Debbie Macomber on the Blessings of Prayer Journaling

Hi Guideposts people, I’m Debbie Macomber. And I know you’re looking at me like I’m a great prayer warrior, but I think I’m a lot like everybody else who struggled with prayer through the years. I started out by just kind of making a listing and keeping a list of the people I wanted to pray for and the reason. God knew the reason. I just had their name down on a list. And then I got lazy and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll just bow my head and pray.’ But as I was bowing my head and praying, my mind would start to drift off like, “Oh, what should I fix for dinner tonight? Do I have that in the freezer?” All those different things, And so I decided, no, I’ve got to start writing a journal. And that has been the most comfortable way for me to do my prayers. And it has become such a wonderful testament to God’s faithfulness. As I’ve looked back through the years, again and again and again I can see how God has been so faithful and answered my prayers. In fact, I give Him little red stars to say, “Go, God, that’s great! Thank you!” Sometimes the answers take years and years and years. One special answer is my brother. I prayed for him for years as he struggled with alcoholism. He went through four marriages. His family was a disaster. And God used all that in his background to make him the most wonderful Christian. By writing down my prayers, I have a way—it’s a way of communicating more than just the name of the person I’m praying for. It’s just like the insights of my feelings toward that person and the dreams and the hopes that I have for them. And it’s just a way of communicating with God. Maybe it’s because I’m an author and a writer, and so I’m more comfortable with words. It doesn’t take me long in the morning. I just take maybe 10, 15 minutes. There’s a certain somebody I’m praying for, I made a promise that I would pray for for three months every single day. And I have laid out those prayers before God and faithfully every day mentioned this person. And I expect God to do great things. An example of an answered prayer? Oh my goodness, I hardly know where to start. Like I said, God is faithful. And the answers haven’t always come when I expect them or what I thought they would be. But He has always answered every single prayer. Probably my brother is one of the most amazing stories and how he suffered through alcoholism and a number of marriages. I prayed for my husband when he was ill, and it really was a miracle that he survived. I mean, other than having a massive infection and then getting spinal meningitis and then having a series of strokes. I mean, it was a miracle that he survived all that. And I know it was because of faithful prayer. I could feel God’s presence in that room. Those are big answers. But it’s a lot of answers. He has guided my career in every single aspect. I never write a book without praying about the plot. And I’m sure some of the ideas that I’ve gotten have come directly from Him. For numbers and numbers of friends who’ve had concerns and health issues and problems with children or dealing with family issues. So these numbers—again and again and again, you can never, ever doubt God’s faithfulness.