AUTHOR + ONLINE EDUCATOR

The Val Marie Prayer Journals for 2023 are on sale and available for preorder. They’re 20% off until August 30 so have at it!

The journals will start shipping out in November, just in time for the new year ahead. I definitely encourage you to preorder because the journals always sell out! Let me know which color you go with in the comments- I went with Sage!

For years, I said I wanted to be a prayer warrior but I didn’t know how to begin. 

I know, I know, you don’t need a complex system to talk with God but sometimes it’s helpful to have a companion in the process. That companion, for me, is the Val Marie Prayer Journal.

Investing in this prayer journal every year has been a game changer for my prayer life. It has taught me the rhythm of prayer in new ways. I carry it with me wherever I go so I can remember to step into the act of “praying without ceasing.”

I try to be very mindful with the products I share with you but you can trust that I will always, without fail, share this journal every year when the preorder season rolls around (you have to preorder the 2023 journals because they sell out quickly). 

If you want to make prayer a bigger priority in 2023, I encourage you to try this journal out. This journal has helped me become steady, patient, and prevailing in prayer over the years. I believe in it so much that I order one for every woman in my family each Christmas.

These are just a few of the things I love about the journal and how I use mine on a daily basis:

My Constant Companion

To make something a habit or a rhythm, you have to expose yourself to it constantly. That’s why I love having a physical journal to represent my ongoing relationship with prayer. I bring this journal with me to coffee shops. I keep it with me on my desk throughout the day. I circle prayers in the morning as I wake up, instead of checking my phone. 

For years I had this journal at my disposal and I would keep it on my bookshelf. No surprise, I rarely opened up the prayer journal and my prayer life continued to be mediocre.

When I decided that I was going to insert this journal into my daily life, things started to shift. Prayer became a first response rather than a last resort. 

I can look back over the months and see the hands of God working in all my circumstances. It has 100% drawn me closer to the heart of God. 

Learning to Adore Him

I love that the first section of each new month is reserved for Adoration + Scripture. If I’m not careful, I can easily slip into thinking prayer is only for my benefit- that it’s a chance to make requests to God but not actually commune with him

Choosing to adore God before He even does a single thing is a practice my heart needs. I am constantly reminding myself to practice adoration, a practice I think is under-talked about in the Christian faith. 

P.s. if you’re curious about the topic of adoration, I found Sara Hagerty’s book to be really helpful in leaning into the practice.

Find a News Outlet

There’s a section in the Val Marie Prayer Journal that is reserved for praying for the needs of the world. I’ll be honest, this section used to intimidate me so much that I avoided filling it out. Praying for the entire world seems like such a tall order.

As I drilled down to figure out why I was avoiding this section, I realized how overloaded I felt with information about the world. It seemed like there was always another catastrophe happening. I felt like asking, “God, how could I possibly pray for your glory in a world on fire?”

Have I become perfect in my practice of praying for the world? Nope. But I will say this: choosing a news outlet to read each morning as opposed to scrolling headlines throughout the day has greatly helped me tune myself to the needs of this world.

There are too many voices that the idea of praying can seem so overwhelming but when we turn down the noise, we can better hear the voice of God in the midst of global affairs.

God + Goals

One of my favorite sections in the VMP Prayer Journal is the Goals section for each month. No surprise, I’m a goal setter. But I think often about how they didn’t have to include a Goals section for the prayer journal. That could have easily been left out to leave space for “holier” things.

That’s the problem with my thinking: thinking God doesn’t care about my dreams and desires, thinking God isn’t for me in EVERY area of my life. Friend, God wants to show off in your life. It’s okay to set goals for yourself and ask God to meet you in them.

This section is a reminder that God is in all things– small things, big things, home things, and business things. God wants to be looped into all my needs, hopes, and dreams. 

Text Your Friends

There is power in letting people know you’re talking to God about them.

At the start of most months, I text a few friends and ask them what they specifically want prayer for in the month ahead. As I write down their requests and circle them in prayer throughout the month, it’s a chance for me to be checking in, encouraging them, and really backing my prayer life with consistency. 

Conversation Starters

I consider this to be the journal section of my prayer journal. I’ve gotten into the practice of sitting down at the beginning of the month and at the start of each week and asking God to speak. This gives me a chance to practice listening. Most of the time, he will lead me to a place in His Word and I will diligently write down the passage.

This past week, God was so kind to give me Psalm 16 as a piece of scripture to carry into my week ahead. I’ll write it here to encourage someone who needs it today:

5 Yahweh, you alone are my inheritance.

You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion.

You hold my destiny and its timing in your hands.

6 Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places.

I’m overwhelmed by the privileges

that come with following you!

7 The way you counsel me makes me praise you more,

for your whispers in the night give me wisdom,

showing me what to do next.

8 Because I set  you, Yahweh, always close to me,

my confidence will never be weakened, 

for I experience your wraparound presence every moment. 

9 My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory!

Even my body will rest confident and secure.

 

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

The VMP Prayer Journal has a section for Gratitude and it reminds me that gratitude is something we need to engage in every day. I never want to get tired (or out of the rhythm) of thanking God for the good things he’s added to my life.

I was doing a Peloton workout the other day and the instructor reminded me that gratitude is a PRACTICE. It’s a consistent ritual we work into the folds of our days, not a one-time thing. She said, “Do it when you don’t need it so when you do need it, it’s there. It’s sharpened.” That’s a WHOLE word. If we can engage in gratitude on a daily basis, we will be filled with the spirit of gratitude during the seasons that feel more barren.

The more we practice gratitude, the more filled with joy and peace we become.

The Val Marie Prayer Journals for 2023 are on sale and available for preorder. They’re 20% off until August 30 so have at it!

The journals will start shipping out in November, just in time for the new year ahead. I definitely encourage you to preorder because the journals always sell out! Let me know which color you go with in the comments- I went with Sage!