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SOAP Prayer Guide |
Download Printable .PDF of SOAP Cards
The SOAP Guide to prayer is simple and effective. It helps you take the Bible and apply it to your prayer life in a way that can personally transform scripture from being viewed as a historic document into a living document.
The process is straightforward and basic. In this context, SOAP is an acronym for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. Follow these guidelines to enhance your prayer time with biblical depth.
- SCRIPTURE: Choose a scripture passage from the Bible that you feel fits your prayer needs at this time, or one that you find particularly inspirational, or one that you read in your devotional, or wherever.
- OBSERVATION: Make -- and write down, if possible (Download SOAP cards) any thoughts, feelings or other observations you make about that particular passage. For example, is there one single theme? Is there an overriding message or direction? How do you think that passage was affecting the people involved in or with it? There is no right or wrong observation.
- APPLICATION: Based on your observations and understanding of the scripture, ask yourself, "In what ways can I apply this scripture to my life?" Again, you can write down your response for future inspiration and to help cement the direction in your heart.
- PRAYER: Keeping the SCRIPTURE and the APPLICATIONS in your heart and mind, shape your prayer. When you talk with God, use some of the thoughts and desires from this exercise to inform your conversation.
As you use this method you may find that there are some scripture passages that are more difficult than others to use as a basis, and there are some that just really cannot be applied at all. However, by and large, this easy-to-use process will allow you to experience the Bible in a new and living way, and to enhance your prayer with solid biblical foundation. Here are a few good scripture passages to begin with:
Download Printable .PDF of SOAP Cards