The Life-Changing Power of a Prayer Journal

This week, we are excited to share a guest post from our friend and co-founder of Six Weeks to Sanity, Presbytera Stacey Dorrance. Be sure to check out her upcoming course, "Our Home as Sanctuary"! You will find the details below! 

A Prayer Journal. It sounds simple enough. Write out your thoughts and prayers…a type of ‘Diary to God.’ But a Prayer Journal can be so much more! With a little planning and intention, your Prayer Journal can be part of the roadmap of your life…the on-going, recorded relationship we have with our Lord, with ourselves, and with others. How? How can something so seemingly simple become so incredibly useful and powerful? Let’s start at the beginning. 

Let’s be practical! You will need four items: A handsomely paged journal, (I prefer sewn-in pages, 6x9 inch sized), 2x1.5-inch 3M Post-it Durable Clear Tabs, a Brother P-touch labeler and a pen. Oh, and a yellow highlighter! That is to indicate answered prayers. Create subject areas for your Prayer Journal. Print them out on your P-touch. Place them on the 3M tabs, and create sections starting at the top of the journal working around the side and giving the appropriate number of pages to each area. I have: Family, God-Family, Country, Church, Personal, Goals, and Intercession. Think about what will work for you. It’s your prayer journal. 

Under ‘Family,’ I have written out all my immediate family members as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. If someone passes away, I put a cross after their name. I pray for the physical and spiritual health of my family members as well as any special needs. Sometimes I just say all the names, putting them in my heart before the Lord. He knows their needs. Next, I have a section for all my God-children and their families as well as all my family’s Godparents and their families. I have a responsibility to pray for them. Plus, I love them all! I desire to put them before the Lord in prayer.

After that, I have a section for my Country. I pray for the branches of the government, for our leaders, for my state, city, town and neighborhood. I pray for the homeless…I pray God eliminate drugs, sex trafficking, etc. I believe my prayers matter and I pray, in faith, to our loving God. I do the same for the Church. I pray for our leaders, our hierarchs, our priesthood, for our national ministries…which I enumerate…for my local parish and all its ministries and faithful. I pray God bless and guide all of our churches and institutions. I am an Orthodox Christian woman who believes in the power of prayer.

Next, I have two sections for myself (which could be combined). I pray about my sins and shortcomings and what virtues I need to acquire. I ask for the Fruit of the Holy Spirit and enumerate it. I detail who I am, what roles I play in my life and what gifts I believe I have. I ask God to help me to repent, to use my talents to help others, and to be a better mother, sister, wife, daughter, etc. I include my physical life and my need for eating healthfully and exercising, as well as for physical and spiritual healing. Following that, I have a Goals/Dreams section. I enumerate all the ministries I am involved in and ask God to bless them. I am very specific, i.e.: Write a book on a certain subject, record a specific album for Eikona, help and guide my ‘Our Home as Sanctuary’ class.

 Finally, I have my ‘Intercession’ section and I pray for anyone who has asked me to and for those who I observe need prayers. Sometimes it is overwhelming. But I know people pray for me, and I am blessed by that, so I desire to bless others with prayer.

This is the Life-Changing Power of a Prayer Journal, in a nutshell. When prayers are answered, I highlight them and thank God, so I never forget the faithfulness of our Lord in answering prayers. It is a road-map because I have my life, written on paper, before the Lord and remember who I am and what I value. It keeps me on track. It holds me accountable in my Spiritual and Physical life. I hope you discover how a Prayer Journal, in the aforesaid manner, can change your life as well.

Presvytera Stacey Dorrance has been serving and inspiring women for over 30 years through her work with the beloved Eikona Sisters Music Ministry and her passion for homemaking. Co-creator of the 6 Weeks to Sanity course, she is also a professional organizer who has helped countless women create peaceful, faith-filled, and beautiful homes. Married for nearly 40 years, she is blessed with four children and eleven grandchildren, and she brings her warmth, experience, and deep love for God into everything she teaches. She is offering a course on “Our Home as Sanctuary” starting September 9th. See flyer for details.