Tag: SOAP

S: The mind of sinful man is death but the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life & peace.

O: Paul is explaining to the Romans (and us) that there is a choice:: two opposites. To be controlled by thoughts of sin or by thoughts of the Spirit. For each of these there is a consequence, sin -> death & Spirit -> life & peace.

A: To me, peace is the critical word in this passage. Life and Death are eternal consequences, but peace is a worldly and obvious sign that I’m on the road to life.

P: Lord, give me strength and wisdom to choose to live controlled by the Spirit and let peace be the sign that I’m on the right track.

SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. It is a way focussing on what you are reading in the bible (though with some modification it could apply to anything).
The basis of SOAP is to read a Bible chapter, and select one verse (or thereabouts) that really speaks to you. This is the Scripture. Write out the verse.

The idea of Observation is to put the verse in context of what is happening in the bible, or failing that, simply put the verse into your own words.

Application: how does this verse apply to my life or the things that I see around me at the moment.

Prayer: write a short prayer pertaining to the scripture or your observations or application.