Praying Personalized Scripture – Sunday School Outline
Today’s Lesson is part review, part mash-up of previous lessons.
We’ve studied how to pray. (read that post here)
We’ve looked at what Scripture is and how to study it. (Read those posts here and here)
Today we are going to combine the two.
Today we are going to practice praying Scripture.
There are several reasons why we might do this.
It honors God and shows Him we are paying attention to His Word, the Bible, and that we have respect for both it and Him.
It brings us closer to God.
We can better see how the Scriptures were written for us and that He does understand us.
Because Jesus came to earth as a man He knows first hand what it’s like to live in this fallen world.
It helps us see that Scripture does apply to and affect us.
Seeing how relevant to us they are makes obeying them easier.
Because the Scriptures are God’s own Word, we know that if we are praying the Scripture we are asking for things that God has already offered, mentioned, suggested, and instructed us about.
This means we are praying in God’s will!
As you are going through the Scripture you will see that some, especially in the Psalms, are already written first-person.
Those are easy to pray.
You just pray them as they are written.
This exercise will help you with the ones that aren’t.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Pick a passage
For this demonstration we’ll use Psalm 62:1-2
Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (NIV)
2. Personalize it as necessary to make it coming from you to God. This is called phrasing it in first-person.
We do this by turning phrases like the one, or he who, into I, we, me statements and then turning words and phrases referencing God into first person words (You, Father, God, Lord). We might also need to add in words like me, I, you, your.
The first line would go from:
Truly my soul finds rest in God;
To:
Truly my soul finds rest in you, God
Personalizing the concept from a general statement to a personalized statement to God makes it more real, focused, and relevant to you.
-It helps us better look directly at God and makes it more talking to Him than talking about Him.
-This is especially important because when we are praying to God we are having a conversation with Him, not talking at Him.
Now look at the next line:
My salvation comes from Him
Becomes:
My salvation comes from You.
In this line we are admitting to Him that salvation only comes from Him.
It’s no longer just a statement of truth; it’s a personal reminder of what we know to be true for us.
It is also telling Him that we realize His importance in our life.
With the next one we see
2 Truly He is my rock and salvation;
Is now:
You are my rock and You are my salvation;
It puts a face on Who is our rock and salvation.
-Saying it this way we see firsthand Who is our rock
-This is a reassurance to us and an acknowledgement to Him of His place in our lives
The last line:
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Can be said:
You are my fortress, I will never be shaken.
(You could also say, Because You are my fortress, I will never be shaken)
That is a wonderful reassurance that He is there for us.
-Hearing it said this way makes it more real.
-Saying it this way makes it a declaration to Him.
Now, let’s put it all together:
Truly my soul finds rest in you, God
My salvation comes from You.
Truly You are my rock and my salvation;
Because You are my fortress, I will never be shaken.
When you pray it like this it is much more meaningful because it is more real and focused on what it means and how it relates.
An important part of prayer is praising Him and acknowledging His importance to the world and to us.
Praying this verse like this does that as well as encourage and strengthen us.
And really, why not use Scripture, which already tells us these things?
If it is speaking truth, and we are seeking to speak truth, why not use His truth to do it?
3. Pray the passage either silently or out loud.
-I prefer to pray it out loud.
-Having my ears hear what my mouth is saying tends to better reinforce it in me.
-It also keeps me from being as easily distracted as I would be if I were only reading and praying it silently.
Let’s try another one.
Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night. (NIV)
This one is a wee bit tricky.
You might have to rearrange the phrases for it to make sense.
That’s okay as long as you don’t change the meaning of the phrase
So, with the first phrase
Blessed is the one
You wouldn’t say blessed is the me,
You would say:
I am blessed
And then:
who does not walk in step with the wicked
Becomes
If I do not walk in step with the wicked
The next 2 verses can be done as is
Or stand in the way that sinners take
Or sit in the company of mockers,
Or you can change the first part of the phrases to personalize it and say:
And if I don’t stand in the way that sinners take
And if I don’t sit in the company of mockers
Either way is fine, as long as you see how it applies to you, though I think adding in the I makes it more personal.
