Organizing your scripture study can be hard. Here’s a free study journal template to help you get the most from your studies!
Behind the study journal
A few years ago, I was a missionary who was pretty good at studying the scriptures. I’d sit at my desk every day with my books open. Missionary manual on one side. Scriptures on the other. Notebook in the middle for my scripture study journal. Pencils in hand. I was planning lessons, studying material, and learning a lot.
But something was lacking that I didn’t realize at the time. Daily personal application.
During a mission-wide training, the speaker taught us a way to study in a different way. This way would help us focus on what God wants us to learn. We could set up our scripture journals to expect revelation, physically make room for Him, and show a willingness to act. With this way to study, we can receive profound insights that make an immediate difference in our day, every day. It’s flexible enough for a five-minute or hour-long study, and it is easy enough that anyone can do it.
What is this amazing scripture study journal setup?
Put simply, it’s just a single line.
But before you close the tab, let me explain. The speaker had each of us draw a vertical line down our notebook paper. This was our new “page margin”. I call it the margin of faith. His point was that in our notebooks, we would write down whatever we heard him say that we liked. This is how most note-taking works. In our new margin, though, we wouldn’t write what we heard. We would write what we felt. We would write what the Spirit spoke to our hearts, regardless of what the speaker said. The further to the right we drew our line, the larger our margin. And the more revelation we were expecting.
So what are the benefits of this method? I’ll list just three here.
Expect to Hear Him
First, creating a section for recording revelation is a sign to both you and God that you expect to hear from Him. It’s an act of faith, much like pondering and listening after a prayer. You are saying to yourself that you believe in revelation. You are ready to hear the Spirit. It is a way to practice listening for and receiving revelation. The line is also a reminder to pause and think about what the Lord wants you to learn.
Create a Holy Place
Another aspect of this method is that you are physically creating room for the Lord’s voice in your studies. How often does the Lord’s voice get drowned out in our busy lives? Even when doing gospel-related things, we often forget to stop, ponder, and pray. With the “margin of faith”, you are doing something small to create a holy place. It is holy because it is a place of communication between you and the Lord. That physical space is a visual reminder to you of why you are studying scriptures in the first place. Because you want to hear from your Heavenly Father.
Act on revelation
Finally, this line indicates a willingness to act on revelation. The revelation we receive often includes a call to action from the Lord. I saw this pattern often in my scripture study, so I started labeling this side of the margin, “personal application”. They weren’t always things that I needed to do, but there was always something personal that I needed to know. In a way, I was telling the Lord that I was ready to do His work. This opened the doors of heaven for me because I knew that I was going to receive an errand from the Lord. I was ready to receive an assignment. I was ready to follow Him. Because of that, I started to receive and understand the tasks He had for me.
As I began to study in this way, I felt a change in my scripture study and throughout my day. My mindset shifted, I began to apply what I was learning, and I was more sensitive to the Spirit.
You may already be studying in a similar way. If not, see if this scripture study journal set-up can have the same effect on you that it did on me. The windows of Heaven are open and God wants to speak to us. We just need to let His voice in.
Created for you
Things are more fun when they’re pretty, including scripture study. So I included a printable template below that you can use to get started. It’s also a simple format so that learning how to scripture journal is easy for kids, too! It includes:
-The “margin of faith” page–ready for your next study topic
-A page for extra insights, which is more similar to a traditional journal page
-A place for topics you want to study later, and a spot for the references of new favorite scriptures.
Happy Journaling!
For other effective scripture study methods, check out my post, “3 Ways to Quickly Brighten Your Scripture Study”.