Welcome to today’s blog post on how to journal your prayer for self confidence and be happy.
Journaling your way to happiness
Your journal can be one of your greatest weapons for positive mental health. There are lots of journal blog posts on this site covering all kinds of topics such as learning to love yourself with beauty affirmations, creating a journal so that you actually work out and not just think or write about it, or upleveling your executive function so that you perform better at work and have a more relaxed home life. You can create all kinds of goodness for yourself through journaling.
Can you journal yourself to happiness? Well, yes I believe you can. Scientific research shows a correlation between writing and positive emotional well being and between expressive writing, emotional upheavals and health. So it is worth pursuing writing in your journal if you want more joy and happiness in your life.
You may be a seasoned journaler, or you may have never journaled before and be curious as to how to improve your emotional wellbeing and be happy.
This blog post will take you through the steps of journaling your way to happiness with a prayer for self confidence. If you don’t have a faith I hope you will accept the spiritual aspect of this blog post as being entirely well meaning. If you do have a faith but are uncertain what your faith is then accept what you are able and receive it as a gift. If you have a problem with God being male please use female pronouns. In short, this is your journal, so create it as you wish.
Before we get started what is a prayer for self confidence? It is a prayer which calls for help in times when our doubts and anxieties get the better of us. The prayer is a call to restore the body and mind back to a feeling of confidence in our own ability to navigate overcome our present circumstances.
We have other prayer resources on this site including:
Prayer for wellness, wellbeing and emotional strength
Notebook prayer journal ideas for easy and beautiful prayers
Do check those out. And there are a few more links that I hope you will find useful at the bottom of this page.
It is the creating of the prayer, and the believing in it, that will encourage your happiness and positive emotional well-being. So let’s get started.
Creating your environment
Find a quiet space where you are comfortable. Switch off any distractions. Spend a little time breathing and calming your mind. Sometimes I keep a notepad and pen by my side and note down distractions that come to mind.
Creating your own prayer for self confidence
Later in this blog post you will see prayers we have already created that you can use for yourself. This section covers writing your own prayer for self confidence
Where do you feel your lack of self confidence?
Start by writing in your journal about where you feel you lack confidence. Was there a specific trigger or has it been a slow decline? Use the following thought points to write about your thoughts. You don’t need to use them all, just what feels right and what you need:
Have you been going through a difficult time and you have forgotten that it is just a season and are now living it as if it is the new normal in your life?
Do you have feelings of insecurity that have increased and now seem overwhelming?
Do you need restoring to good health? Is your physical health low?
Do you feel trapped in a life that is not what you want? Do you worry that the chance for happiness and your best life has passed you by?
Are you being your authentic true self or do you feel that you are living a life created by necessity?
Do you feel that you are worthy of love? Or do you feel that you are not worthy of love? If so, do you know why?
When you have journaled about your thoughts you can start to write your prayers. You can probably see from the notes you have made that your mind is leaning in one particular direction. This should give you a clue as to what is robbing you of your happiness.
What would make you happy
While we are looking at the causes for your lack of confidence it is also worth journaling around what would make you happy. It doesn’t matter how big or how small these thoughts are, write them all down in your journal. If you don’t know where to start with what would make you happy you could use one of the following prompts:
Give yourself a time limit and a specific number of words to write eg 500 words in 15 minutes
Write a stream of consciousness journal entry. You could use Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages exercise.
Write headings of what would ordinarily make you happy eg a walk, dressing well, a good hair cut, a glass of wine, reading. Then write 100-200 words on each stating why you like these topics.
Once you have journaled on what makes you happy as well as the reasons for your lack of confidence you have your prayer points and you are ready to begin. If you haven’t written prayers before don’t worry, this blog post makes it very easy. There is no right way or wrong way to write a prayer. The point is that it comes from the heart. Our prayer life goes up and down. Sometimes our prayer life is amazing and we feel really close to God. Other times not so much! Be compassionate to yourself, don’t feel that you have to be perfect.
Using a general outline to create your prayer for self confidence
Here are some general guidelines for creating a prayer that you might find useful.
When you pray, firstly address him – Almighty God, Heavenly Lord
Then affirm who God is to you – my loving Saviour, my King of Kings, Holy one
Acknowledge what he has done for you – You have given me a resilient heart, you have rescued me from darkness, you have set my feet on solid ground
Repent of anything that is on your heart – I ask your forgiveness for my lack of love to my family, I repent of not trusting that you are my Lord and Saviour, I turn away from all those things in my life that take me away from your presence
Ask for what you want, God wants us to ask so go ahead – I come before you today Lord and ask that you ….. I trust not in my ability but in your power to help me …..
