Bible journaling ideas, book by book

October 11, 2026

A sage green hardcover of Proverbs with a black pen, on linen

Bible journaling is writing in the margins of Scripture as you read: a question, a date, a line in your own words. You don’t need art supplies or a special talent. You need one pen and one book of the Bible, read slowly.

Most lists of ideas are about technique. This one is organized by book, because Proverbs, Psalms and John each ask for something different.

Before you start

One pen. A fine-tip pen that doesn’t bleed through the page. Test it on the last blank page first.
One book, not the whole Bible. Starting with a single book gives you an end in sight.
Ten minutes. A short, daily habit fills more margins than a long session once a month.
Write the date. Every time. In a year, the dates are what you’ll read first.

8 ideas that work in any book

Say it back. Rewrite one verse in your own words, as if you were explaining it to a friend.
Circle what repeats. If a word shows up three times in a chapter, it’s the point.
Ask one question. Write it in the margin. When you find the answer, weeks later, write it under the question with the new date.
One line per chapter. At the top of each chapter, summarize it in a single sentence.
Where were you? Next to a verse that stopped you, write where you were and what was happening that day.
Turn it into a prayer. Change “he” to “you” and read the verse back to God.
One small symbol. Not a drawing. A star for a promise, a question mark for confusion, a dash for something to come back to.
Leave the hard verses marked. Underline what you don’t understand yet. Not every page needs a resolution.

Proverbs: one chapter a day for a month

Proverbs has 31 chapters, one for each day of the longest months. Read the chapter that matches today’s date. On the 3rd, read Proverbs 3.

Ideas for Proverbs

Pick one proverb per chapter. Only one. Write it again at the bottom of the page, and then write where you saw it play out that day.
The wise and the fool. Proverbs keeps putting two kinds of people side by side. Draw a thin line down the margin and sort what each one does.
Test it on a conversation. Some proverbs are instructions you can try the same day. Try this one once, and write down what happened.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
— Proverbs 15:1

Write a name. Next to Proverbs 27:17, write the name of the friend who does this for you.

“Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.”
— Proverbs 27:17

Keep a running list. At the end of the month, go back through your margins and copy the proverbs you marked onto the last page. That’s your month, in one page.

Start with Proverbs 3:

“Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6

Yahweh is the name of God in the Hebrew text. Many translations write it as “the LORD.”

Psalms: write where you are

The Psalms are prayers, and many of them were written by people in trouble. Journaling a psalm means writing yourself into it.

Ideas for Psalms

Find the turn. Many psalms start in the dark and turn halfway through. Psalm 13 asks “How long?” four times in two verses.

“How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”
— Psalm 13:1

Then it turns:

“But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.”
— Psalm 13:5

Mark the word where the psalm turns. In the margin, write what your own “How long?” is right now.

One letter per psalm. Next to each psalm’s number, write P for praise, L for lament, T for thanks. After a few weeks you’ll see which ones you keep going back to.
Psalm 23, one line a day. The psalm has six verses. Read the same psalm for six days and journal only one line each day.

“Yahweh is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.”
— Psalm 23:1–3

Write one line of your own. At the end of a psalm, add one line in the same voice. It doesn’t need to be good. It needs to be true.
Mark the stop. Some verses ask you to stop reading. When you reach one, put the pen down for a minute before writing anything.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”
— Psalm 46:10

John: follow one thread

John says why he wrote his gospel:

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”
— John 20:31

Read John looking for one thread at a time.

Ideas for John

The seven “I am” sayings. Mark each one and number it in the margin, 1 to 7. When you reach the seventh, go back and write next to each one which you needed most this month.

“I am the bread of life.” (6:35)
“I am the light of the world.” (8:12)
“I am the door.” (10:9)
“I am the good shepherd.” (10:11)
“I am the resurrection and the life.” (11:25)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (14:6)
“I am the true vine.” (15:1)

The seven signs. John calls Jesus’ miracles signs. Number them as you find them: water into wine (2), the official’s son (4), the man at the pool (5), feeding the five thousand (6), walking on the water (6), the man born blind (9), Lazarus (11).
Write down the questions. People in John keep asking Jesus questions: Nicodemus at night (3), the woman at the well (4), Thomas (14). Underline every question and write who asks it.
The shortest verse. John 11:35 is two words: “Jesus wept.” Leave the margin next to it empty, or write one word.
Start at the beginning.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
— John 1:1

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.”
— John 1:5

A first week, if you don’t know where to start

Day	Read	Do
1	John 1	Underline every time the word “light” appears
2	Psalm 1	One line at the top: what is this psalm about?
3	Proverbs, today’s chapter	Pick one proverb and write where you saw it
4	Psalm 13	Mark the turn. Write your own “How long?”
5	John 6	Mark the first “I am” saying
6	Psalm 23	Journal only verse 1
7	—	Read back everything you wrote this week