Faith and prayer

40 Hope Journal Prompts

These hope journal prompts are for you if you bring your journal to prayer, whether you are in a hard season, an ordinary one, or somewhere in between. Some are quick enough for a coffee break. Others ask you to sit with a long wait or an unanswered prayer and write honestly about it.

Hope can be hard to name when you are tired or grieving. It can also be easy to overlook on a plain Tuesday. Writing it down can help you notice where hope comes from, how you wait, the small signs you might have missed, and the people you are holding in prayer.

Come as you are. You do not need to feel hopeful to begin, and you do not need to end every entry with a neat answer. A few honest lines offered to God are enough.

All 40 prompts

Each prompt is marked quick (2 to 5 minutes), reflective (about 10 minutes) or deep (20 minutes or more).

  1. Name one sign of hope you noticed today, however small, and write where you were when you saw it. quick

  2. Finish this sentence three different ways: Today I hope... quick

  3. Which word comes to mind first when you hear the word hope, and why do you think it is that one? quick

  4. Write a one-line prayer of hope for the first person you will see today. quick

  5. What color, sound or smell feels hopeful to you right now, and what does it remind you of? quick

  6. Where did you see someone being kind today, and what hope did it stir in you? quick

  7. What is one thing you are waiting for right now? Write it down plainly, as a prayer. quick

  8. Which hymn or song has carried hope for you, and when do you find yourself humming it? quick

  9. What did today hold that you did not expect when you woke up this morning? quick

  10. Write a short prayer for someone you know who is having a hard week. quick

  11. What helps you feel a little steadier in hope on a gray, slow morning? quick

  12. If hope were an object you could hold in your hand, what would it be, and where would you keep it? quick

  13. Think of a season when you felt hopeless and later saw light return. What changed first, you or your circumstances? reflective

  14. Where do you turn for hope when the news feels heavy, and what do you find there? reflective

  15. Write about someone whose steady faith gave you hope. What did they do or say that has stayed with you? reflective

  16. What is the difference between wishing and hoping for you? Describe one thing you wish for and one thing you hope in. reflective

  17. Choose a Bible passage about hope that you keep returning to, and write about why it speaks to you in this season. reflective

  18. Notice how you wait in ordinary moments: in lines, in traffic, for a text back. What does that tell you about how you wait in prayer? reflective

  19. Describe a small daily habit that keeps hope alive in you. What happens on the days you skip it? reflective

  20. Who in your life needs you to hold hope for them right now? Write what you would like to pray for them. reflective

  21. What hope did you carry as a child that you still carry today, and how has it grown or changed? reflective

  22. Write about a time someone offered you a hopeful word at just the right moment. What made it land? reflective

  23. How do you talk about hope with the children or teens in your life, and what do you most want them to know? reflective

  24. What part of your faith feels most hopeful to you today, and what part feels hard to hold? reflective

  25. Look back over the past month. Where did hope show up in ordinary places you almost missed? reflective

  26. If you share life with a partner, what are you hoping for together, and how could you pray about it side by side? reflective

  27. Write an honest prayer about a hope that has not come true. Tell God how it feels, without tidying it up. deep

  28. What do you hope for that you are afraid to say out loud? Write it here, then write what makes it feel risky. deep

  29. Think of a long wait in your life. What did you learn in the waiting, about yourself and your faith, that you could not have learned another way? deep

  30. Write a letter to yourself to open in a future hard season, reminding yourself of the places hope has met you before. deep

  31. What would it mean to hope for someone who has hurt you? Write what you can honestly pray for them, even if it is small. deep

  32. Notice where you carry heaviness in your body and where you feel lighter. Describe each, then write a prayer that holds both. deep

  33. Describe a time when hope felt like a choice rather than a feeling. What did choosing it look like, hour by hour? deep

  34. Write about a loss that changed what you hope for. How is your hope different now than it was before? deep

  35. Picture your church, neighborhood or community a year from now. What do you hope for it, and what small part could you play? deep

  36. Which story of hope in scripture do you relate to most right now, and where do you see yourself in it? deep

  37. Write a prayer for the world that names three specific places or situations you are carrying in hope, and why each one matters to you. deep

  38. What would you say to someone who told you they had lost all hope? Write it, then read it back slowly as if it were written to you. deep

  39. Write about where your hope comes from. Trace it back as far as you can, through people, moments and prayers, and describe what you find at the root. deep

How to use these prompts

Start near the top of the list if you are new to this or short on time, and move toward the deeper prompts when you have twenty quiet minutes and a little more courage. Pick the prompt that tugs at you, even if it makes you uneasy, and write for as long as the depth suggests: a few minutes for the quick ones, about ten for the reflective ones, and longer for the deep ones. Mornings work well for prompts about what you are looking forward to, and evenings suit prompts about what you noticed during the day. You might open with a short prayer, then simply write as if you are talking. If you feel stuck, write the prompt out by hand, then write the first true sentence that comes, even if it is "I don't know." You can also come back to the same prompt next week and see what has changed.

Questions

Can I use these prompts if I do not feel hopeful right now?

Yes. Many of these prompts are written for seasons when hope feels thin, and an honest entry about that is still a prayer. You can write about what you wish you could hope for and leave the rest open.

How is hope journaling different from a gratitude journal?

Gratitude looks at what you have already received, while hope looks ahead and holds what you are still waiting for. The two often sit side by side, and you may find that noticing small gifts makes it easier to write about what you hope for.

Do I need to write my entries as prayers?

No. Some people address every entry to God, and others write reflections and close with a line or two of prayer. Write in whatever way feels honest to you.

Can I use these prompts with a small group or youth group?

Yes. The quick prompts work well as opening questions, and the reflective ones can give a group something to write about quietly before sharing. Let people choose what they share, and keep personal entries private unless someone offers to read theirs.

What if I write about a hope that never came true?

That is a real and worthy thing to bring to prayer. You can name the disappointment plainly, write about what it cost you, and notice whether your hope has changed shape over time, without forcing a happy ending.

Scripture to journal with