How to Create a Personal Prayer Notebook

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I’ve kept a Prayer Notebook since I was in college, and it has by far been one of the best things I have done for my spiritual life. I first learned about how to create a prayer notebook from the classic book, Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman (which I highly recommend!). I love using the small notebook, because I can add or take out pages as I desire, as well as rearrange it when I want to change something. My Prayer Notebook has become an indispensable part of my quiet time, because it helps to keep everything I use during this time organized and in one place.

Here are the materials I used to make my Prayer Notebook (you can also find all the materials for this size notebook at Target):

3-ring binder (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 size) – I love this one from Staples because it is extremely durable and can hold up to 175 pages. You can also find it here on Amazon.
Filler paper (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 size)
Tabbed Dividers
Mini Binder Pockets
Page Protectors
Scrapbook Paper (to decorate the front cover)

In the cover of my notebook I put decorative scrapbook paper and a Scripture collage I printed out.

Here is a peek at what is on the inside:

Prayer Notebook 3 — The front pocket of my notebook contains helpful resources I use during my Quiet Times.

An Intimate Hour with God. This is a wonderful handout from Jim Elliff about how to spend a quiet hour with God.

Prayer Notebook 4 — An Intimate Hour with God by Jim Elliff.

Jesus in all the books of the Bible. This printable is such a rich resource for your quiet times. It lists every book in the Bible and how Jesus Christ is pictured in that particular book.

Prayer Notebook 5 — Jesus in all the books of the Bible.

Bookmarks. I received these wonderful little bookmarks from Revive Our Hearts. They have a helpful selection of thought-provoking bookmarks that make a great addition to your devotional time.

Prayer Notebook 23 — I keep these thought-provoking bookmarks in the front of my notebook.

After the front pocket, I have my notebook divided into 4 major sections using tabbed dividers: Abiding, Prayer, Sermon Notes & Studies, and Priorities & Goals. Here’s a look at how I organized each of these sections:

Prayer Notebook 28 — My Prayer Notebook is divided into 4 major sections.

1) Abiding

I named this section after my Life Verse, John 15:5, which says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Here is what I keep behind this divider:

Adoration, Praise and Meditation Prompts. I like to begin my quiet time with praise and adoration, so I keep sheets that have Scriptures, favorite quotes, and attributes of God. I like to meditate on and pray over these as I begin my time with the Lord.

Prayer Notebook 11 — This Joyful 4:8 Thinking chart is taken from Tommy Newberry’s book, “40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life”.

Prayer Notebook 8 — I keep this alphabetical list of God’s attributes with accompanying Scriptures in the front part of my Abiding section.

Journal Pages. I like to keep a journal of my prayers, lessons the Lord is teaching me, quotes, and insights from my time in His Word. I number these pages on the bottom, date them in the top left corner, and put a topical heading at the top right corner when I am finished writing. I keep an index in the back of this section with topics and page numbers for easy access.

On the back page of this section I keep a topical index of my journal entries. This helps me find them easily so I can review them often. — On the back page of this section I keep a topical index of my journal entries. This helps me find them easily so I can review them often and glean more from them.

2) Prayer

In this section, I have pages for all the people and priorities in my life over which I want to pray. The first part of this section contain pages for confession, and thanksgiving. Then there are a number of pages for supplication (praying for others). These pages include prayers for:

My husband
My children
Extended Family
Friends
Our Church
Our Nation and World
Missionaries

Some I pray for daily, and others I put on a weekly prayer list (with each day of the week having a different tab and several requests put under that tab). For daily prayers, I put the name of the person or priority at the top of the page, then I list the requests for each one along with Scriptures to pray. Not only does this help organize my prayer time, but it also helps me feel that each major area/person in my life is getting prayed for regularly.

The Confession page in the Prayer section of my notebook. — The Confession page is the first page in the Prayer section of my notebook.

prayer notebook 41 — These are daily Scripture prayers that I pray for myself. I have similar pages for my husband and children.

I use this **prayer calendar** to pray for my children.

Tabs for each day of the week help to distribute other prayer requests to ensure they are prayed for weekly.

prayer notebook 42 — Pocket divider with prayer cards and bookmarks.

The pocket divider in my Prayer section holds prayer cards and bookmarks like Praying for Your Pastor.

I also use my 31-Days of Praying for America Ebook to pray for our country. It walks you through 31 different Scriptures with accompanying prayers. Downloadable for phones, desktops and ipads.

3) Sermon Notes and Studies

This is where I keep all my notes for sermons and in-depth Bible or book studies. Behind this tab, I added additional tabs for Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, because we are studying different books of the Bible in each service.

prayer notebook 43 — Sermon Notes on Acts.

4) Priorities and Goals

Behind this tab, I keep everything having to do with the different priorities and goals in my life. From short term goals to life long goals, this is where I dream big and pray over my future. I created weekly goal sheets to review and keep me accountable. Having this section in my notebook has been such a helpful way to review my goals, reflect on the past week, and plan for the week ahead.

Prayer Notebook 29 — Priorities and Goals Section

Prayer Notebook 16 — My Weekly Goals Sheet

I also keep a pocket divider in this section that contains my goals, theme words, and theme verses from years past. I like to review these and remember God’s faithfulness to me over the years. I’ve made laminated bookmarks of my goals the past several years, and it has proven to be a fun way to review them.

Prayer Notebook 18 — Pocket divider with goals, and theme words and verses from current and previous years.

Behind this pocket divider, I keep my Lifelong Goals and Priorities in a page protector. This is where I put the big dreams – those things that I want to accomplish in my lifetime. I try to review these often for inspiration, and to make sure that I am staying on track through my weekly and daily goals.

In the back pocket of my notebook, I keep a few other inspiration handouts:

I keep more handouts in the back pocket of my notebook.

35 Spiritual Goal Ideas. This is a fabulous printout that has 35 ideas to inspire you toward a closer walk with the Lord.

Prayer Notebook 20 — 35 Spiritual Goals from Stone Soup for Five.

10 Questions for Moms in the New Year. These questions provide much food for thought throughout the year.

Prayer Notebook 21 — 10 Questions for Moms from Brown Sugar Toast.

The Hour that Changes the World Prayer Wheel. This is from Dick Eastman’s wonderful book on prayer, The Hour that Changes the World. I highly recommend this book, which shows you how to spend an hour with God in prayer. The link is a very helpful, condensed version of the book.

And that’s what is in my Prayer Notebook! The great thing about using a small, 3-ring binder, is that I can add or change things without having to start a whole new journal. There is no right or wrong way to set it up. Get creative and make your own personalized Prayer notebook, and watch how your relationship with the Lord grows! And if you want some more fun pages to add to your prayer notebook, check out my Prayer Notebook Printables!