Opening in Prayer | Chapter 2
Fervent by Priscilla Shirer
Book Review | Pg. 9-24
Get your copy of Fervent HERE
Have you ever proposed the question why do we pray? What difference does prayer make? In a world full of choices and the free will to decide, it seems we are always chasing an answer only to end up with another inquiry. This chapter provides the answers to why we pray and how to pray.
From the start of the chapter, Priscilla starts describing a picture and its sentimental value. One afternoon while out partaking in McDonalds French fries and vanilla milkshakes she proposes a question to her grandmother, “Why she wrote down her prayers in a notebook like that?”. As someone who journals quite often, I can relate to the spoken words of her grandmother “So I won’t forget.”
Why I Journal
Journaling became a habit for me 4 years ago that I still practice to this day. Journaling has been an excellent outlet for my thoughts, emotions, motivations, desires, goals, and daily devotions. I write because it helps me remember my mountains, my valleys, and God’s grace through it all. I am always reminded of the dreams a “past me” had for the woman I am today. These pages’ showcase strength I did not know I had during times I felt weak. With every highlight, bent top corner, ink pressed indention and attached sticky tab, there’s a piece of me that marks the woman I am today.
Priscilla’s grandmother words are so understated, yet profound. “So I won’t forget.” “Forget what?” you might ask? In her own words “so you ‘won’t forget’…
• Who the real enemy is.
• The One in who your hope lies.
• What your real need and dependencies are.
• And later, the record of how God responds.”
You Can’t Fix Your Own Issues
Trying to fix your own issues will not get you anywhere at all. How do I know? Because I have attempted to do so on numerous occasions. There is a real enemy, not of flesh and blood, but an evil ruler of the unseen world with mighty powers. What makes this enemy of ours so powerful are the strategies, “the schemes, and the deceptive plots being concocted for our demise.”. He is set on making us “devalue the most potent weapons in your arsenal by strategizing against you, and carefully calculating methods to disorient and defeat you.”
Why We Must Pray
This is why we must pray. “We pray because our solutions don’t work and because prayer deploys, activates, and fortifies us against the attacks of the enemy. We pray because we’re serious about taking back the ground he has sought to take from us.”. I have been there. Trying to fix issues with my thoughts, and my plans to only have it all fall apart. I was fighting a spiritual war with physical tactics that just weren’t for the battlefield. Instead of a “Win” I was left tired and overwhelmed, drowning in my issues.
We pray because our solutions don’t work and because prayer deploys, activates, and fortifies us against the attacks of the enemy. We pray because we’re serious about taking back the ground he has sought to take from us.
Priscilla Shirer
Prayer is the fuel that drives everything. Prayer is the weapon that works—a “weapon divinely authorized for our success in spiritual warfare. Priscilla encourages us to deliberately and thoughtfully write down our prayer strategies as we journey through ten of the most usual ways the enemy strategizes against the strength of God’s woman.
- Strategy 1 – Against your passion
- Strategy 2 – Against your focus
- Strategy 3 – Against your Identity
- Strategy 4 – Against your Family
- Strategy 5 – Against your Confidence
- Strategy 6 – Against your Calling
- Strategy 7 – Against your Purity
- Strategy 8 – Against your Rest and Contentment
- Strategy 9 – Against your Heart
- Strategy 10 – Against your Relationships
Although the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), “he does
Where to Start in Prayer?
Maybe you aren’t someone who knows how to pray, or where to even start. We have all been there. Priscilla gives us a framework to help us start praying as soon as today.
P—Praise. Show your gratitude to God for who He is and what He’s already done.
R—Repentance. Expose the internal resistance where real transformation needs to occur.
A—Asking. Make your request known. Write it down.
Y—Yes. Recite God’s Word, His promises to you that correspond to your needs. “All of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’” (2 Cor. 1:20)
Until next time, no regrets no looking back now. Live in purpose.
J.Renee
