Zip It Up—Wrapping It All Up in Prayer

Claire Black: Welcome to True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time. Buckle up!You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus!

Do you ever find praying difficult? Maybe you’re not sure what to say or you feel like your words don’t matter. Guess what? Today’s step in the 4-Z Method will teach you that prayer can be simple.

Let’s review the four Zs in the 4-Z Bible study method:

1. Zoom Out to see the bigger picture.
2. Zoom In to dig into the details.
3. Zero In to discover what it means for YOU.
4. And finally, we’llZip It Up with prayer.

It’s the last mini-episode in the Zoom, Zoom, Zero, Zip series of the True Girl Podcast, and we’re taking the next step and Zipping It Up in prayer!

Dannah Gresh is going to help us learn the power of praying in this episode: “Zip It Up – Wrapping It All Up in Prayer.”

Dannah Gresh: Imagine this: it’s your special annual family reunion. A picnic. Your whole family—think aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and there’s even a great grandma in attendance. Everyone is gathered under the pavillion. Laughter fills the air, but you can barely hear it over the pounding of your heart.

Your mom just asked you to pray before the meal. You nod, but inside, you feel like you’re about to melt into the ground. What do I even say? What if I mess up?

Then, you remember what you’ve been learning about John 8:31–32; that remaining faithful to God’s Word lets you experience freedom, not sticking feelings.

You’re not going to sink down into those sticky feelings of insecurity! No way! “I am not gonna let those fears control me.”

But . . . what do you pray? What should you say when you pray?

Have you ever felt unsure about what to say when you pray? Maybe you’ve felt nervous about praying out loud or confused about how to talk to God when you’re stressed or sad. Here’s the good news: you can use the Bible to form your prayer. 

Let’s take our key verse, John 8:31–32, as an example, let me read it: 

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

After you study a verse like this, you can always and should always Zip It Up by praying the words back to Jesus. It might sound something like this:

“Jesus, You said if I’m truly Your disciple, I will be faithful to Your words. That means I need to know them. I’m trying to spend time in the Bible so I can do that. Then You promise I’ll begin to know You intimately and experience freedom. I need freedom from my insecurity to pray in front of other people. Will You please help me? In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Isn’t that amazing? You don’t have to wonder what to say when you pray at that family picnic; you can let God’s Word guide you!

In fact, let’s try it one more time. Let’s imagine you’re at that picnic. Everyone bows their heads, and your voice trembles as you begin. 

“Dear God, thank You for Your truth. Help us to hold on to Your Word and live as Your disciples. Thank You for setting us free to know You and love You. Bless this food and our time together. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

When you look up, everyone is smiling. Your grandma reaches over and squeezes your hand. You feel lighter, like you’ve been set free from the fear. God’s Word didn’t just guide your prayer, it helped you overcome your nerves. The truth really does set us free.

And in this verse, well, we have a big promise: freedom! You can ask Jesus for freedom!

Whenever you feel trapped by sadness, anxiety, stress, or even feeling ugly or mean, we’ve been learning that John 8:31–32 gives us a solution that nothing else can: freedom from all of that. Jesus tells us that when we hold onto His truth, we become His disciples and experience true freedom. To know Jesus is to know the truth, and that truth sets us free—free to live in His love, free to let go of what holds us back, and free to walk boldly in the life He’s called us to.

That sounds so good, doesn’t it?But the reality is, just studying these words isn’t what makes that happen. You have to truly know Jesus. Talking to Him through prayer, well it has more power than you can ever imagine! That’s why we always take time to Zip It Up in prayer. 

After we have studied, we’ve Zoomed Out, we Zoomed In, we Zeroed in, I’m going to Zip Up our whole series in a moment by praying for you. But first, let’s review the True Girl 4-Z Method of Bible study. 

First we, Zoom Out

Look at the bigger picture. Read the surrounding verses or chapter to understand the full context of the passage. Ask: Who? What? When? And Why?

And then we Zoom In

Focus on the specific verse or passage. Break it down, we study key words, and explore what it means. And we ask, “What truth is God teaching here?”

Then we Zero In

Apply it personally. Reflect on how this truth connects to your life. Ask, “What does God want me to believe or do because of this?”

And finally, we Zip It Up

We pray and respond. Talk to God about what you’ve learned. Thank Him for His Word, and ask for His help to live it out. We seal it into our hearts through prayer. 

These four simple steps make Bible study easy, personal, and life-changing!

And remember, this is just a quick course. We are offering a deep dive into this method of study at the True Girl Pop Up Party. This year we’ll be in four cities with it! We’ll have a time of worship and a hands-on workshop. And we’ll talk about the 4-Z Method throughout the year on the True Girl Crazy Hair Tour and our online Bible study. Head to MyTrueGirl.com for all the details on those things. 

But before you do, your homework this week is to write your own prayer based on John 8:31–32. And here is my prayer for you, my sweet True Girl.

Lord Jesus, 

I truly do believe that if we remain faithful to Your teaching, that means we have to read our Bibles, we have to understand what we’re reading, and then we have to obey it and live by it. But if we do those things, we can know the truth and experience freedom. We don’t have to be confused about things that are happening in our world around us. We don’t have to be controlled by bad or sticky feelings. We can experience freedom, something that we can only experience by obeying the Word and name of Jesus Christ. 

I pray that you would help my friend to do that, that you would help me to do that. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Claire: Amen!

Alright. Your final homework for the 4-Z Method of Bible study is to write a prayer based on John chapter 8, verses 31 and 32. And congratulations! You’ve just zoomed, zoomed, zeroed, and zipped your way through some powerful Scripture. I hope you remember what you’ve learned every time you read those verses. And keep on practicing with other passages!

Do you want to dive deeper into learning the 4-Z Method? Join us for a True Girl Pop Up Party, an unforgettable overnight event where we’ll spend time worshipping and growing closer to Jesus. You’ll even learn how to study the Bible hands-on using the 4-Z Method!

Your mom can get all the details and register at MyTrueGirl.com. We can’t wait to see you there!

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ!

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