12 Ideas to Write in Your Journaling Bible

What to write in a Bible journal? You’ve got the Bible open in front of you, but you’re just not sure what to put on the page. Or maybe, you’re tired of just writing the verse in the margin word-for-word…and you want to go deeper. Either way, these 12 ideas will inspire you to use your Bible journaling time to truly understand and remember the Scriptures.

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Have you ever opened your journaling Bible, and wondered what to write? Or maybe you’ve felt stuck, like you always write the same things, and you want to study the Scripture a bit differently to gain more perspective?

When I first started Bible journaling (way back in 2016!), I thought that you’re supposed to just write out a verse in the margin, in an aesthetically pleasing way. Make it look pretty, and that way you can remember it more easily. Which is great! I mean, writing out a particular Bible verse can absolutely help you memorize it and recall it better than just reading alone.

But, after a while I started to wonder, shouldn’t I be doing something more? If Bible journaling is all about studying God’s Word on a deeper level, then I really want to break down the meaning of the Scripture and how I can apply it to my life.

So, I started incorporating a wider variety of writing methods into my study time. And it’s been so helpful!

What to Write in a Bible Journal: 12 Ideas to Inspire You

One of my favorite benefits of creative Bible journaling, is that it helps sear the message of what you’re studying into your brain, much better than just reading alone. I hope that as you study the Scriptures, these twelve Bible journaling writing prompts will help you to process and record what God is teaching you.

You can watch them all in the video below, or keep scrolling for the whole list with photo examples of each…

1) Do a verse map of the Scripture you’re journaling about.

Verse mapping is a great study tool that can help you break down the meaning of a particular verse, and identify how that verse applies to you. By looking up definitions of key words in the verse, consulting different translations, or even learning the original Greek or Hebrew meanings of words, you can gain insights you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Once you’ve done a verse map, then you can take the resulting insights, and write them in your journaling Bible.

With the Matthew 16:24-25 passage below, I used verse mapping to create a list of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. (I actually did a whole tutorial on this page, if you’d like to check it out!)

2) Pick out the aspects of the Scripture that most resonate with you.

For example, in the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7) below, I was in awe of the fact that I once WAS that lost sheep… and also, that if God valued me so highly as to seek me out, then He also highly values the (still) lost sheep around me. So, that’s what I chose to write in the margin of my journaling Bible: “God still values the lost sheep around me, just as He cares for me. Therefore, I will choose to see them through His eyes […]”

3) Tie it all together, with an easy to remember phrase.

If you’re studying a more complex passage, ask God to help you distill it down to something you can understand and remember more easily. Case in point, for years I couldn’t wrap my head around Jesus’ declaration that we are the “salt of the earth”. Um, what in the world does that even mean? But as I sat down to Bible journal one day, God gave me these short-and-sweet definitions of what it means to be salt and light. I can always remember, that SALT = the flavor of God’s love, and LIGHT = showing the way to Jesus.

4) Paraphrase it in your own words.

This technique can be very helpful for a passage that incorporates complex stories or metaphors. How can you break it down into a paraphrased statement (or several) that captures the message?

With the 1 Timothy 4:6-10 passage below, it’s all about training for godliness. So, I wrote several paraphrased statements that put ‘spiritual training’ in easy to understand terms. Such as “get out of your comfort zone; like a great workout, it makes you sore, but it’s worth it”. It’s a real-world application that makes the Scripture easier to remember and apply.

5) Or, just let the verse speak for itself.

But sometimes, paraphrasing isn’t necessary… sometimes, the verse just speaks for itself! In which case, let it. You don’t always have to write a lot of notes; sometimes it’s good just to keep it simple, like with the 2 Corinthians 5:7 page below.

6) Make a list of all the key attributes, people, places, or things in the verse!

This option is especially good for verses like 1 Corinthians 13 (the characteristics of love), Galatians 5:22 (the fruit of the Spirit), or the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), which contain a string of important words or ideas that you want to remember.

You can simply make a list, but it’s even better to make a list and add extra notes to help you break down the concepts further. Sometimes, it might be good to do some research, to better understand the topic. Other times, you might just want to pray over it, and come up with a list of ways to expand on the topic. Like with the Philippians 4:8 page below, I just came up with things to think about that fit under the qualities Paul listed, like ‘noble’ and ‘pure’.

7) Add some Christian song lyrics or a Christian author quote.

