Bible journaling, or Scripture journaling, is simply writing in response to what you read in the Bible: copy a verse, write what you notice, ask what it means for your life, and end with a prayer. You don't need art supplies or a special Bible. A notebook, a pen and fifteen minutes are enough. This guide shows you how to start, gives you 40 Bible journal prompts grouped by theme, and has a free printable with all of them.
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What is Bible journaling?
There are two kinds of Bible journaling, and beginners often mix them up. Written journaling is reflection in words: you read a passage and write about it in a notebook. Art journaling happens in the wide margins of a journaling Bible, with lettering, drawings and color next to the verse. Both are good. This guide is about written journaling, because it's the easier place to start and it works anywhere, including on your phone.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, gives a lovely picture of what journaling is for:
"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19, KJV)
Journaling is pondering on paper. It slows you down enough to notice what you would otherwise read past, and it leaves a record you can come back to years later.
What you need
- A Bible in a translation you understand. If you're not sure which one, our guide to Bible versions compares the main ones.
- A notebook. Any notebook works. Lined is easiest. A dedicated journaling Bible is optional.
- A pen you like writing with. If you write in the Bible itself, test the pen on a blank page first; Bible paper is thin.
- Or your phone. A notes app is fine if paper isn't your thing. Turn on Do Not Disturb first.
- A plan for what to read. A book of the Bible, a reading plan, or the passage from Sunday's sermon.
How to journal the Bible in 5 steps
- Pick a time and a passage. Same time every day helps more than the perfect plan. Start with something short: a psalm, a few verses from a Gospel, or Sunday's sermon text.
- Read it slowly, twice. The first time, understand it. The second time, notice the word or verse that stands out.
- Write the verse down. Copy it at the top of a fresh page with the reference and the date. Writing it out by hand makes you read every word.
- Respond to one prompt. Pick one question from the list below and write for five minutes. Don't aim for beautiful; aim for honest.
- End with a prayer and one step. A sentence or two to God, and one specific thing you'll do today. Tomorrow, glance back and see if you did it.
That's it. Fifteen minutes, one page. If you miss a day, start again the next one without catching up.
SOAP: the easiest structure for beginners
If a blank page makes you freeze, use SOAP. It splits every entry into four parts: Scripture (write the verse), Observation (what you notice), Application (what it means for you this week) and Prayer. It's the most popular Bible journaling method for a reason: it's simple and it always leads somewhere practical.
Our full guide to the SOAP Bible study method has four worked examples and a free printable SOAP template. If you want to try other approaches later, such as inductive study, verse mapping or lectio divina, see our comparison of Bible study methods.
40 Bible journal prompts (free printable)
Pick one prompt per day. When a prompt names a verse, read it in your Bible first, ideally with the verses around it. The prompts in the first group work with any passage.
Any passage
- What does this passage show me about God?
- What does it show me about people, and about me?
- Is there a promise here I can hold on to?
- Is there a command here I need to obey?
- Which word or phrase stood out, and why?
- What question would I ask the writer if I could?
- How would I explain this passage to a friend in two sentences?
Gratitude
- Where did I see God's kindness in the last 24 hours?
- Lamentations 3:22–23: what mercy is "new every morning" for me today?
- Psalm 23:1: what do I have that I once prayed for?
- Who has God put in my life this year, and how can I thank them?
- Write about an answered prayer you almost forgot.
- What is one ordinary thing I am grateful for today?
Worry and peace
- Philippians 4:6–7: what am I anxious about? Write it as a prayer.
- Isaiah 26:3: what has my mind been "stayed on" this week?
- Psalm 46:10: where do I need to be still instead of fixing it?
- Matthew 11:28: what is making me "heavy laden" right now?
- What would I do differently today if I trusted God fully?
- Proverbs 3:5–6: where am I leaning on my own understanding?
- Psalm 34:18: where do I need God to be near?
Who God says I am
- 2 Corinthians 5:17: what "old things" am I still carrying?
- Ephesians 2:10: what good work might God have prepared for me?
- John 15:5: what does "abiding" look like in my ordinary day?
- Exodus 3:11: where do I feel like Moses, asking "Who am I?"
- Galatians 5:22–23: which fruit of the Spirit do I most want to grow?
- 1 John 1:9: is there anything I need to confess and let go?
Prayer and listening
- Psalm 139:23–24: ask God to search your heart. What comes up?
- 1 Samuel 3:10: if I said "Speak, Lord," what might he say?
- 1 Kings 19:12: where might God be speaking quietly, not loudly?
- Write a prayer using the exact words of today's verse.
