Word Studies for Biblical Prayers
Word studies are a great way to dive deeper into the Biblical Prayers. Doing a word study is a wonderful way to meditate on the scripture, by finding other related scriptures that enrich your ability to pray the scripture. Antiphonal singers on a Harp & Bowl team should create a notebook of Biblical Prayers with word studies and singable phrases for each one.
"Dive Deeper" Word Studies
As we create the 56:7 video emails, each one will have a Dive Deeper word study. These are posted below, and the list will grow as the series extends... so check back for more!
Psalms
The Gospels
Apostolic Prayers
Hymns of Revelation
How to do a Word Study yourself
Doing a word study is easy, just follow these steps:
The easiest way is to use a concordance, if you have one. You can also use the online Blue Letter Bible to do a Strong's Number search. Both are described below.
- Highlight the key words in a verse.
- For each key word, look up other verses that contain that word.
- Write down the scriptural reference, and a brief phrase that summarizes how the word is used in that scripture.
The easiest way is to use a concordance, if you have one. You can also use the online Blue Letter Bible to do a Strong's Number search. Both are described below.
Example using a concordance
Using the Biblical Prayer in Matthew 6:9, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name" ...
Pick the word "hallowed" (of course your translation might be different, for instance a phrase rather than a single word)
Look up the word "hallowed" in a concordance. Many Bibles have a concordance in the back, usually it's not a full concordance. You can also purchase a separate concordance at a bookstore or Half Price Books. Look for a Strong's concordance which has every word in the King James Version! Or you can use an online concordance such as Bible Gateway
or Blue Letter Bible.
Write down the references that stand out as related to "Hallowed be thy name", such as:
After writing down all the references, go back and pray through the original Biblical Prayer, using the related verses to better inform your prayer.
Pick the word "hallowed" (of course your translation might be different, for instance a phrase rather than a single word)
Look up the word "hallowed" in a concordance. Many Bibles have a concordance in the back, usually it's not a full concordance. You can also purchase a separate concordance at a bookstore or Half Price Books. Look for a Strong's concordance which has every word in the King James Version! Or you can use an online concordance such as Bible Gateway
or Blue Letter Bible.
Write down the references that stand out as related to "Hallowed be thy name", such as:
- Lev 22:32 - Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I [am] the LORD which hallow you
After writing down all the references, go back and pray through the original Biblical Prayer, using the related verses to better inform your prayer.
Example using Strong's Numbers for Greek & Hebrew
A more accurate way to do your word search is to use Strong's Numbers. What are these? They are numbers assigned to every Hebrew and Greek word in the Bible. If you search for other words with the same number, you are searching for the exact same word, regardless of translation differences.
For example, the Strong's Number for the Greek word "hagiazō" translated "hallowed be" is G37. There are exactly 25 other verses in the New Testament where this same word is used. For example, one is Jesus' prayer for the disciples in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy truth." So searching on the Strong's Number reveals that just as we pray that God would be recognized as holy, Jesus prays that we would become holy!
How can you search on the Strong's Numbers? It's easy using a free online tool, the Blue Letter Bible (also an iPhone app).
Look up the verse you want in any available version of the Bible using the Search the Bible portion of Blue Letter Bible's search page:
For example, the Strong's Number for the Greek word "hagiazō" translated "hallowed be" is G37. There are exactly 25 other verses in the New Testament where this same word is used. For example, one is Jesus' prayer for the disciples in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy truth." So searching on the Strong's Number reveals that just as we pray that God would be recognized as holy, Jesus prays that we would become holy!
How can you search on the Strong's Numbers? It's easy using a free online tool, the Blue Letter Bible (also an iPhone app).
Look up the verse you want in any available version of the Bible using the Search the Bible portion of Blue Letter Bible's search page:
Then click the "Show Strong's" tab to show all the Strong's numbers:
Find the word in the verse that you want to study, and click the number shown next to the word (or phrase):
This will bring you to a page that shows the Greek (or Hebrew) word, provides you with a comprehensive definition, a lot of other tools (like how to pronounce the word), and then at the bottom it lists (in the Concordance section) all the other verses that contain that same word, which is highlighted.
