Book: Fervent. (Audio Book)Author: Priscilla Shirer
Info: Copyright 2015. Nashville: B & H Publishing Group
Rating (on a scale of 1-4 stars): ✮✮✮ 1/2
Where Acquired: Library check out.
What it's about:
Shirer profiles ten prayer strategies that tackle the main areas of life
she feels the enemy is most prone to attack:
passion, focus, identity, family, confidence,
calling, purity, rest and contentment, heart, and relationships. She also details an acronym for PRAY to assist with establishing more effective prayer life:
P-Praise
R-Repentance
A-Asking
Y-Yes
Favorite Quotes:
Here’s the deal. Despite what we may or may not understand about prayer, God has deliberately chosen this particular vehicle as the one that drives His activity in people’s lives. It’s what He allows us to use to cooperate and partner with Him in the fulfilling of His will. He’s created prayer as a primary way of putting us into personal contact with Him and with His eternal realities any hour of the day or night.
Truth—God’s standard and viewpoint about us—must come first in our hearts and minds if we want to be effective in battle against the enemy. We need to put it on as our foundational garment and then reorient everything else around it.
What I liked:
The author does an excellent job narrating her own book.
Taking the strategies from the perspective of the enemy made them more applicable and more true to life.
The author put herself into this work by sharing many examples of conquered struggles from her own life. I’m not a big fan of authors who give advice or instruction who haven’t lived it out themselves.
Finally, a book on prayer that doesn’t just give an encyclopedic explanation of what it is: it gives practical instruction on how to do it!
What I didn’t like:
The introduction of the book rubbed me the wrong way. The book was good, but I wasn’t inspired by the author telling me how I should enjoy the book. Plus, considering I was reading the audio version, most of her instructions for highlighting, dog-earing, and the like don’t apply anyway.
Though the strategies are universal to anyone, the examples and prayers were very marriage centered. It seemed as if she were saying that wives, moms and singles who were pining after husband and children were the only ones worthy of fervent prayer. Don’t get me wrong, families need a lot of prayer and singles who are aimed at marriage need to go into it prayerfully. However, those not aimed in that direction seemed to be completely left out as if such women do not exist. They do. So why would they waste prayer time interceding for a husband and children they have no hope or interest of having? There are real hurting people in the present in need of prayer.
Takeaway:
Though the book is very family oriented it was very powerful. I struggle with a loss of fervency in prayer and I want to study and apply the strategies to bring back this realm of intimacy. The print version of this work will definitely be added to my personal collection in the near future.
P-Praise
R-Repentance
A-Asking
Y-Yes
Favorite Quotes:
Here’s the deal. Despite what we may or may not understand about prayer, God has deliberately chosen this particular vehicle as the one that drives His activity in people’s lives. It’s what He allows us to use to cooperate and partner with Him in the fulfilling of His will. He’s created prayer as a primary way of putting us into personal contact with Him and with His eternal realities any hour of the day or night.
Truth—God’s standard and viewpoint about us—must come first in our hearts and minds if we want to be effective in battle against the enemy. We need to put it on as our foundational garment and then reorient everything else around it.
What I liked:
The author does an excellent job narrating her own book.
Taking the strategies from the perspective of the enemy made them more applicable and more true to life.
The author put herself into this work by sharing many examples of conquered struggles from her own life. I’m not a big fan of authors who give advice or instruction who haven’t lived it out themselves.
Finally, a book on prayer that doesn’t just give an encyclopedic explanation of what it is: it gives practical instruction on how to do it!
What I didn’t like:
The introduction of the book rubbed me the wrong way. The book was good, but I wasn’t inspired by the author telling me how I should enjoy the book. Plus, considering I was reading the audio version, most of her instructions for highlighting, dog-earing, and the like don’t apply anyway.
Though the strategies are universal to anyone, the examples and prayers were very marriage centered. It seemed as if she were saying that wives, moms and singles who were pining after husband and children were the only ones worthy of fervent prayer. Don’t get me wrong, families need a lot of prayer and singles who are aimed at marriage need to go into it prayerfully. However, those not aimed in that direction seemed to be completely left out as if such women do not exist. They do. So why would they waste prayer time interceding for a husband and children they have no hope or interest of having? There are real hurting people in the present in need of prayer.
Takeaway:
Though the book is very family oriented it was very powerful. I struggle with a loss of fervency in prayer and I want to study and apply the strategies to bring back this realm of intimacy. The print version of this work will definitely be added to my personal collection in the near future.
I did this book right after War Room came out. I liked the opening for each chapter about "If I was your enemy..." It was an eye opening look at how our enemy schemes against us. Some parts of the book didn't speak to my circumstances, but it was insightful and powerful as you said. A friend and I developed a prayer binder based on it for our own use because we were so inspired....and because neither of us had a space to designate as a prayer closet.
ReplyDeleteI plan to purchase this book soon so that I can take it a piece at a time.
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