Leadership Tips & Training Dear God...

It is a New Year and with each New Year I begin a new prayer journal. I have kept a prayer journal for over 20 years now and can say it is the one discipline that has brought me the most joy! Each journal reveals the various ways God has worked in my life through scriptures read and prayers answered. When one journal is finished, I am a little sad that it is over, but at the same time I am excited to see God do something new in my life. “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth;will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18 & 19

Prayer is one of the nine commitments of First Place and the prayer journal is a tool to help you build a life of prayer. Simply write God a letter each day, expressing adoration and thanksgiving to Him for who He is and what He has done. Then write out your confessions of sin, accepting His forgiveness and laying your requests before him. Remember, this is a journal for YOUR eyes only. However, if you feel that someone may read it without your permission,write in code or with abbreviations. I know a First Place leader who writes all her prayer journals in shorthand! I want to begin this year by encouraging you to put pen to paper and write to God, telling Him what is on your heart. As you journal your prayers, you will be more apt to share what the Lord is doing in your life with your First Place members. Then in turn, your members will want to experience the joy of journaling their prayers. Encourage your members each week to share with the class, using their prayer journals,ways they have been blessed,ways God has answered prayer or truths they have learned through the Word. All of these things can be gleaned from one’s prayer journal.

The First Place Bible studies now have two days of reflection each week that include many scriptures to use in prayer. This is especially helpful if you or your members are not comfortable with writing out your prayers. Personalizing the scriptures is a powerful way to pray. It is agreeing with God that His Word is truth and that it is still active today, able to accomplish His ways. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23) One scripture that I pray often is Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” When I feel I have lost my joy and I can’t seem to accomplish the task before me, I pray that the Lord would restore joy and give me a willingness to press on. Maybe this is the prayer you and your members need to pray as you contemplate a new year and the commitments of First Place. Pray that the Lord would give you that willingness to begin using the prayer journal and I can promise the joy will return!

Nancy Taylor
Leadership Training Director



Nancy Taylor is the First Place Leadership Training Director and joined the First Place staff in 1997. Nancy teaches leadership principles to First Place Leaders throughout the country and at Houston's First Baptist Church where she coordinates all the First Place groups. Nancy also speaks at First Place workshops, rallies, retreats, and conferences, where she delights her audiences with humor and encourages them with boldness. She writes a monthly article, which includes helpful tips for leaders, for the First Place E-newsletter, and was a contributing writer to the Today is the First Day devotional book. Nancy is the resident First Place Bible Concordance because of her love for Scripture memory.