How to Keep a Spiritual Journal

By Tim LaHaye, D.Min., Litt.D.
President, Tim LaHaye Ministries/Founder, Pre-Trib Research Center, El Cajon, California

The best tool I use to get the greatest blessing out of devotional reading is in keeping a daily spiritual journal. A fancy journal or notebook is not necessary; an ordinary sheet of paper or a small spiral notebook will suffice. Allowing one page per day, write the day of the week, the month and the date at the top of your journal entry with space for the text to be read.

There are five things you should include in your daily journal:

God’s Message to You Today. The first thing to look for is that special message from God for the day. Naturally, this will be influenced by the passage under study for that day and your own particular need at the time.
A Promise from God. The Bible is filled with promises from God to His children. You will not find one in every passage, but promises are so common you will locate them frequently. In many passages you will find several and for that reason, you should select the best one from the three or four chapters you read every day. There are two things to consider in claiming promises:

make sure they are universal promises
make sure they apply to you.

Some promises are for Israel; some are for the people in the Millennium and some are promised judgments on the wicked. Always examine the Bible in light of the people to whom it is directly written and in light of the context.

A Command to Keep. The Bible is filled with commands for God’s people to obey. These commands are for our good, since the keeping of them enriches our lives. As you come upon these commands in your reading, select the most important of them for your life at that moment and enter it into your journal.
A Timeless Principle. One reason why the Bible is the greatest manual ever written on human behavior is it contains thousands of timeless principles for daily living. These divine insights guide us as believers and help program our minds in advance so we do not have to go through agonizing thought processes when decisions need to be made. Obeying timeless principles produces happiness and fulfillment in the lives of God’s people.
Your application. As a principal tool in implementing the above finds in your daily reading, pick out one in the area of your greatest need and list how you intend to implement it in your daily life. Ask God to help you apply the biblical principles you study to areas in your life where you feel you need the most improvement.

Daily journals offer simple, but practical applications to your life concerning the daily challenges you find in God’s Word. These applications will transform your life into the growing, consistent Christian walk every child of God needs.