Along with the Ofudesaki and the Mikagura-uta, the Osashizu is also a Tenrikyo Scripture. The Osashizu is a written record of God the Parent's detailed directions delivered mostly in response to various inquiries posed by individuals and churches regarding illnesses, problems, and other issues that occur in everyday life. These directions informed followers on how to realign their frame of mind and conduct themselves so that they could come into accord with God the Parent's intention.

Along with the directions that God the Parent gave in response to inquiries from human beings, the Osashizu also includes talks that God the Parent took the initiative to deliver at appropriate times. Such instructions are called the "Timely Directions," or "Timely Talks." They refer to talks and specific directions that God the Parent felt were essential to deliver at certain moments in time.

In the early days, God's orally delivered directions were not all recorded. But twenty years' worth of divine directions were recorded in written form starting in early 1887 and ending in 1907, when the Honseki passed away for rebirth. These directions were compiled and published for the first time between 1927 and 1931. (Upon a re-examination of the original text, Chinese characters were added to the Osashizu, which was recompiled into seven volumes between 1963 and 1966, giving us the present revised edition of the Osashizu.)

Oyasama Herself wrote the Ofudesaki and the Mikagura-uta and both took the form of verse. The Osashizu is quite different from these two Scriptures in form and style when we consider that it consists of spoken words delivered through the lips of Oyasama and the Honseki recorded by followers around them.

While the Ofudesaki and the Mikagura-uta show us the fundamentals of single-hearted faith in God, the Osashizu instructs us on how to establish a proper state of mind and conduct ourselves accordingly in relation to the situation and time. In other words, the Osashizu can be said to be a Scripture that teaches us how to put our single-hearted faith in God into practice by perceiving the divine intention behind whatever is happening and responding appropriately to it.