A Moleskine changed my prayer life. For the last year and a half, I’ve written my prayers in a notebook. This has become an almost daily practice. I’ve found this to be a wonderful discipline that forces me to slow down, be more precise, and thorough. I begin my days by writing a letter to my Heavenly Father.
I’ve mentioned this discipline to folks before. But here I hope to lay out why and how I started, how I go about writing my prayers, and give you reasons as to why you should join me.
Why I Write My Prayers
I first began to write my prayers as an assignment from one of my pastors. I had gone to him during a season of intense anxiety. I remember praying for several weeks, “I don’t know what to do,” over and over again. My pastor asked me to write my prayers down for a week.
After that week I told him about what I prayed. In my summary, I realized that all of my prayers for that week had been fearful and focused on me and all that was wrong or could go wrong. I was essentially ignoring who God is and telling him how much I didn’t trust him.
My pastor had me memorize Colossians 3:1-3.
[1] If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (ESV)
He turned the focus of my prayers Godward. “Pray to God about God,” I remember him saying. Pray about his promises. Pray about his character. Pray in thanksgiving.
After the first couple of weeks, I was not expected to continue writing out my prayers, but I kept the practice up.
I found that writing out my prayers kept me from drifting back into self-centered and doubtful words (though the Lord still listened). Writing my prayers required slowness and thoughtfulness. It created a pattern of looking to God first, then to my sins and supplications.
Some days I would write as many as two-and-a-half pages and others no more than half a page.
One of the surprising benefits of writing my prayers is that I’m able to reread them. I now have a record of God’s providence. I’m able to look back at answered prayer and growing confidence in the Lord. I can see where I began to pray as we entered the adoption process up to Anselm’s birth. I first prayed to adopt our children, now I pray that God will adopt them one more time.
How I Write My Prayers
My process is very simple. I usually write my prayers in the morning after reading Scripture. Depending on the setting and time I can write more or less or not at all. Some mornings are pray-in-the-car kind of mornings while other mornings I get between 30 to 45 minutes.
The first notebook I used was a black Moleskine Cahier journal with a soft cover. Now, my preference is a Field Notes pocket notebook that I keep in my back pocket throughout the day. I write the number of the notebook on the bottom corner to keep them in order when I go back to read them.
I also use a to-do app called Todoist to keep track of prayer rhythms and requests. I pray for Mel and Anselm every day. I pray for at least one member on my church directory each day. I pray for my fellow pastors on Sunday, my student ministry team and student families on Wednesday, and my equipping ministry teachers and leaders on Thursday along with other requests that I write down during the days.
My structure is simple. I write a heading above each prayer that includes the date (Example: Prayer 7/17/2024). I then write out my prayer. The next day, I skip a couple lines and begin again.
Some of this may seem a little involved. It seems like it to me now that I’ve written it out, but it works for me. It doesn’t feel like a task, but an intentional conversation with the Lord.
I’ve found these quotes from John Flavel and Mark Dever so encouraging when it comes to prayer:
The respect and relation Providence bears to our prayers is of singular consideration, and a most taking and sweet meditation. Prayer honors Providence, and Providence honors prayer. —John Flavel
When I go to bed at night and I look back over my day, the time I'm most confident was well-spent was my time in prayer. —Mark Dever
Why You Should Write Your Prayers
Why should you write your prayers? I don’t think I can say you “should,” but I will say you should give it a try.
First, Scripture gives us numerous examples of written prayers. The book of Psalms is full of both personal and corporate prayer. In the book of Jonah we see that the prophet had enough wits about him in the fish to remember and write down his prayer (Jonah 2). The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught us (Mt 6:9-13; Lk 11:2-4). John records Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer for us in chapter 17. Paul writes many prayers for the churches in his letters (Rm 1:8-10; 1 Cor 1:4-9; 2 Cor 1:3-7; Eph 1:3-23). While the Bible does not command us to do likewise, it does give us excellent examples of written prayers.
Second, we find many in Church history that wrote their prayers out. Consider Augustine’s Confessions or Anselm’s (not mine, the old one) Proslogion. Many have benefitted from The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers.
Finally, I don’t believe it’s ever a bad decision to slow down in our prayer. Writing your prayers will give you a personal account of God’s faithfulness and providence. Writing your prayers will slow you down to reflect on who God is, what he’s done, and what he’s promised. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, our prayers whether thought, spoken, typed, or written, will always reach the ears of our wise and loving Father.