First Christian Voices: Practices of the Apostolic Fathers

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First Christian Voices

Hand Copying Scripture Hand copying Scripture is writing out passages by hand. It forces us to slow down and meditate on the verses we are writing. God commanded the kings of Israel to hand copy Scripture in Deuteronomy 17:18–20. Hand copying Scripture focuses our attention and, if a single passage is copied multiple times, helps us identify important words or phrases. Singing Scripture Singing Scripture can help us meditate on God’s Word, whether we sing a passage of Scripture itself or a song that quotes Scripture. In singing a passage of Scripture, we often find ourselves praying the passage and internalizing it, meditating on it more deeply than if we just read it. Additionally, songs are easier to memorize than plain words. In the same way that children use songs to learn their ABCs, we can use songs to memorize and meditate on Scripture. Praying Scripture Praying Scripture is using God’s Word to help us talk to him. We read a passage and then pray it back to God. For example, Psalm 5:2 says, “Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” After reading that verse, you might pray something like, “God, I know that you hear my prayers. Thank you for listening to me as I share my joys and struggles with you. You are the King of all the world. Every morning when I pray, I pray to you. Thank you for listening.” The same idea can be applied to other types of passages, such as narrative.