Inside: Are you in the midst of healing from a pain, anger, shame, a loss? These journaling prompts will help you process and take positive, biblical steps forward.

Life is full of adventures, laughter, loss, beauty, aches, and unimaginable pain. None of us are immune to the heartaches that come with living in a fallen world. Some days are beautiful and life-giving. Some are the darkest black. 

But there is also hope. And there is healing. 

That healing comes through Christ and His work done on the cross. And while here and now is filled with despair, the light will win.

I know hearing those words doesn't help in the moment, when the pain is hot and deep. In fact, it can be incredibly frustrating when we are in the throws of deepest grief, and a well meaning friend tosses those words our way. 

Rather than just hearing words of Truth, we need to sit with them, process them, and create space to untangle our own emotions. 

Writing is a tool that can help you dive in, pull apart the knotted strands of yarn, and finally be free to live in light of the Truth. 

How journaling prompts can help you heal

The process of writing is an important step in untangling and pulling apart the thoughts swirling around in your head. When you are in the process of healing, whether that be healing from grief, unforgiveness, loss, anger, or shame, journaling can help you clarify your emotions and thoughts. 

Journaling also acts as a shovel to help you excavate the truth. 

Even when we aren't going through a difficult situation, even when everything in life is going as planned, negative emotions tend to dig deeper into our brains than the positive. The negative settles in and makes itself at home more easily.

To hold onto the positive thoughts we have to fight and claw.

This is all magnified when we are in the process of healing. Writing is a weapon you can use to keep your mind focused on what is right and true.

Benefits of journaling prompts for healing

Healing is a slow process. Most good things in life take time to fully grow and form. Journaling will help you stay grounded as you wade the thick muddy water of healing. 

Journaling helps you:

• determine what is true and what is false
• cultivate gratitude when there doesn't seem to be much to be grateful for
• reduce anxiety as you untangle your thoughts
• focus on and deal with the root of the pain, rather than the surface level noise
• improve your immune system!

In The Power of Writing it Down, Alison Fallon says:

"Writing helps us not only see the words we’re already using but then change the words we’re using so that we can in turn change our lives."

40 Journal prompts for healing

Journal prompts for healing from unforgiveness

1. What am I getting from holding on to this pain? How (if at all) is the person hurting due to my choosing to withhold forgiveness? (Matthew 18)
2. What are the benefits of forgiving? What are the downfalls? (Matthew 6:14)
3. Do I need this person to apologize or recognize the pain they have brought me before I can forgive them? Why or why not? (Luke 6:37)
4. What have I been forgiven for in my life? (Isaiah 1:18)
5. How is holding on to this bitterness making me feel? (Psalm 86:5)
6. What will change once I choose to forgive? (Proverbs 17:9)
7. Why does forgiveness matter? (Mark 11:25, Ephesians 4:31-21)
8. What is forgiveness? What, practically, does it look like? (Ephesians 1:7-10)

Journal prompts for healing from loss

1. What is the hardest time of the day for me? (Psalm 34:18)
2. What are some secondary losses I am experiencing? Name them and write them down. (John 14:27)
3. In what areas do I need practical help? Who can I ask for help? Why is it hard to ask for help? (Galatians 6:2, Psalm 121:2)
4. What relationships have changed because of this loss? (1 Peter 5:10)
5. List 7 things that are good right now {this is hard, but force yourself to list 7}. (Psalm 34:18)
6. Has this loss affected my faith? Be totally honest. Have my thoughts/feelings about God been altered? (Malachi 3:6)
7. Am I angry at myself for how I've grieved this loss? If so, why? (Psalm 119:76, Isaiah 49:13)
8. Reflect on this lament from Scripture (Psalm 6:3-4, 6-7). Write your own lament. 

"My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long? Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love...I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes."

Journal prompts for healing from anger

1. What am I gaining from feeling angry? (Ecclesiastes 7:9, James 1:19-20)
2. What exactly is making me angry? Describe it in detail. (Psalm 103:8)
3. What do I need to happen to let go of this anger? What is keeping it sitting in my body? (Ephesians 4:26-27)
4. What three things are true right now? (Psalm 37:8-9)
5. Is this a righteous anger? Or a selfish one? (Deuteronomy 32:11-12, Psalm 7:11) 
6. In one year, will I regret my anger or the actions that have come/will come from it? (Proverbs 15:8, Colossians 3:15)
7. What can I do differently tomorrow (or the next time) I feel the anger building up? (Proverbs 15:1)
8. Remember moments from your childhood when you were angry. Are you still holding onto any anger from your past? (Psalm 34:14)

Journal prompts for healing from a loss of identity

1. Where do I get my sense of identity from? Is it more from what I do, what others say about me, or something else? (1 Peter 2:9)
2. What does God say about me? Look to the Bible to guide you. (1 John 3:1-2)
3. To whom in life do I give the ability to change how I feel about myself? Whose opinion really matters to me? (Proverbs 27:6)
4. When do I feel the most "myself" - the most comfortable and confident and motivated? (Ephesians 2:10)
5. What can I be doing daily to point me to truth? (Joshua 1:8)
6. What is the best piece of advice I've ever received? Am I living according to that advice? (Proverbs 2:2)
7. What am I doing to attend to the needs of others? (Philippians 2:4)
8. What am I doing to honor God with my body? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Journal prompts for healing from shame

