Prayer Journal Prompts: 40 Ideas and Examples

Prayer journal prompts are short questions that tell you what to pray about on paper. The 40 here follow the old ACTS pattern: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, with two more sets for listening and for praying for other people. Two sample entries at the end show what a finished page looks like.

Most people who quit a prayer journal quit for the same reason. They open it, write "Dear God," and run out of things to say by the second line. The trouble is rarely a lack of faith. It is a lack of structure.

ACTS gives you that structure. The letters stand for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, which is an old word for asking. Work through them in order and you will praise before you ask, and come clean before you make requests. That order changes what you ask for.

"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." — Colossians 4:2 (NLT)

This article is part of the Christian Morning Routine series.

What to Write in a Prayer Journal

A page needs five things, and none of them has to be long.

• The date. You will want it when you look back.
• One verse. Something from what you read today.
• The prayer itself. Written to God in plain sentences.
• What you sensed. A line or two after you stop writing and listen.
• An answers column. A narrow margin on the right where you come back later and note what God did.

Adoration Prompts

Start with who God is before you get to what you need. Adoration is praise with no request attached.

1. What have I seen of God's character this week? Name it and tell Him.
2. Which name of God do I need today: Father, Shepherd, Provider, Judge, or Refuge? Why that one?
3. Write three sentences that begin "You are..." with nothing asked for.
4. What in creation made me stop this week, and what does it say about the One who made it?
5. What did the cross cost, and what did it give me? Thank Him in specifics.
6. Which psalm says what I cannot find words for? Copy two lines and add my own.
7. Where has God been faithful over years, not just days?

Confession Prompts

Confession is telling the truth to a Father who already knows it. The aim is to bring sin into the light, where it is forgiven. Shame sends you into hiding, and hiding is where sin grows.

"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." — 1 John 1:9 (NLT)

8. What do I need to say plainly, without softening it?
9. Where did I choose comfort over obedience this week?
10. Who have I wronged, and what do I need to make right with them as well as with God?
11. What sin have I renamed so it sounds smaller?
12. What am I hiding from the people closest to me?
13. Where have I held on to bitterness and called it being careful?
14. After confessing, write the truth: what does God say about someone He has forgiven? Start with Romans 8:1.

Thanksgiving Prompts

Thanksgiving looks back at what God has done. It is the fastest cure for the feeling that He has done nothing.

15. What did God give me today that I did not earn?
16. Which answered prayer from the past year have I stopped noticing?
17. Who has God put in my life, and what exactly am I thankful for in them?
18. What hard thing is God using, even though I would not have chosen it?
19. What did I have enough of today?
20. Where did God protect me by not giving me something I wanted?

Supplication Prompts

Now ask. Be direct. God is not impressed by careful wording, and He is not put off by honest need.

21. What do I need today? Ask for it plainly.
22. What am I asking for that I should also be working toward?
23. What do I need wisdom for this week?
24. Where do I need strength I do not have?
25. What request have I repeated for months? Write it again, and write how I will keep trusting if the answer is slow.
26. What do I want God to change in me, not only around me?
27. What am I afraid to ask for?

Listening Prompts

Prayer is a conversation, and most of us do all the talking. After you write, stop. Then test anything you sense against Scripture, because God does not contradict His word. If you want a guided walk through this, the Listening Prayer tool takes about ten minutes.

"Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." — Psalm 5:3 (NLT)

28. Sit in silence for five minutes. What comes to mind? Write it down, then test it against Scripture.
29. What verse keeps coming back to me, and what might God be pressing on?
30. Is there a person God keeps bringing to mind? What should I do about it today?
31. What have I sensed God saying that I have not yet obeyed?
32. Ask God, "What do You want me to know about today?" Write what follows.
33. What would a wise, older believer say about what I think I heard?

Prompts for Praying for Others

Write names. A list of real people prayed for by name is one of the most useful pages a journal can hold.

"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." — James 5:16 (NLT)

34. Who is in the hardest season right now? Write their name and one specific request.
35. What does my spouse or closest friend need that only God can give?
36. Pray for each child, or each person I lead, by name. One sentence each.
37. Who has hurt me? Write a prayer for their good.
38. Who does not know Christ? Ask for one opening to speak or serve this week.
39. What do my church and its pastor need?
40. Who did I promise to pray for and forget? Do it now, then tell them.

Two Sample Prayer Journal Entries

These are examples, not scripts. Notice how short they are, and how specific.

An ordinary morning

Tuesday, 6:10 a.m. Psalm 5:3.
Father, You are patient. You have been patient with me for twenty years.
I was short with my wife last night because I was tired and wanted to be left alone. That was selfish. I will tell her this morning.
Thank You for the call from my dad yesterday. I did not expect it.
Today I need a clear head for the 2:00 meeting and the nerve to say the hard thing kindly.
For Mark: his scan results come Thursday. Give him peace before he knows.
Sensed: slow down at dinner.

A hard day

Friday, 9:40 p.m.
God, I do not have much tonight. The layoff came through. I am scared about the mortgage and I am angry.
You are still my refuge. I am writing it because I do not feel it.
I spent the afternoon rehearsing arguments instead of praying. Forgive me.
Thank You that we have three months saved, and for the friend who called before I had told anyone.
I need work. I need to not take this out on the kids.
Answers column, six weeks later: started the new job on the 14th.

Keep the Answers Column

The right-hand margin is what turns a notebook of requests into a record of God's faithfulness. When something is answered, write the date and what happened. Some answers will be no. Some will be not yet. Write those down too.

Read back through it once a month. Few things build faith like seeing, in your own handwriting, what you asked for last spring and what God did with it. If you are setting up a journal for the first time, how to start a prayer journal covers the layout, and there are 75 more journal prompts by topic when you want a wider range.

Let's get to work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you write in a prayer journal?

Write the date, one verse from what you read, your prayer in plain sentences, a line about what you sensed when you stopped to listen, and later a note about how God answered. A simple pattern to follow is ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.

What is the ACTS prayer method?

ACTS is a four-part pattern for prayer. Adoration is praising God for who He is. Confession is telling Him the truth about your sin. Thanksgiving is thanking Him for what He has done. Supplication is asking for what you and others need. Praying in that order puts worship and honesty ahead of requests.

How many prayer journal prompts should I use at once?

One or two. Pick one prompt from a single section and answer it honestly. If you are following ACTS, take one from each of the four parts and you will have a full entry in about ten minutes. Working through a whole section at once turns prayer into homework.

Is it better to write prayers or say them out loud?

Both are prayer. Writing slows you down, keeps your mind from wandering, and leaves a record you can look back on. Speaking is faster and fits more moments in the day. Many people write in the morning and pray out loud the rest of the day.