Around the beginning of the year, there was lots of talk about keeping a gratitude journal during the new year. I am a generally grateful person–I notice the small blessings in my life and am thankful for them–but I thought that the practice of keeping a gratitude journal would ensure that I really do take time to give thanks every day. Because I also want to enhance my spiritual life, I thought I would add prayer to my journaling and keep a combination gratitude + prayer journal.
I found a small calendar with just enough room to jot down one thing I am grateful for and one thing I am praying for each day. You would think that it wouldn’t be hard to keep up with this simple practice, but only three weeks into the year I’ve already found myself staring at a half-empty week and needing to remember what I was grateful for and praying for two days ago. Instead of giving up because I’m not keeping up, I remind myself that this is a practice.
The gratitude part is easy. I’m grateful for a lovely sunrise. I’m grateful when my coffee turns out particularly well. I’m grateful for a productive day at work. I’m grateful for the joy Tiger Lilly brings to my day. I’m grateful for an evening snuggling with my husband in front of the fire. I’m grateful for a good night’s sleep.
The prayer part has been surprisingly hard. I am grateful that things are good for me right now, so I don’t have anything weighing heavily on my heart and occupying my prayers. Most days, I am praying for my kids, who are both away at college. Now, that could be a full-time job, but I have to let go or else my praying would turn into worrying, and as Carla put so eloquently, that’s certainly not something I want.
I think one reason that it is hard for me to pray for others is that I grew up in a church tradition that did not encourage praying for others unless they asked you to, but I have grown away from that, and have had my eyes opened to praying for strangers. So, when the Polar Vortex reached us, my first reaction when I heard the weather report was to pray for those who don’t have a warm place to call home.
I also have a hard time praying over current events, because I don’t trust myself to know what outcome to be praying for. Usually the best I can come up with is “Thy will be done.” I probably need to remind myself that that prayer is enough. Again, this is a practice.
Are you keeping a gratitude journal?
Have you ever thought about keeping a prayer journal?
Do you struggle with knowing what to pray for?
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I do keep a journal and do some journaling but, it’s not just dedicated to gratitude or prayer. And I have used a gratitude app also before. I think it’s great that you don’t give up and keep adding your entries as you have them. Dropping in from DBB and pinning to my journaling page. Theresa @DearCreatives
I’ve never been able to get into a good habit of journaling. I thought this would be a small way to start. Thanks for stopping by.
I thought of starting a gratitude jar at the beginning of January but got side tracked. I like the idea of the journal. That’s something I would like to do more just to wind down from the day and put my thoughts on paper. I did it years ago but got away from it.
We have a grateful wall in our home. I bought a few pieces of poster board and taped them together. At the top I wrote, “I Am Grateful For …”. My family, and friends that come over, write things on the grateful wall and it’s filled with wonderful thoughts. It’s so nice to just sit and read it.
That’s a great idea!
I haven’t kept any kind of journal in years but I have a good friend (my accountability partner, actually) who is very diligent about keeping a prayer journal.
I feel your heart on this post! I go through the same thing. I tell myself I’m going to read/journal/etc and I have all the best intentions and then it slips away sometimes. I think you are right to look at it as practice, though. As in all things, God knows we need Grace. And as for praying for current events, I think you are wise to know that we can’t see the big picture. I don’t believe there is any more powerful prayer than, “Thy will be done.” When God’s will is done love and peace and justice are present. Only when we assert our own human will do things start to fall apart!
Yes, I have realized that even for things I feel passionate about, I may not know best, either because of the possibility of unintended consequences, or the big picture that I can’t see.
I have such a hard time with this, too! I *want* to keep a prayer/gratitude journal, but it seems like I always burn out after a few days. Argh…
That’s why we need to keep trying! It’s not like we need to give up on being grateful just because we forgot to write it down. 😉
I do have a small prayer journal and it is my goal to be praying for a few thing each time I go for a run. When I run outside it is easier for me because when I run inside with the TV on the treadmill, it is very distracting. You said you found a small calendar for your gratitude and prayer…is there one in specific you would recommend or just one you found randomly? I like that idea.
I just got the one above at Target, with weekly views. I liked it because it was small enough to tuck into my work bag, but had enough room to write a few sentences on each day. Really whatever appeals to you should work!
Thanks for your honestly. I have been trying to do something along these lines and you are right in that it isn’t always easy.