Journal Prompts for Rediscovering Joy in Your Faith

Joy rarely leaves in one go. It thins out. You keep the practices, you keep showing up, and one day you notice you are doing all of it and feeling none of it.

Psalm 19:14 is a good prayer to write at the top of the first page. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my rock, and my redeemer. Acceptable, not impressive. Nothing here has to be tidy to be worth saying. These prompts are for that. They are not an attempt to talk you back into enthusiasm. They are a way of finding out where the joy went.

Remembering

1. When did my faith last feel like gladness rather than duty?

2. What was I doing in that season that I am not doing now?

3. What first drew me to God, before I knew any of the language?

4. Which part of Scripture have I genuinely loved?

5. Who was around me then, and where are they now?

Naming What Drained It

6. When did I start going through the motions?

7. What happened around that time?

8. What am I doing out of obligation that nobody actually asked of me?

9. Where am I comparing my faith to someone else's?

10. What disappointment have I never quite taken to God?

Looking Honestly at Now

11. What do I still believe, even on a flat day?

12. What has God done for me this year that I have not thanked Him for?

13. Where has He been kind to me in a way I did not notice at the time?

14. What is one small thing about Him that I find genuinely lovely?

Finding It Again

15. What practice could I drop without losing anything real?

16. What would I do with my faith if nobody was watching and nothing was required?

17. Where could I be delighted this week, and what would it take to make room?

18. What is one thing I could do purely because I want to, not because I should?

A Note on Going Slowly

Do not do all of these in one sitting. The middle section in particular is worth sitting with for several days.

Joy usually comes back the way it left, slowly and without announcement. You will not finish these prompts and feel different. You will finish them and notice, a few weeks later, that something has loosened.