1. What event or decision or circumstance has caused me the most shame from the past? Why did/do I feel shame? (Romans 8:1)
2. Was the shame something I felt immediately, or did time have to pass before the shame took root? If it was the later, what changed? (Romans 9:33)
3. Am I bound by the shame? How can I release the shame and be set free? (Romans 10:11, 1 John 1:9)
4. What are three other times in my life I have felt shame? Are there any patterns? (Psalm 31:17)
5. Who do I need to forgive to help me move forward? (Ephesians 4:32)
6. What does God say about me and my shame? (Psalm 3:3, Isaiah 50:7)
7. What is my first memory in which I felt shame? Write about that experience. (Isaiah 43: 18-19)
8. What do I do when I feel shame? What is my go-to action, thought process, or relationship I use to deal with the shame? (Philippians 4:8)

Tips for effective and consistant journaling

Being consistant with any new habit can feel like slugging up a mountain wearing new, shiny, patton shoes. Here are 5 quicks steps to help you start a new journaling routine for healing and peace.

1. Start small. Carve out a specific time of day for journaling. All you need is 5-10 minutes. 
2. Grab a notebook and pen: neither have to be fancy, Your notebook can be lined, blank, spiral bound... heck just grab loose leaf paper if that's all you have.
3. Pick a journaling spot. Having a designated writing space will assist in training your brain to form this new habit. Set your notebook and pen near your chosen location.
4. When you sit to write, date the page (in case you want to look back), and start writing. Write anything that comes to mind. When your brain goes blank (it will) resist the urge to lift the pen from the paper.  Write "blah, blah, blah" until the words start to form again.
5. Don't judge yourself! Just keep going. It will feel awkward and painful at first, but slowly it'll become more natural. The seeds will sprout and the fruit will begin to grow. 

The science behind journaling for healing

It's not only bloggers and online writers who declare the benefits of using journal prompts for healing. There is science to back it up, too. 

A 1986 study by Pennebaker & Beall showed that writing about past traumatic events not only helped participants in the short term in dealing with the trauma, but also resulted in long-term health benefits. 

Social psychologist James Pennebaker says:

Emotional upheavals touch every part of our lives. You don't just lose a job, you don't just get divorced. These things affect all aspects of who we are — our financial situation, our relationships with others, our views of ourselves. ... Writing helps us focus and organize the experience.

Writing about difficult life events can bring back an avalanche of negative emotions. While painful at first, similar studies have shown that the long term benefits, both cognitive and physical, that come from writing out weight the immediate decrease in mood and increase in distress. 

A 2013 study showed that writing significantly decreased depression in participants with major depressive disorder.

A recent research study performed in 2021 showed that an intentional effort to focus on the positive and practice gratitude helped to combat negative emotions. Deliberately choosing to think on the positive changes our brain chemistry, and helps mitigate negative and unhelpful thought patterns. 

In her book, The Power of Writing it Down, Alison Fallon says:

“The research is clear: writing can help us manage negative emotional states, process our lives, and even heal from trauma. One of the reasons writing does this, I believe, is because it invites us, and even requires us, to look at our pain in a new way and for a long time. It requires contemplation.”

Types of journaling to help you heal

No two journals look the same. And rarely do journals look Instagram worthy. A journal is meant to provide a safe spot for you to process, release, and vent - it is not meant to be something to share. Which should be freeing! Your journal should tailored to you. 

There are many different types of journals, ways to journal, and ideas of what journaling is. Here are a few different journaling techniques. Choose something that works for you!

1. Stream of conscience journaling - write write write. Without thinking. This is where you put open to page, and keep it moving until your journaling time is up. Freely write whatever comes to mind. 
2. Gratitude journaling - make a list of 10 things you are grateful for (or choose any number).
3. Memory journaling - write down stories or memories you have. Remembering with a pen and notebook can help you process past events and piece together stories you had forgotten about. 
4. Prayer journaling - talk to God. Use your journal as way to communicate with your Father. 
5. Line-a-day journaling - each day write one line reflecting something positive that happened. 

Journaling looks different for everyone. What is constant across all journals is the way the act of writing allows us to process, remember, focus on Truth, and clear out the fog.

Scriptures to hold on to while healing

I am not a phycologist or a therapist. I can't say for sure anything I've written will be helpful. What I do know is this: the Bible is the source of all Truth. 

And within the Bible are the words of your Father, to you. 

So while the thoughts are spinning and your circumstances seem unbearable, hold on to the never-changing truth of Scripture. 

A few verses to keep close in the midst of healing:

Isaiah 40:31 - But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Micah 7:18 - Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

John 14:15-17 - If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Joshua 1:9 - Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

John 16:33 - I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Isaiah 12:2 - Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In Conclusion

Life can be overwhelmingly painful. It can also be beautiful and abundant. Journaling is a means by which you can process your pain. determine truth from fiction, and sort out the realities of your circumstance. If you are in the process of healing, pick up a notebook and start writing. Let God use the pen and page to guide and remind you. 

I'll leave you with this:

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

I'm rooting for you,