If you find yourself at a loss for what to write in a Bible journal, this is a great option. Does the Bible passage you’re studying bring to mind a favorite hymn, or some poetry you’ve read before? Or perhaps a quote from a famous Christian like Billy Graham, or C.S. Lewis? If it adds an extra layer of comprehension for you, or sums up the meaning of the Scripture, then write it down!

8) Reference other Scriptures that are relevant or helpful.

If you’re studying a particular Bible passage, and you think of other related verses that are helpful for you, add them to the page! This can be a very simple way of driving home the point of the passage, by bringing in those supporting verses. For example, in the Colossians 4:5-6 page below, those verses are about letting our conversation be “full of grace, seasoned with salt”… so I also wrote in Luke 6:45, Proverbs 16:24, and Psalm 19:14, which are all about the effects our words can have, and speaking words that build others up.

9) Quote different translations of the verse.

Instead of writing the verse in the same version that your journaling Bible is in, you can write it in a different translation that brings greater meaning and comprehension for you. I personally LOVE the Amplified version (AMP) for its’ breakdown of the original Hebrew and Greek meanings of the words, and also the New Living Translation (NLT) for it’s modern paraphrasing of the Scriptures. You can find those, plus dozens of other versions for free on Bible.com or in the YouVersion Bible app.

Case in point, for the Hebrews 11:1 page (in my NIV pocket New Testament Bible), I added the NLT version of the verse, because it uses the REALITY (“Faith shows the REALITY of what we hope for…”). This reminded me, that faith is believing as though God has already done it!

10) Write a heartfelt prayer.

Sometimes, if there’s something in the Scripture that I know I need God’s help with, I’ll write a prayer. Something like “Lord, help me to…” or “Holy Spirit, lead me in the right direction…”. It could be a prayer about applying His Word to your life, interceding for someone you know, or asking God’s help with a particular dilemma you’re dealing with.

In the case of Psalm 5:1-3 below, it’s all about prayer, which made writing my own prayer an easy decision. But, you could write prayers relating to any kind of Scripture passage, as you’ll see in the next example…

11) Let yourself be inspired by the words in a stamp set, Bible journaling kit, or sticker sheet.

Don’t get me wrong—when it comes to what to write in a Bible journal, the Word should always be your primary inspiration—but sometimes it can be helpful to get ideas from the materials you have on hand. For example, in the 1 Timothy 4:5 page below, I had some stamp sets on hand with words and phrases that correlated with the verse…

The first part of 1 Timothy 4:5 says (in the NLT) “…keep a clear mind in every situation.” And I had that ‘stay focused’ stamp that was perfect to summarize that. The middle part of the verse says “Work at telling others the Good News…”, so for that I just used a ‘Good News’ stamp that I had. And the last part, says “…fully carry out the ministry God has given you.” For that, I had a ‘steward well’ stamp that seemed like a great fit.

And, this page also included a prayer, which goes to show that you can use idea #10 (write a prayer) on just about any Scripture passage.

12) Give yourself a call-to-action!

Finally, our last idea for what to write in a Bible journal, is to give yourself a call-to-action! If the Scripture inspires you to do something, change your habits, or grow in some way, write it down. For example, I was moved one Sunday afternoon, as I sat down to journal on Psalm 116. I was having a flare-up of my chronic neck pain, and feeling frustrated, like I didn’t really want to journal. But the words of the Psalmist inspired me…

Let my soul be at rest again,
    for the Lord has been good to me.
He has saved me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.
And so I walk in the Lord’s presence
    as I live here on earth!
Psalm 116:7-9 (NLT)

I had these ‘worship through the pain’ and ‘He is worthy of all honor and praise’ stamps, so that’s what I went with. Worshipping through the pain doesn’t come naturally to me, but it’s something I’m trying to do more of on the hard days.

And with this Bible journaling example, you can also see how easy it would be to mix and match these writing ideas, to use two or more in conjunction. On this page, I actually used not just a call-to-action (idea #12), but also used stamps for inspiration (idea #11), and song lyrics at the bottom (idea #7).

I hope these ideas for what to write in a journaling Bible have inspired you, to go deeper in your study of God’s Word! Whatever you choose to write, let it be something that helps you remember the Scripture and apply it in your daily life. Use your journaling time as a way to connect with God and learn from Him, and you’ll be on the right track.