Welcome to the Digging Deeper Course

What you'll need to complete this self-study:

• Bible
• Journal or Notebook
• Pen or pencil
• Appeal to the Courtroom of Heaven: Petitions for Prisoners and Prison Families book by Shonda Whitworth

The hope I found God’s word fueled my faith. Recognizing that God takes broken, messed up lives of the humble, redeems them, and uses them for His glory fills me with hope. That's why I wrote, Appeal to the Courtroom of Heaven: Petitions for Prisoners and Prison Families.

It is my prayer that as you read, Appeal to the Courtroom of Heaven: Petitions for Prisoners and Prison Families and study the content in this course, that you will find hope and receive healing in all the places where you have been wounded.

This course follows the introduction and ten chapters in the book. If you study the introduction with session 1, this is perfect for a 10-session study.

A ten-week study allows sufficient time for digging deeper into the Word of God.

As I prepared this guide, my research revealed the number ten in Hebrew is the letter Yod. According to the website, Hebrews4Christians.com, I found the following points about Yod (ten):

·     Yod is the smallest letter and is a picture of humility.

·     The letter has a prong that points to God and a serif at the bottom, which is believed to be the “tittle” Jesus referenced in Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17. The Torah scrolls were considered invalid if the serif was missing.

·     “God delights in using the small, the weak, and the insignificant to demonstrate His glory and power. If you are brought low or of little stature in this world, you can trust that your life is important to God. Since every letter of the Torah is important, and no two letters are the same (or can be ‘touching’ or ‘malformed’) you can trust that your life is significant in the Great Torah of the universe—that is, in God’s great plan that works ‘all things together for good to those who love Him.’”

·     Yod is composed of three parts:

o  the upper tag that points toward God

o  the lower line that points to earth

o  the middle section that holds the parts together in unity

 “Yod means ‘arm’ or ‘hand’ and its form suggests a hand that is reaching toward heaven. In addition, the letter somewhat resembles a man in prayer. Here the tag suggests a crown that is given to one who is humbled before the Lord in prayer, and the bent shape suggests submission.”[1]

Since ten in the Hebrew language represents humility, prayer, and submission, I believe a ten-week study guide is appropriate to learn about prayer. 

So, let’s begin our digging deeper journey to finding hope, being restored, and learning how to effectively make our appeals to the courtroom of heaven with confidence and humility.

Comments in each section are open. Feel free to leave comments with your greatest take aways. Or ask questions further clarification or discussion.

I look forward to connection with you inside this Digging Deeper course.

Blessings in Christ –

Shonda Whitworth

© Shonda Whitworth 2021

[1] https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Yod/yod.html