Thank God for doing this for you. A core part of your belief system should be that God will hear your prayer and answer it. Thank God for that now, remember he wants good things for us – Loving Father thank you for answering my prayer, Heavenly Father thank you that you delight in answering the prayers of your Children
Commit your prayer to Jesus’ name. Everything that you ask should be done in Jesus’ name. We have access to the Father through Jesus. Ask through him.
Amen – it is done!
Creating your own prayers is such a beautiful act. I am sure you will feel so much better in your heart for doing this practice.
However, there are some times when you might not have the mental energy to create your own prayers, it is enough for you just to use an already created prayer and to repeat it in your heart.
We have created prayers below for you to use in such circumstances, or whenever you need a ready made prayer. Use them like a comforter prayer, you can return to it again and again for the comfort you need.
Ready made prayers for self confidence
This section gives you prayers that are already written for self confidence. You can use them in whatever way you want. You could write them out in your own hand into your journal and then pray through the prayer as part of your daily prayers. You could print them out and use them in the same way.
A prayer when you feel abandoned
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day, for your unfailing love and for your faithfulness to me.
I come before you now and as that you who started a good work in me will see it through to completion.
Do not leave me now Lord.
The Psalmist writes of the waters covering his head, do not let the waters cover my head.
I feel alone, but I know you are here
You have promised never to leave or forsake me.
Come now, Lord Jesus, by the power of your Holy Spirit
Let me feel your presence and know that you are here.
Do not abandon me, my family or my work.
Sustain and encourage me
Call me onward, up into the light.
I am your precious child
I put myself into your hands as my loving Father.
I thank you Lord that you rescue me, let me continually walk towards the light.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
A prayer for when you feel overwhelmed
In my walk with the Lord there are many times when I felt have overwhelmed. When I take the time to be with him, to read Scripture and to pray I feel the comfort of his presence. It might not take away the difficulty of the moment, but my anxiety levels reduce back to a level where I can function much better. Here is a prayer for when you feel overwhelmed.
Dear God, Lord of my heart, love of my life
I seek you out today in my feeling of overwhelm
The dark places threaten to cover over the light places
I am confused, the good plans I know you have for my life seem far away
I can’t see a way out.
But you, Lord, are the true source of light
I fix my eyes on you and follow you.
Give me good courage today when I feel panic and anxiety
Replace my lack of confidence with confidence in you
Take the fear I have that my own abilities are inadequate
And replace it with the strong confidence to know that your strength is what I need.
I accept, once again, that I am your child
And child-like I renew my trust in you once again
and thank you for the rest you give me and the hope I have in you
Amen
A prayer for when you feel fearful
It is impossible to have these negative emotions: fear, anxiety, worry, low self-esteem and be happy at the same time. These prayers are designed to replace the negative with the affirmative. I think prayer works because you feel it in your body, not just in your mind. It resonates in your heart. Your whole body is affected. In turning to the Lord for help your whole body is focussed on the help that the Lord will give you. His Love is such an important gift because we know that perfect love drives out all fear. So when you pray these prayers, focus on God’s amazing love for you, and let his love drive out your fear and restore you to joy and happiness. Here is a prayer for when you feel fearful that will hopefully do exactly that for you:
Oh God, source of all goodness, of all love, of all joy
I turn to you, in the name of Jesus your son, who died for me
Take all that I am today when I am fearful, anxious, worried, confused
Create in me once again a new heart, a heart of love, a heart of strength
Fill my body with your gracious love
I release my anxiety
Your word says, “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest”
Lord, my fear and anxiety weary me, they pull me down.
I ask now for your rest, I release myself of these negative thoughts and send them to the foot of the cross
Fill me once again with your own love, your powerful love
Give me the deep reassurance of my place in your heart and in your family
and let me be restored again to confidence, joy, peace and happiness
Amen
Prayer prompts for journaling your way to happiness
If you would like to create your own prayers but need a little inspiration then use the following prayer prompts. You can use them to start your prayer or you could use them within your prayer. There is no right way or wrong way. Just create the prayer that is in your heart.
Prayer prompts list
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and for your faithfulness. Today Lord I come before you and ask that ….
Father God, Today is a big day in my life and I ask for you to give me the confidence I need to …
…. for I was not given a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind, so Heavenly Father I exchange my spirit of fear for a spirit of faith and ….
Almighty Lord, I need your help in my daily life as I try to ….
O Lord, in your mercy remember me today as I …
Useful Bible verses for confidence and happiness
Finally here are a few Bible verses for confidence and happiness that you can write in your journal. You could also use them as prayer prompts to get you started in your prayer creation.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.
Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
John 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Proverbs 16:20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and feel ready to create your own prayers, or use the ones given and to feel more happiness and joy and self confidence in your life
If you like this blog post I have a couple of others on prayer and related topics that you might enjoy:
How to overcome difficult times with a prayer for confidence
Create a beautiful journal with your prayer for self love and healing
Deepen your spiritual life with these faith journal ideas
