Over the summer, I watched the movie The War Room and it left a huge impact on me. In that movie, one of the main characters creates a "war room". It is a small little closet, with walls covered by scriptures and prayers she wrote and stuck all over the wall. The room is her own little escape, her own way of "fighting" and praying. The movie inspired me to have my own way of appreciating prayer more. I took one of my old journals and dedicated it to specifically writing down prayers and scriptures. Though I have always known the power of prayer is amazing, this journal has helped me even more...

To find a quiet place for reflection: Finding the right place is just as difficult as finding the right time to write. I feel like everyone has his or her own place for that special time to pray. For me, it’s locked up in my room in my comfy bed, with the lighting just right, usually in the early morning drinking coffee or late at night. However, the awesome revelation is that no matter where the place is or the time, God is always there.

To focus on scripture(s): I always search for scriptures that correspond with my prayer requests or what I am writing about in my journal for that day. It's usually something that has been heavy on my heart recently. It’s a great way for me to not only focus on scripture and study the word but to also find verses that I can keep in the back of my head for when something gets rough for me or someone else in my life. One of my favorite ones right now is, Isaiah 41:10-" Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand."

To give thanks: Honestly, it’s human nature to see more of all the bad things going on in our life than good. I have been guilty of giving God all of my requests without first thinking to thank him for all I have in life or simply just converse with him. Since I have started this I thank the Lord for everything good and everything bad (because I know he has a plan for that) and then I share my requests with him.

To have faith: I have written prayers in this journal for awhile now and I can physically see him working in my life as well as others when I go back through and read old entries to see how much even just little things I have prayed about have changed since. There is no way to explain it. It helps me to proclaim God for who He really is—awesome, generous, holy and so much more. Psalms 150:6-"Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord."

To develop a relationship with the Lord: I get really excited for the time when I lock myself in my room and write in my prayer journal. I'm not a perfect Christian and I will never claim to be. No one is. I am a human, I am still learning. However, I know who God is, I know all he wants is for me to have a relationship with him. Isn't that awesome? The God who created the universe just wants to get to know each of us and have a relationship with us. Without communication, there is no relationship. I have faith in knowing that every day I do give him some of my time, it is a better day.

Writing has always been my way of communicating. I can express myself so much better if I write it or type it out rather than speak it. Writing down my prayers and scriptures have helped my relationship with the Lord grow even stronger. Once I put that pen to paper I can't help but keep going. I write about the people in my life from friends, family, to even strangers I see having a difficult time. I write about situations I am dealing with or that other's are dealing with. I write about the future. I write to seek what God needs me to do. I write about everything. My favorite thing is to skim back through my journal and see God working in many ways.

I hope this article can inspire you to find your own way of appreciating prayer more. I promise this journal has helped me out in some of my worst and darkest days.