S.O.A.P. Journaling
I am excited that you are interested in SOAP journaling. I started SOAP journaling around 2006, and I believe it is one of the best decisions I ever made. SOAP journaling has helped me meditate on the Word of God more, and it has helped me to reflect on applying it to my life. It also has helped me pour into others, what I am learning from God’s word. I enjoy a few times a year and at the end of the year going back through my SOAP journals to reflect on what God has said to me. It is always such an encouragement to my heart to see what God was speaking to me throughout the year.
I love what James 1:22-25 states “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” SOAP journaling helps me to remember the Word of God and to obey it. I have provided a guide below to help you understand how to SOAP journal. I pray that SOAP journaling will be a blessing to your personal time with God.
- Pastor Joey Rumble
How to S.O.A.P.
Date: Title:
S - Scripture
O- Observation
A - Application
P - Prayer
I spend time reading a passage from the Bible, and the one verse that really stands out to me, I write down beside the S. Then I spend time reflecting on what the verse is saying, and I write this down beside the O. I then write down what I believe the Lord is telling me to apply to my life from the passage beside the A. The final step is to write out a prayer to God beside the P, asking for help to apply the word of God in my life. At the top of the SOAP entry, I write down the date and a title for the entry.