This summer, our women’s ministry book club met and discussed the book Fervent by Priscilla Shirer. We love the reflection, community, comradery, accountability, and friendships that come from reading books together. As most book clubs come to a close on their study of Fervent, we want to look back on what we learned. Our blogs these past few weeks have gone with many of the chapters from Fervent. I am going to recap the prayer strategies we worked on and attach links to the blog posts that go with each strategy. If you haven’t taken the time to read these blogs yet- do it!
“Listen to me. Nothing - nothing! - is too far gone that your God cannot resurrect it. Even your cutting edge. So go to Him to get it back. Don’t try to regain it yourself. Don’t set your hopes on other people or circumstances to fuse it back into the fiber of your being. Trust it into God’s care. Only His miraculous work can make it bubble back up to the surface where it belongs. And He is more than willing to do it.” -Priscilla Shirer, pg. 34
“I’d been learning what to do in a battle with the Enemy. I FOUGHT BACK! I went to praise in prayer, because Satan can’t stand to be where Jesus’ name is being honored. I refocused on what I knew was true about the Good Shepherd instead of doubting His love for me. I asked for help to listen to the voice of my loving Shepherd knowing that, whatever life circumstances came, He’d promised to never leave or forsake either me or my young family.” -Gayle Hadden
Your Identity
“I’m forced to remind myself that those flaws and weaknesses the enemy is hell-bent on accentuating are not more important or powerful than the strengths and resources I now have in Christ.” -Priscilla Shirer, pg. 66
“A prayer I have found myself praying often is, ’God, I know you love them more than I do. So, please, reach them.’ It is simple, but it is true. He loves my people more than I do, which seems impossible sometimes.” - Kara Kilman
Your Past
“In prayer, you are alone with a God who sees you only as you are and have always been since that beautiful moment when you placed faith in Him– holy, righteous, and blameless; past, present, and future. He forgives your guilt, removes your shame, and declares His work an established, all-the-time fact.” -Priscilla Shirer, pg. 98
“In fervent prayer, we discover something: Our God is fearless. And because He is fearless, we can be fearless too. When His presence is with us and going before us, no Red Sea should faze us or give us pause.” -Priscilla Shirer, pg. 113
“You are not beyond redemption or the love of Christ. You are seen by Him, you are loved by Him, you are forgiven by Him, and you are not alone in your story. Jesus came to Calvary because He knew we could not scrub off our own sin in the tub. He came to die so that we may live forever pure in His eyes, redeemed.” - Kaitlin Frost
“Few things hold the potential to so drastically alter the landscape of your life as when you claim godly authority over the insane amount of unnecessary pressures you face. Be ready to see your eyes opened as you close them in prayer. One day soon a whole new kind of woman is going to be emerging from that prayer closet. A free one. A rested one. A contented one.” -Priscilla Shirer, pg. 149
“I had a choice that day on whether I would obey God’s Word or not. I chose to obey. By an act of my own will and by the power of the Holy Spirit in me, I was able to forgive those that had caused me so much pain. The result of that act of obedience was amazing.” -Debbie Jourden
Your Relationships
“The magnet that draws other people out of darkness toward the light and hope of Jesus Christ is so often not the A-B-C evangelism presentation they hear but the one they see - the recognizable change & difference in people who claim to be at peace with God themselves. Friends who forgive, sisters in Christ whose relationship is an inspiration, husbands & wives who clearly love each other with a passionate sense of loyalty and unity, churches & denominations that are known for celebrating their commonalities more than arguing about their differences - those are the kind of people who best entice others out of their loneliness, pain, and despair to seek their own peace with God through Christ.” -Priscilla Shirer, pgs. 174-175
If you participated in a book club this summer, what prayer strategies stood out most to you and how have you incorporated them into your lives? How has your prayer life changed this summer?
Meet the author!
Becca Walker is the co-founder of Metro Youth Theatre of Oklahoma. She also works part time at Council Road as the Women’s Ministry Assistant/Worship Coordinator. She is an enneagram three who really likes to keep busy and try new things. She and her husband, Brennan, love to serve in the church that they call home. Becca’s main loves are her family, her pups Wrigley and Rizzo, Old Navy, and of course, the incredible community at Council Road Baptist Church.