What is praise journaling and why should you do it?

How often do you praise God? I don’t know about you but my Sunday school class sure had a hard time answering this question. It is easy to see why though, how often do we honestly think about it? The bible tells us that we should continually praise God (Hebrews 13:15), but sometimes we care about how many likes we get on Facebook versus the amount of praise we give God.

That was exactly what I realized when I asked my Sunday school class this question. My class full of teenagers knows more about the amount of Instagram likes than the amount of praise they have given the Savior. It was a little disheartening; I am not going to lie. That is where the praise journal idea came from.
So, what is praise journaling? It is a journaling technique that allows you to not only track the praise that you give to God, but also allows you to challenge yourself to praise Him more each day. So, let’s get started!

Choose your journal

​You can use one of two types of books. A day runner or a notebook. Pick the one that works for you the best. The most important factor is that the book is empty. Because you don’t want to mix this journal up with any other note taking you are doing. This way you can focus on what you are writing, which is very important. This notebook should be small enough for you to carry with you all the time. You will always have this notebook with you, so also make sure it is one you like and fits your life.

​Divide your journal

Make 2 columns on each day if you got a day runner, 3 if you got a notebook. In both books the first column should say “What for”. The second should say “When”. If you have a notebook, then the third column should say “Date”.

Start tracking in your journal

Now it is time to start tracking your praise. Every time you praise God, I want you to write it down in your journal. Keep track of what you praised Him for, when you did it, and the date you did it. Track every single time you praise Him. When you do it in prayer, at work, at school. Everywhere. Every time you finish praising Him stop and write it down.

​Review your journal

​The previous step was the second most important step in this process. This one is the most important. Every morning when you wake up review your journal for the previous day. Understand when you praised God, and question when you didn’t. Start to learn your habits and challenges. Learn more about how and why you praise God. This reflection time is imperative to this activity.

​Challenge yourself

This final step is the part that will make you better at praising God, because regardless of the number of praises that you counted in your review time no amount of praise to God is enough. In this step, you challenge yourself to praise God more than what you did the day before. Challenge yourself to be better, for God, then you will be better.

​By using the praise journaling technique, you will not only know how often you praise God, but you will challenge yourself to be better for God. That is what this journey is about, to be better, not for ourselves but for the Lord, so we can be His living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

​I hope this can help you. I pray you are blessed by this technique. We are all in this together. Have a blessed day!