How To Close In Prayer For Bible Study

If you are leading a Bible study group or teaching a Bible study class, you will begin your Bible study by first praying to God. You pray to God out of humility, as you depend on Him for understanding, wisdom, and knowledge as you study His Word. Only God can open our eyes to the wondrous aspects of His law. God is the source of everything, even the comprehension and knowledge of the things about Him. It is only fitting that we come to God and ask Him for the grace we need for full understanding. If you open your Bible study group or class with a prayer, you should also end it with a prayer. If the prayer at the start of a Bible study depends on God for understanding, wisdom, and knowledge, praying at the end of your Bible study is about thanking God for everything you have learned during the group study or class. You wouldn’t have learned anything if not for the Holy Spirit, who leads you into the truth and illuminates it to you. 

Proverbs 2:6

For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

John 16:13

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

How do you pray for a closing prayer of Bible study?

There are two things that you can pray to God for at the end of your Bible study. One is a prayer of thanksgiving. As mentioned above, it is only fitting to thank God as you finish your Bible study, as all the knowledge and understanding you gained from the Bible study are thanks to the Holy Spirit’s work in you. You can never credit your understanding and illumination about the truth of God’s Word to your intellect, because even some of the most intelligent people on Earth cannot fathom or understand the Gospel of Christ and refuse to repent and believe in Him. Remember that everything comes from God, even the intellect that you possess. 

1 Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Psalm 119:18

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

Below is an example of how you can thank God after completing your Bible study. If you lead or teach the Bible study, this is an example of a prayer you can pray for the people you are teaching. If you are one of the attendees, you can look at this prayer as an example of what to pray:

Father in heaven, all knowledge, understanding, and wisdom come from You alone. Spirit of truth, I thank You for leading me to the truth and helping me comprehend it. All the knowledge and understanding that I have of Your Word is because of Your grace and mercy upon me, gracious God. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Of course, knowledge and understanding about God’s Word alone are not enough. While that is important, we also have to apply what we have learned in our lives. That is why you should also pray for the grace to apply what you have learned. But why is that important? The apostle James writes in his letter that we are not just to hear the word of God, but also to live it. He describes someone who hears God’s Word but does not heed it as someone who deceives himself. When he reads God’s Word, he knows that God is addressing something in his life and that he should act on it, yet he disregards it. The Bible or God’s law is like a mirror. Like any mirror, we use it to see if something is wrong in our lives. If we know that we sin and it goes on without any change, we are deceiving ourselves. For example, if you studied God’s Word that tells you to love and forgive your enemies, you must act on it and apply it in your life. Knowing is not enough. We have to apply it. 

Luke 11:28

But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

James 1:22-27

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

That is how you pray for God’s Word, not just to remain in your head as knowledge, but to be translated into applications in your life:

Merciful Father, it is through Your grace and mercy alone that one can live their life how it ought to be in Your eyes. I pray for the grace to know about Your Word and apply it in my life. Help me that my theology will also be evident in the way I live my life and that my knowledge of you will translate into me living a life of obedience towards You—all through Your grace, Father. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Another thing that you can include in your prayer as you end the Bible study is praying that You will always meditate on God’s Word day and night. Of course, that includes meditating on the biblical truths that you discussed during the Bible study. We cannot apply something that we don’t continue to ponder. 

Psalm 119:9

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Psalm 119:11

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalm 119:105

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Here is how you can pray to constantly meditate on God’s Word and remember it always:

Holy Spirit, you are our helper who leads us into all truth and commits it to our memory. I pray that I will never forget about the things I have learned and that You shall always hold them in my mind, especially in times that I need to be reminded of them. Help me to meditate on them day and night, so that the delight of my heart shall always be on the Scriptures. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Lastly, you can pray for the Word of God that you just discussed and learned about to renew your mind. Reading God’s Word and studying it is very important for those who seek a renewed mind. The Bible tells us that we are not to conform to the patterns of this world. Instead, we must have our minds renewed by the Word, and not operate how the world works. We will only know how we ought to live our lives and what we are to conform to when we read God’s Word and meditate on it. The power of the Holy Spirit changes our minds and even our desires so that we may become more godly.

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

This prayer is an example of praying for God’s Word to renew Your mind:

Holy Spirit, you are the one who works in me and produces righteousness in me. It is only Your work that produces fruit in my life. I pray that as I meditate on the Scriptures, day and night, it shall renew my mind and change the desires of my heart, so that the thoughts I think are godly and righteous. All of these are works of Your grace in me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Studying God’s Word is not done just for the sake of studying God’s Word and increasing our knowledge. We are meant to apply it in our lives, meditate on it day and night, and let it renew our minds. That is why we ought to pray to God for those things, not just as we end our Bible studies, but also during our devotional time with God where we read His Word.