Part 3: The Whole-Book Bible Writing Series
Writing out whole books of the Bible by hand goes far beyond reading and studying—it’s an unexpected doorway into deep praise and worship. Bible writing isn’t just about putting pen to paper; it’s about encountering God’s presence in a whole new way. Here is how adopting the spiritual discipline of Bible writing can ignite your praise and worship today.
Two Main Bible Writing Methods
Topical Scripture Writing
When I first heard about writing out Scriptures, I learned about it through a blogger, Angela, who offered monthly themes or topics for handwriting the Bible. I quickly signed up, participated in several of her writing challenges, and really enjoyed them.
If you’d like to start Bible writing with topical themes, you can also check out Diane at She Opens Her Bible, which offers free topical Bible writing themes too. Here’s her September theme on Peace.
Whole Book Bible Writing
The other method you could try is writing out whole books of the Bible. This practice follows God’s instructions to the kings. For each new king, they were commanded to write out the entire Book of the Law, that is, the first five books of the Bible.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 explains the what and why of this command.
“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 It shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel. (Bold emphasis is mine.)
So, based on this verse alone, it seems good to me that believers can renew this practice of Bible writing, book by book.
That seems like such a daunting task though, right? Some women might start at the beginning, in Genesis, or maybe the first book of the New Testament. Whichever book you choose is fine, as long as you do it!
Here’s a recent post called 7 Powerful Benefits to Handwrite the Bible that help you grow in your biblical understanding.
Bible Writing and Worship
You may think this is not possible, that you could worship God through Bible writing. But it is true; at least for me, it is.
You see, when you read the Bible, if you rush through it, you often miss the nuggets of truth God wants you to notice. Slow down; take your time.
When you are writing out the Scriptures, you are slowing down to read the words so you can transcribe them to paper. At this point, you’ll notice the details.
And this is when you may do a few things:
- you may tear up with tears of joy and gratitude
- words of thanksgiving may bubble up from deep inside
- you may notice that you had missed that verse before
- your faith will rise
- understanding will increase
- discernment will kick in
- you will sense the presence of God as your heart is sensitive to Him
- songs of praise may erupt from within
- if you have a heavenly language, those heavenly words may bubble forth in praise
- worship, true worship, may spring up!
What I mentioned above is what happened to me. I’m sure you’ll experience it too!
What to Say in Bible Writing and Worship
In the following sections, we will discover what Ephesians teaches us about worship.
By the way, some women in my study group have said they plan to pass down their handwritten Bibles to their grandchildren. Isn’t that an awesome idea?
Praise and Worship through Thanksgiving
As you are reading Ephesians 1:3, what do you read? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Almost right away, you can see the reasons to worship God. Remember that at this point, we are not studying the Word; we are simply reading and transcribing to have a handwritten Bible.
We have just read one reason to thank God. God has blessed you with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ!
Do you know what that means? Think about the magnitude of that statement. This is definitely something to give thanks for!
Let’s keep going with Ephesians 1:4: Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. [Related Post: 7 Steps to Be Holy and Blameless Before God]
I don’t know about you, but wow! The magnitude of what this says about you is mind-blowing!
- You are chosen in Christ Jesus before the world was formed
- You are chosen for the purpose of living and being holy and blameless before God!
This verse tells you that you have a purpose for being here.
Praise and Worship through Expressing Your Love
Let’s not stop here; Ephesians 1:5 continues with, In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
You weren’t an afterthought. You are not a mistake. These verses assure you that you were thought of before the beginning of time. You were meant to be adopted into God’s family.
Tears of joy begin to form as you continue with thanksgiving to God who knew you, formed you, planned you, and loves you. You may even express your love to God now!
Thanksgiving and love are good things to say during worship.
You can keep going through this book as you write out Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and mingle your writing with worship.
Praise and Worship through Adoration
Let’s take a look at the book of Revelation now. We’re going to focus on one chapter, Revelation 4:1-11.
John, the writer, presents an amazing scene, a word-picture of what was behind the open door, Revelation 4:1. As you read and transcribe these words, I want you to do another exercise as well. This exercise will take you to a place of worship like never before.
On a blank sheet of paper and with various coloured pencils, I want you to draw out the scene that John describes, verse by verse.
Begin by drawing out the square to represent the throne room. Then, as you read each verse, add that element in the verse to your throne room drawing. Even if your drawing ability is like mine, a stick-figure rendition will still give you a huge impact!
When you get to verse 8, now peek over at Isaiah 6:2 and read it before continuing to finish the rest of Revelation 4:1-11.
Have you just visited the throne room for yourself in praise, adoration, and worship to Almighty God? Can you now see how much there is to say during Bible writing and worship?
We’ve also seen how we can worship God with Thanksgiving, but what about Confession?
Praise and Worship through Confession
By default, what do you think about when you hear the word “confession”? Confessing your sins and wrongdoings, right?
Well, yes, we definitely need to confess and repent of our sins. No doubt about that! And as the Holy Spirit brings to mind specific sins for you to repent of, you definitely need to do that.
However, have you ever considered this term of confession: “confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord”
YES! Oh, yes! Let heaven hear, let the earth know, and let things under the earth know that you are confessing that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords!
As you read through your Bible, you will see verses that you can use to confess the glory of God.
If you were writing out the book of Romans, Romans 10:9 basically says that when you confess with your words that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. This is another reason to express worship as you are writing out the Bible.
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
If you’re still not sure about why we should copy the Bible, read Part 2 in this Whole-Book Bible Writing Series to help answer that question.
Once you decide to start writing out the Bible for yourself, I know that you will begin to:
- grow in your Bible knowledge and understanding, and
- praise and worship God for who He is and what He has done for you.
Using the ACTS Prayer in Worship
This whole experience of Bible writing shows us the power of praise and worship in the Scriptures.
God’s Word is powerful and isn’t meant to be read flippantly. In fact, reading, writing and studying the Word is the core of this blog, and I’m sure of every believer’s life.
This leads to worshipping God through Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. This is otherwise known as the ACTS Prayer Model. If you’re not sure what this model is about, read my guest post for Graceful Abandon, as it clarifies it for you.
In the section above on Worship through Adoration, we saw how you can express your adoration to God for His holiness. Even as I write this post, I tear up, overwhelmed with love for God. Do you get that way, too?
Summary of Bible Writing and Worship
So, now you have the full picture. When you are writing out the Bible by hand, no matter which book you are writing, there are bound to be verses or portions of text that will cause you to express:
- adoration and love,
- confession of either your sins or that Jesus is above all,
- and thanksgiving and gratitude.
Adapting the ACTS Prayer Model during your Bible writing time is a wonderful way to express praise and worship to God.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. What is the most memorable time of praise and worship during your Bible writing?
~ Cindy
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