Verse 2:
But whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
Becomes:
But my delight is in your law, Lord,
Then:
And who meditates on His law day and night.
Can be said as:
and I meditate on your law day and night.
Now stop right there, never lie.
If you don’t meditate on His law day and night don’t say you do.
Instead, say something like I want to start meditating on it day and night or
I know I should start to meditate on your law day and night.
You might also say, “Help me to start meditating on your word day and night.”
Remember, meditate in this context means to think about, consider, ponder on.
So what it is talking about is thinking about verses and Scripture on a regular, daily basis.
It doesn’t mean you have to think of it 24/7/365 and never think about anything else; it means you keep it in the forefront of your mind.
It means you are thinking about the Scriptures, what they mean, and how to apply them to your life for a significant portion of your day.
When you come across something that might not be true about you, use it as an opportunity to see something about yourself you can and should change or improve on.
Then pray and ask Him to help you with it.
Okay, so let’s put it all together now:
I am blessed
If I do not walk in step with the wicked
If I don’t stand in the way that sinners take
If I don’t sit in the company of mockers,
But my delight is in your law, Lord,
And I meditate on your law day and night.
Depending on how the verse is worded, you might instead say:
I will…
If I will…
Since I do…
Since I don’t…
I choose to…
I will stop…
I can…
I will no longer…
I want to begin to…
Okay, let’s change it up a bit.
With this passage we’re looking at, there is another way to pray it.
It’s the Help Me way.
It goes like this:
I want to be blessed so please
Help me not to walk in step with the wicked
Help me not to stand in the way that sinners take
Or sit in the company of mockers,
Help me to delight in your law, Lord,
Help me to meditate on your law day and night.
Instead of help me you could use other phrases like:
I want to learn…
Remind me to…
Show me how to…
Change me so I will…
Help me to remember…
Help me to see…
Mature me so I will…
Any phrase similar to this will work.
Remember to phrase it as a humble request, not a statement of demand.
Remember to say please!
You might also come across an if/then verse – if I do this, then that will happen.
If so, just pray it like the others but bear in mind it is calling you to action and reminding you that you have a part in it.
A word of caution – it is important you are careful not to change the wording so it changes the meaning of the verse. We aren’t trying to change what it says. We only want to better understand the meaning of it.
What about if you want to pray Scripture concerning someone else?
Maybe you want to pray for a spouse or child.
It is very similar to the Help Me part.
Instead of me, change it to their name.
You can use phrases like:
I pray they will…
I pray they won’t…
Help them to see…
Please help them understand…
Remember to be specific, such as praying they will not walk in the way of sinners, or that their eyes will be opened to the truth, but don’t make it so specific you are telling God how to make it happen.
There is a big difference between praying someone will not walk in the way of sinners and telling God He needs to do this or that!
Ask Him to help them not to hang with the wrong crowd, but then trust Him to know who the wrong crowd is and what the time frame for changing their friend group is.
You can still point out you see a certain friend doing things that concern you, but don’t condemn nor judge that person. Just let God know you are concerned and trust Him to sort it out.
Remember, not all Scriptures need to be put into first-person, and not all Scriptures are suitable for praying, but there are many that are.
Personalizing Scripture like this is one way you can see whether you are doing what God is calling you to do.
If you aren’t it’s an opportunity for Him to speak to you about it and for you to see you should do things a bit differently.
This will help bring you better into line with His will and His way.
That’s a good thing because being in line with His will and His way is the most important thing we can be!
This week’s homework
Look at the following verse and write it out using the things we talked about in class today. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the answer)
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and He will establish your plans. – Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
Today’s Memory Verse is the same as the homework verse.
A list of all available lessons can be found on my Lessons Outlines page
Free Downloadable/Printable PDF of this lesson Personalizing Scripture Lesson Outline PDF
Homework Answer:
I will commit to You, Lord, whatever I do,
And You will establish my plans. Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
You could also say:
I will commit whatever I do to You, Lord
And I know You will establish my plans. Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)