- Who can I pray for by name this week, and what do they need?
- Mark 1:35: when and where can I be alone with God this week?
Living it out
- James 1:22: what have I heard but not yet done?
- Micah 6:8: where can I do justly or love mercy this week?
- Matthew 6:33: what does seeking God first look like in my schedule?
- Genesis 50:20: where might God bring good out of something hard?
- What was the main point of Sunday's sermon, in one sentence?
- What did the sermon ask me to do, and when will I do it?
- Luke 2:19: what is God asking me to "ponder" rather than rush past?
- What will I do differently tomorrow because of what I read today?
Download all 40 Bible journal prompts
Two printable pages with every prompt above, grouped by theme. Keep it in your journal. No email required.
10 Bible journaling ideas
When prompts start to feel repetitive, try a different kind of page:
- Verse of the week: write one verse at the top of a page and add a line to it every day.
- Prayer list: names and requests on the left, answers and dates on the right.
- Answered prayers: a running list you can read on hard days.
- Gratitude page: three things a day, each linked to a verse if you can.
- Sermon page: Sunday's passage, the main point and one step for the week.
- Word study: one word, like "grace" or "abide", and every verse you find it in.
- Character page: one person, like Peter or Ruth, and what you learn from their story.
- Reading plan tracker: a simple grid of chapters you tick off.
- Questions page: everything you don't understand yet, with space for answers.
- Hand lettering: write out a short verse slowly and beautifully. It's a quiet way to meditate on it.
An example Bible journal entry
Here's what one entry can look like. We wrote it to show the format; it's not someone's personal journal.
October 30 · Lamentations 3:22–23
Verse: "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
Prompt: What mercy is "new every morning" for me today?
Response: This was written in the middle of a book full of grief, not on a good day. The writer doesn't say things are fine; they say God's compassion hasn't run out. Yesterday I was short with people and went to bed annoyed with myself. Today is a new morning, not a continuation of yesterday's mistakes.
Prayer: Thank you that your mercy didn't run out overnight. Help me start today from your faithfulness, not my failures.
One step: Apologize to my brother for how I spoke on the phone.
The whole entry is about 120 words. That's plenty.
Journaling from Sunday's sermon
One of the easiest ways to keep a journal going is to let Sunday set the week's passage. On Monday, open your sermon notes, find the main Scripture, and journal through it a few verses at a time. Prompts 37 and 38 are made for this: write the sermon's main point in one sentence, then decide what it asked you to do. Our guide on how to apply a sermon goes further.
If you don't take notes during church, Sermon Keeper can help. It records the sermon while you tap short notes, and afterward gives you a transcript and a summary that lists every Bible passage the pastor named, so your Monday journal has a starting point. You can also scan a page of your Bible and pick a verse to get a SOAP study card with observation, application, cross-references and a short prayer, which you can use as a prompt for your own entry. Transcription and the study card need an internet connection.
Tips to keep going
- Lower the bar. Three honest sentences count. A perfect page you never write doesn't.
- Keep everything in one place. One notebook or one app, so you can look back.
- Reread once a month. Old entries show you how God has been at work, which is often the most encouraging part of journaling.
- Add a verse to memory. When a verse keeps coming back in your journal, learn it by heart. Our guide on how to memorize Scripture shows how.
- Mark your Bible too. Short notes in the margins and longer journal entries work well together; see how to take Bible notes.
- Read on a plan. Journal on one verse from each day of a Bible reading plan, or through a season of prayer and fasting: our 21-day guide has a printable journal.
- Start the year with a verse. Pick one from our New Year Bible verses and make it your first journal page.
- Prefer an app? We compare Bible notes and journaling apps, with honest prices.
Frequently asked questions
Bible journaling, also called Scripture journaling, is writing (or drawing) in response to what you read in the Bible. You copy a verse, write what you notice and what it means for you, and often end with a prayer. It's slower than reading alone, which is the point: it helps you remember and apply what you read.
Start small: one short passage, one notebook and five to fifteen minutes. Read the passage twice, copy the verse that stands out, answer one prompt and write a one-line prayer. Do that for a week before adding anything else.
No. A journaling Bible has wide margins for writing or drawing next to the text, which some people love. A plain notebook works just as well, and so does a notes app on your phone.
The date and the passage, the verse that stood out, what you notice about God and about people, a question, how it applies to your life this week and a short prayer. Prompts help when you don't know where to begin.
SOAP is one method of Bible journaling. It gives each entry four parts: Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. Bible journaling is the broader habit; SOAP is a simple structure for it that many beginners use.
