SCRIPTURE:
“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long." (Psalm 25:4–5) Begin with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word for you. He wants to! Read through one or a few passages. As you read, be attentive to the Spirit’s highlighting of a scripture or two. Once you have it, write it down under the Scripture heading on the study sheet. Be careful not to go after too large a portion. One or two verses is optimum for the study.
Hearing Together:
Ephesians 4:14–15
"... so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ..."
Hearing the Word of God correctly involves observation. Think “who, what, when, where and why.” This shouldn’t be long, just a note or two that will help you place the passage in the right framework.. Write these in the Hearing Together section of the study sheet. As you think about your application in the next section, there should be no conflict between the context and the application.
APPLICATION:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22 ESV) This section is where you do the important work of reflection. “Why did the Spirit direct me to these verses? What is important to notice? Is there a promise to rely on? Is there a direction I need to heed? What is God appealing to through this? Repentance? Rejoicing? Encouragement? Comfort? My deeper ‘yes’?” Write down your reflections / actions in the application section of the study sheet.
PRAYER:
”...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints...” (Ephesians 6:18) Write out a short prayer of response to what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you. It might be a prayer of thanks, of new commitment, of surrender or simple recognition of the Spirit’s illumination. Write this in the prayer section.
EXHORTATION:
The Scriptures tells us: “...speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ... Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 4:15, 25) In the edification section, write out a short word of exhortation for those you are doing SHAPE with. Encourage them to hear the Word of the Lord and respond to Him.
