Hello Ministry Mamas! I was scrolling through Facebook one day when a friend of mine, Lauren, mentioned how much she was enjoying her daily prayer journal. I knew that if it was a blessing to her then it would be something that may benefit your life, so I asked her to give us a review of the It’s Personal Daily Journal by Steven B. Curington and sold by Reformer’s Unanimous.You can follow this link to the journals or click on the picture above to take you to the website where the prayer journal is sold. This article does not contain affiliate links.

Rating: Whole Heart

Cost: $15 for most of the personal journals, which is a price that is well worth it! 16 different cover choices are available ranging from $12.00-$17.00.

I love my “It’s Personal” journal. It has changed my walk with God dramatically. Instead of asking God for all the things I think I need and adding ‘if it is your will’ at the end, I now know how to properly pray the Lord’s will for each day of my life. The main purpose of this journal is to teach you how to ask the Lord what He wants you to pray for and then listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides you in prayer.

There are 5 main categories each day for your personal time with God:

1. Notes from your daily Bible reading as well as notes for your daily Proverb.
2. A place to record what God showed you through the preaching and teaching of His Word.
3. Prayer time. This is broken up into four different sections-Praises, Needs, Forgiveness, and Protection.
4. Questions for which you are seeking wisdom or advice.
5. A place to record how the Lord leads or convicts you.

This is where you can record how God used you to encourage someone or how He moved in your life throughout the previous day. This sounds like a lot to do each day but it usually take about 45 minutes to an hour. There is an instruction CD that comes with the book that is VERY helpful in studying with this journal. On the CD it explains one way to use the journal if you are short on time is spend time in prayer in the morning and time reading at night. That way you get all of your personal time with the Lord, even if it is split up.

Benefits of using the prayer journal:

• The journal has helped me to develop a more meaningful walk with God. I know how to listen to what He wants for me each day instead of guessing what I think I’m supposed to do and hoping it’s His will. Prayer becomes a conversation between two people instead of one person listing off their needs and running out of the door.
• The double blessing of encouraging the right people. The encouragement section has been one of my most favorites in that there is a place where you ask God who HE wants you to encourage and how each day. I have had so many people come to me in tears, telling me that they needed encouragement the exact day and time that I gave it. Even people who I am close enough to know a lot about their lives-they were going through something that I had no idea about and the Lord used me to encourage them because I asked Him who needed it. In the past I have tried to encourage people and it seemed like they didn’t quite need it so much, that’s because they were people I wanted to encourage and not who needed it. Now the Lord tells me who and I get the blessing of helping people who truly need the help. It’s such a sweet thing to be blessed by trying to be a blessing to others.
• The time spent with God’s teachers has been a blessing. So often I tend to only listen to sermons or lessons when I am in the church setting, but this journal showed me that I need to be doing that daily. Otherwise, it is to my spiritual life what missing a meal each day would be to my physical life.

  More about Lauren:
Lauren and I went to the same church for many years and her brother and I were in the same grade. She was the little sister and was so cute (and still is!). She made me promise that I would not tell any embarrassing stories about her… and upon reflection I do not have any! Lauren could probably tell some stuff about me, that I hope will never resurface from the depths of my teenage years. If she ever does tell you anything embarrassing about me, it’s not true! I remember she had a sweet spirit and it is obvious that she still does. She was born and raised in Texas. She boasts she was “blessed with the most wise and loving parents on the planet!” (They are great people who I admire dearly.) She was saved as a girl after they came home from church one night and the Holy Spirit was convicting her about her sin and my need for the Savior. Lying in bed she asked the Lord for forgiveness from her sin and to be her Savior. Now she is married and work as a church secretary. Her husband is the youth pastor at her church and owns his own business. She enjoys working with her husband and for fun she likes to plan parties!

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