaching in the best way, before jotting them down.
Observation - Reflect on the main message of the verse you’ve selected, and answer these questions:
How do these words or phrases make you feel?
What emotions or memories does it help you remember?
Application
Jerry Jenkins’ How To Write A Devotional shares this question to help you reflect on the application points:
How does this verse change your life and affect your outlook?
What does this verse mean to your life right now?
Take the time to reflect and think deep on what God is trying to tell you through your chosen Scripture verse of daily devotional. Capture the message and reflect further on how it applies to your life.
What life events would benefit from the message shared with you?
What lessons are revealed to you?
What lessons/ learning can be applied to all aspects of your life?
Should there be any questions you have in mind, write them down too so you can ask someone about it after.
Prayer - As you come to a close, strengthen your journaling experience with a prayer. Making it part of your experience reminds you of God’s faithfulness. Bear in mind that God hears/ knows the desires of our heart and what we ask in prayer. When you look back and read your prayers, you’ll see that they’re a testament of how God works and leads your life.
Laurel Keler of Lifeway mentions a great tip of adding the date of the devotional. She shares that you will love looking back and remembering the day that God taught you something new about His Word!
Keep Up With Your Spiritual Goals
Just as we set personal goals, manifesting our creativity and connecting it to God’s Word can be one spiritual goal to start with. Later on, we can progress with long-term spiritual goals which continue to deepen our faith and love for God.
Consistency is key to keeping up with our goals. If daily journaling is challenging, adjust your time frame and set weekly or monthly journaling goals instead. The important thing is to start today. It does not need to be perfect, it just needs to be a true reflection of how God has been faithful in your life.