- Fervent Reading: Chapter 1: "Your Passion"
- Bible Reading: John 10:10, Ephesians 6:10-18, Colossians 1:11
- I encourage you to watch the movie "War Room" to see a modern day example of fervent prayer!
Thank you for joining the study! I wish each one of you could meet on my balcony with our group each week, but my prayer is that near or far, you will find a strength as a woman you never knew before though TOTAL dependency on the power of our God. Power that is unleashed through fervent prayer. Prayer that is spurred through fervent study of God's Word.
Notes from the study:
Introduction:
As women, mothers of small children, we are often desperate for change. For improvement in our homes. For healing. Yet, the thought of adding one more thing to our list of what we should be doing is exhausting. You can breathe. Because in this study, there will not be 10 steps to improve your life by or a standard you need to attain to. We will not be complicating our lives, but rather simplifying them. The first thing we must recognize is our need of God. We were never meant to be the strong ones. We were made to rely on the strength and the solutions of our all-powerful, sufficient Father! It is lack of prayer that has complicated our lives.
Still, there is one nagging factor we struggle with each time we are challenged to deepen our prayer life: TIME! A commodity as women that we cannot afford. It is not that we don't want to pray, but that we barely have time to even think in a day, let alone pray. I would submit that the struggle lies not in our busy schedules but in our failure to understand the value of prayer.
For example, what if a wealthy man in your town offered you ten thousand dollars in cash every morning if you simply show up on his doorstep at 6:00 am to receive it? Would you be there? Absolutely! No question. We would be grabbing our kids out of their beds, skipping breakfast, and doing whatever we had to in order to make that appointment each morning. We know the value of money. And so we figure out a way to fit it into our schedules. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is daily offering us eternal treasures from His Word and through sharing our hearts and needs with Him in prayer. He is offering us rich lives, abundant lives. Lives that proclaim His glory. And yet how often is prayer the top on our priority list for the day?
I have this quote on my board:
'Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, OH NO, SHE'S UP!'
When your feet hit the floor in the morning, what is on your mind?
- All you have to do that day?
- The troubles of yesterday?
- Fear of facing another day?
- Just getting to your cup of coffee?
- OR — ducking for cover as you make a fervent stride to your place of prayer? Knowing that if you want this day to be victorious—if you want to have joy and bring God glory—it must begin in the strength of the Lord—it must begin with a strategy...
Because, WE ARE AT WAR!
We face three enemies:
- The world
- The flesh
- The devil
And they are out to destroy you and your family.
John 10:10 begins, 'The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy.' Ephesians 6:11 says, 'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world...'
But Ephesians 6:10 says to 'be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.' And, Colossians 1:11 says that we are 'strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power.'
Without prayer, we cannot succeed in our marriages, in our circumstances, with our children. Any success we might have would be a false perception, because we would have failed in bringing God glory.
When we fail to pray, we live void of God's power and rob ourselves of the end of the verse in John 10:10, 'I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.'
Let's Get Started:
Take a prayer card out of the back of the book and write down one thing you would like to see change in your life or the deepest burden of your heart right now. Each day of this study, you will be praying for this and adding verses to the card that remind you of God's promises in this area.
Take a look at the contents page and circle the one strategy that you would put as your number one struggle.
WARNING: As you begin this study on prayer, know that you will face opposition from the devil and your flesh and be tempted strongly at your weakest point. If there is anything Satan doesn't want, it is believers praying! He knows he can defeat us, but he does not stand a chance against our God!
Chapter 1 Questions:
- What do we often attribute loss of passion too?
- What are signs of loss of passion?
- How does Satan work to dim our passion?
- Where does passion come from?
- So, how can we get it back?
- What verses at the end of the chapter did you find most encouraging?
- What practical life examples came to mind as you read this chapter?
- Anything else you learned?
Answer these questions first on your own in your notebook and then look below for the group discussion answers from the study.
Group Discussion Answers:
1. What do we often attribute loss of passion too?
busyness, tiredness
2. What are signs of loss of passion?
lack of desire to read God's Word or pray, discouragement, easily give in to temptation
3. How does Satan work to dim our passion?
He distracts us, accuses us, condemns us, making us feel guilty — unlike God who convicts us, filling us with hope and restoration
4. Where does passion come from?
God, Jeremiah 24:7 says, 'I will give them a heart to know me."
5. So how can we get it back?
PRAYER!!! The way we get passionate about praying is by praying!
6. What verses did you find most encouraging?
Lamentations 3:22-23 — one mom shared that she was reluctant to get up one morning and face the day with the kids, and then the Lord brought this verse to mind, reminding her that His mercies are new every morning.
Ezekiel 36:26 — this verse says God will give us a heart that is alive and tender again, responsive to Him
Before Next Week:
- Read Chapter 2: 'Your Focus' and take notes in your journal
- Write your chapter 2 prayer card
- Pray! (Find a quiet place and seek God each morning before you start your day. Acknowledge Him as God. Humbly seek His forgiveness if needed. Pour out your heart to Him on behalf of yourself and those you love. Thank Him for His many blessings. And, leave your prayer room having handed everything over to Him with bold faith in what He has said He will do and then watch Him do 'exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!')
Thanks for sharing this post and study. Very much appreciative of your details and thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you are enjoying the study, Karen! If you need a copy of the book, please let me know!
ReplyDeleteThis is the best prayer study I've ever done. Thank you so very much, bless you for this
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! When you are done this study, you may also enjoy the one we are doing right now:
ReplyDeletewww.asetapartstudy.blogspot.com
Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://asetapartstudy.blogspot.com/?m=1
thank you so much
DeleteHi, Am looking for the workbook printable one to help me even as i have read the book.
ReplyDeletePlease provide the link i will appreciate .
Thanks,
Shiv
Jolene, thank you for this study. I live in Spain currently and a group of English speaking women are gathering at my house to do this study. I appreciate your insight into each chapter!
ReplyDeleteJolene, thank you for this study. I live in Spain currently and a group of English speaking women are gathering at my house to do this study. I appreciate your insight into each chapter!
ReplyDeletethanks for this study. about to do the same with my women's prayer group and this is good information!
ReplyDelete