Psalm 91 Step 1: Pray & Step 2 Survey

Psalm 91 Step 1: Pray & Step 2 Survey

NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.

Hello again! Thanks for joining me in this study. Today’s post reveals the prayer the Spirit inspired me to use every time I start studying Psalm 91, and the Huh?s and Wow!s I experienced reading through the passage with Him. Read on!

Last Week’s Work

MY PRAYER
Father God, thank You that You are Almighty, and You’ve given me a heart for studying Your Word so I can learn and grow and serve as you would have me.

For now, this will be my last study focused directly on Your names, but it’s only the beginning of getting to know You more deeply. I resolve to continually look for You in every passage I study, because I know I’ve only scratched the surface of Who You are, and it’s been amazing! Thank You also for the Holy Spirit to guide me as I learn everything I can from Psalm 91. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.

HUH? and WOW! MOMENTS
This is yet another study where I’m “wowed” by the passage! This time, I separated the HUH?s from the WOW!s in my notes. I’m not sure if I’ll keep doing that, though. Here they are:

HUH?s

  • What does the writer mean when he describes someone who dwells in the shelter of the Most High (v1)?
  • I found a few words and/or phrases that are unfamiliar to me:
    • Fowler (v3). Fun fact: I grew up in southwest Kansas where there’s a town by that name. Until now, I had no idea it was associated with a snare (trap) in the Bible, though I am familiar with the term fowl (birds). Something to dig into, maybe?
    • Pinions, and a shield and buckler (v4).
    • Recompense (v8).
  • The text of vv14-16 appears in quotations in the ESV translation: who is speaking? Based on context alone, I assume it’s God.

WOW!s

Dig-In Challenges

Below I’ve listed what I’ll be working through this coming week. As always, you’re welcome to just follow this study by reading and praying about what I’m discovering. Or, if there’s something else you want to work with the Holy Spirit to learn about in this passage:

  1. PRAY for the Spirit to direct your focus for the remainder of this study. You can choose anything from your survey from last week that raises a question or resonates with you, or you can use one of my responses above. In your journal, record that personal treasure, along with any verse(s) relating to it from the study text.
  2. MINE: Begin working through step 2 of this process by reading Psalm 91, focusing on and noting anything the Spirit emphasizes about the characters involved, any locations mentioned, and/or any timeframes discussed.

I’m looking forward to sharing my notes with you next week!

Psalm 91 Step 1: Pray & Step 2 Survey

Psalm 91 DISO Study Introduction

Welcome to the final eight-week DISO study on God’s names this year. Today, we’re beginning our exploration of El Shaddai, God Almighty, focusing on Psalm 91. I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you’ll be able to study (or at least check in) with me over the next eight weeks as I dig deep into the treasure the Holy Spirit reveals to me from this excerpt of God’s Word.

Let’s Study Psalm 91! 

This week, I’ll begin by praying and surveying Psalm 91. If you want to study on your own with me, here’s what I recommend you have ready:

  1. A copy of Psalm 91.
    I like to refer often to the text I’m studying and sometimes make notes on it, so I copy the passage from blueletterbible.org, paste it into a word processing program like Google Docs or MS Word, change the formatting to suit my preferences, and print it out. If you want to use the ESV translation, here’s a pdf of my Scripture study sheet with lots of room for doodles and notes.
  2. A study journal.
    We’ll spend the next seven weeks immersed in and learning about Psalm 91. Since each week’s work builds on what came before, plan to record at least some highlights from your work over the coming weeks. I’m old-school and like the pen-and-paper method for journaling my studies, but it’s okay if that doesn’t work for you. If you don’t have time to write out or type your notes, consider dictating them into a notes app or recording audio files instead.

Or, you may decide to just try a few of the steps on your own as you feel led and/or read my notes posted here. That’s great, too. You’ll get familiar with the process and see how the Spirit speaks to my situation. Either way, I appreciate you checking in with me, even if you can’t dig into Psalm 91 yourself right now.

Dig-In Challenges

So, here’s how I’ll be studying this week:

  1. PRAY: I’ll be creating a prayer with which I’ll start each of my weekly study sessions. Full disclosure: I usually just adapt a previous prayer. Though I’ve pretty much memorized it, I still write my prayer in my study journal so I’ll see it when I begin my study and remember to pray each time I start my study.
  2. SURVEY: Then I’ll read Psalm 91, noting anything that makes me say, “huh?” (as in, “I wonder what that means?”) or “wow” (as in, “that is so awesome!”). I’ll record these and later ask the Spirit to direct me to the one I should dig into right now.

If you’d like more information about Steps 1-5, check out this printable summary of the process I’ll be using. Or, you can always reach out to me with your questions through my contact page or at [email protected]. I’m looking forward to sharing what I discover in this process with you. I hope you’ll make a habit of checking in with me each week!