Journaling has a long history; it helps people remember what happened, and the act of writing helps people think about what happened and process it. A prayer journal is not a new concept; it helps you keep track of the requests for which you've prayed, you can use it to pray over things repeatedly, and you can write the result when the answer comes _(or it was "no")_.
myPrayerJournal was borne of out of a personal desire I (Daniel) had to have something that would help me with my prayer life. When it's time to pray, it's not really time to use an app, so the design goal here is to keep it simple and unobtrusive. It will also help eliminate some of the downsides to a paper prayer journal, like not remembering whether you've prayed for a request, or running out of room to write another update on one.
myPrayerJournal uses login services using Google or Microsoft accounts. The only information the application stores in its database is your user Id token it receives from these services, so there are no permissions you should have to accept from these provider other than establishing that you can log on with that account. Because of this, you'll want to pick the same one each time; the tokens between the two accounts are different, even if you use the same e-mail address to log on to both.
Your current requests will be presented in three columns (or two or one, depending on the size of your screen or device). Each request is in its own card, and the buttons at the top of each card apply to that request. The last line of each request also tells you how long it has been since anything has been done on that request. Any time you see something like "a few minutes ago," you can hover over that to see the actual date/time the action was taken.
To add a request, click the "Add a New Request" button at the top of your journal. Then, enter the text of the request as you see fit; there is no right or wrong way, and you are the only person who will see the text you enter. When you save the request, it will go to the bottom of the list of requests.
The first button for each request has a checkmark icon; clicking this button will mark the request as "Prayed" and move it to the bottom of the list. This allows you, if you're praying through your requests, to start at the top left (with the request that it's been the longest since you've prayed) and click the button as you pray; when the request goes to the bottom of the list, the next-least-recently-prayed request will take the top spot.
The second button for each request has a pencil icon. This allows you to edit the text of the request, pretty much the same way you entered it; it starts with the current text, and you can add to it, modify it, or completely replace it. By default, updates will go in with an "Updated" status; you have the option to also mark this update as "Prayed" or "Answered." Answered requests will drop off the journal list.
The third button for each request has an icon that looks like a piece of paper with writing; this lets you record notes about the request. If there is something you want to record that doesn't change the text of the request, this is the place to do it. For example, you may be praying for a long-term health issue, and that person tells you that their status is the same; or, you may want to record something God said to you while you were praying for that request.
myPrayerJournal tracks all of the actions related to a request; the fourth button, with the magnifying glass icon, will show you the entire history, including the text as it changed, and all the times "Prayed" was recorded.
Next to "Journal" on the top navigation is the word "Answered." This page lists all answered requests, from most recent to least recent, along with the text of the request at the time it was marked as answered. It will also show you when it was marked answered. The button at the bottom of each request, with the magnifying glass and the words "Show Full Request", link to a page that shows that request's complete history and notes, along with a few statistics about that request. The history and notes are listed from most recent to least recent; if you want to read it chronologically, just press the "End" key on your keyboard and read it from the bottom up.
- myPrayerJournal is currently in public beta. If you encounter errors, please [file an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/danieljsummers/myPrayerJournal/issues) with as much detail as possible. You can also browse the list of issues to see what has been done and what is still left to do.
- Prayer requests and their history are securely backed up nightly along with other Bit Badger Solutions data.
- Prayer changes things - most of all, the one doing the praying. I pray that this tool enables you to deepen and strengthen your prayer life.
