Prophetic Journaling

Along the journey of going deeper in my walk with God, I joined a 6-month coaching and mentoring programme with an amazing woman of God based in London. Structured as a group programme in which we received all sorts of goodies such as guest speakers, accountability partners and access to a fantastic book club, it was a life-changing experience in every sense. In the 6 months at the hands of pastor Susan, the group of 30 ladies blossomed and grew as she and her wonderful team poured into us week on week. It was truly amazing.

Of all the precious gems pastor Susan poured into us (and trust me there were many!), the one thing that’s stuck with me since is the importance of journaling. I had never kept a journal in my life and up until the point I took part in the programme, I was quite content to leave sporadic bits of writing scattered all over the place. I had notes on both my phones, notes in my tablet, Word documents saved on my laptops (some of which I eventually lost when said laptops unceremoniously died!) and when the spirit came upon me, prayers jotted down on pieces of paper neatly tucked away in my Bible. What I had never thought to do was to consolidate all my thoughts in one place. Over the course of the 6 months, pastor Susan consistently stressed the importance of journaling. She did it so much so that 3 months into the programme, I decided to go ahead and purchase a journal. I admit when I first got it, beautiful though it was, it took me a grand total of eight weeks before I dusted it off and wrote my first entry. I truly didn’t get the importance of it.

“Dear God”, I wrote down, having brought all my thoughts to the table and committed whatever was worrying me that day to the sheet of paper, “please speak to me. I will write whatever I ‘hear’ I my spirit.”

I was a bit sceptical as I wrote that down; little did I know that with this seemingly tiny step, I was giving the Holy Spirit an avenue to communicate clearly with me. Over the next few weeks, I began to notice a pattern. First, the frequency of my journaling increased as I realised not only was it a cathartic experience, God was truly speaking to me through this medium! Sometimes the Holy Spirit would lead me to read specific scriptures which I jotted down, and in the coming days I would ‘randomly’ come across sermons explaining those scriptures in depth. As I began prophetic school, I realised that the Holy Spirit would speak to me directly on matters concerning my life. For example, what God was doing in and through me and specific instructions He wanted me to follow. These would subsequently be confirmed very clearly in prophetic words I received! I can assure you from that point onwards I was very happy to integrate journaling into my daily Quiet Time, safe in the assurance that even if I doubted God was speaking, He would surely confirm the word.

I have heard a prophet say that God will only take you as seriously as the pen and paper you bring into the room. This is especially true for prophetic people. The key thing to bear in mind here is that we seek revelation. For those of us operating in the gift of prophecy, revelation does not come to us, rather we actively seek it. In the words of Proverbs 25: 2, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the honour of kings to search it out.”

Many moons later, I randomly hopped on a room on Clubhouse; Prophetic journaling for your day, was the name. This community comprised entrepreneurs who were actively seeking God in their businesses. They understood the need to pause for the cause; take time out daily to speak to God as concerns their business ventures so that our Father would give them encouragement, direction and strategy.

For anyone that’s never tried it, I encourage you to give it a go. I have listed below my top tips for prophetic journaling.

1. Buy a cute journal – Invest in a cute medium sized journal, one that’s warm and inviting

2. Divvy it up – Depending on how you intend to use it, you may find it helpful to divide your journal into sections. For example, you could have a category for teachings, one for prophecies (downloads from the Holy Spirit and a consolidation of prophetic words spoken over you), another for dreams. Some people tend to free flow as they prefer not to be too structured.

3. Date it – Date every single entry in your journal; I cannot emphasise this enough. God often repeats Himself for our benefit, usually in a short space of time. If you miss it the first or second time, you won’t miss it the third! Dating the entries provides a clear trail of what the Holy Spirit is revealing for this or future seasons in your life. 

4. Mood – Create an atmosphere that’s conducive for speaking to God. Settle down in your favourite spot, have good lighting, play worship in the background. It goes without saying the environs should be quiet, clean and tidy.

5.  First, pray – Say a short prayer before you get started though if you’re anything like me, the journal entry may well turn into a prayer!

6.  The Word – Have your bible handy. One of the clearest ways God speaks is through His word so do read your bible as part of journaling.

7.  Set it apart – Resist the urge to lump random, unrelated information in your journal unless it relates to teachings you believe the Holy Spirt has led you to. This is your safe space to speak to God.  

8.  Glued to your side – Carry your journal everywhere you go. As words, thoughts and scriptures pop into your head, write them down.  

9.  Consistency ­– Post an entry every so often. The more you commit to it, the more you’re showing God that this is a medium He can use to speak to you – and He will speak! I post an entry almost daily at this point, but it does take discipline to get into the habit.  

10. Enjoy it! – This is not an exam in Roman history or Greek something or other. Enjoy your time with God, it is something to look forward to!

Prophetic journaling does not only apply to those operating in the gift or office of prophecy; it is a habit that any and every believer should cultivate. I hope this encourages you to start something you’ve never tried before or - if the fire to journal had died down - fans the flames back to life.

Be blessed!