On Bended Knee

So if you know me, I love to review a good bible study and I love being on launch teams!

And this spring I got to do that TWICE.

The first was on Crickett Keeth's On Bended Knee. 

This is one of the very few bible studies I've come across that tackles prayer like this. She doesn't focus on one specific prayer or one specific person but she covers many prayers across both the Old and New Testament. 

So above you'll see the Table of Contents where each week the author takes on a new prayer and guides us through that prayer. 

She starts off with THE prayer by Jesus (you know the one: Our Father....). 

Then we go into intercessory prayer by Paul in Ephesians (and even get to cover one in Colossians). Next is Job's prayer in his despair and Hannah's prayer as she was longing to have children (the prayer that brought forth Samuel). 

By week 5 we get to David's prayer in the Psalms of Lament where we find how to be sad & hurting and yet still trust God to be God. 

Then there's Asa's prayer who was seeking God and trying to turn the people towards God. 

Then Jehoshaphat, Asa's son and the monarch after him, who is depending on God for his decision making.

And we end the study with Nehemiah whose prayer was very bold, especially for someone still in captivity in Persia. 

Then at the end, there's this section with MORE prayers found in the bible that we can study and replicate in our own prayer time: Jacob, Moses, Solomon, Elijah, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra, as well as others by David and Paul.

And if you choose to do this study in a group there's also a leader's guide in the back.

I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed this book when I read over it during the launch and even more so now that I am taking my time going through it, studying the prayers and praying them over friends and family. I highly recommend as a good study on prayer that's not warfare praying (which is not covered in this study).

{FYI: I did receive this book for FREE as a member of the launch team.}

Kingdom Prayer

Prayer. An ever-important topic in Christian life and highly important discipline in the Christian life. There are so many books on what prayer is and how to do it. 

But most people treat prayer like a honey-do list or like they are making wishes. I know at one point in my life I was too. There was a time when I said what I wanted to happen. Then, I would get up and kept going with my day. I never once stopped to see what God had to say back. But prayer is so much more than that.

In this book from 2016 (yes I am late reviewing), Dr. Tony Evans seeks to exhort the reader to change our approach to prayer. Prayer is a humbling experience in approaching God. Dr. Tony Evans puts it like this, "If you want to know the temperature of your spiritual life, check the thermostat on your prayer life." This is crucial and takes me right to Revelation 3:16 when the Lord says because you are neither hot nor cold but lukewarm. The Lord speaks in terms of temperature when it comes to our walk in following Him. 

So there are 16 chapters in this book broken down into 3 sections. 

The first section is on the concept of prayer, what prayer is. If you have no clue what prayer is or why it is important then you want to start there. There is authority and access that comes with prayer. There is a relationship with God that comes with prayer. And prayer has to be persistent. It's not something you do as a one-off or as a last resort. 

In the second section, we delve into the context of prayer, which is why we are praying. Oftentimes the only way to make it through certain circumstances and situations is through consistent prayer and communing with God.

But then comes section 3, where the heavy lifting is. See we don't mind praying, but we don't want to give up anything but sometimes a response or an answered prayer only comes through fasting while you're praying. And this section gives us clarity on fasting in this context as well as understanding other conditions for prayer. For example, chapter 14 guides us in having pure intentions with our prayer. 

This book here is a MUST have. This is one of those resource books that may be read more than once and will definitely be highlighted through.

{FYI, I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.}

Settle My Soul....a Pressing Pause Devotional

This is my second devotional authored by Ruth Schwenk. This, however, is co-authored with Karen Ehman (currently a writer & speaker with Proverbs 31 ministries).

This is one of those devotionals that you completely enjoy and devour. That you sit and linger in because of the daily journaling prompts to respond. And it is completely beautiful. The theme like the previous one (and The Better Mom Devotional) is floral. It's a hardback book with a nice ribbon bookmark (never realize how much I use bookmarks until I come across a book/bible without the ribbon already in it).

There are 100 devotions with each author writing 50 devotions. They trade off First Karen then Ruth and going back and forth for the rest of the devotional. Rest and indulging in Jesus, kindness and disappointment are some of the many topics discussed. Each devotion starts with Scripture and ends with a prayer as well as a journal prompt along with journaling space to write in the book. I enjoy these devotions greatly because there is enough to chew on. I also greatly enjoy the journaling prompts and lined space to write. I enjoy their different yet similar writing styles. I also enjoy the differing perspectives offered (as Karen has been married longer with older children than Ruth). It feels like the cover both the older mom and younger mom demographics.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

(FYI: as always I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my HONEST opinion.)

Morning and Evening Prayer Book

This is my first time ever reviewing a prayerbook and I couldn't be more thrilled. It is meant to last the entire year and it has prayers to start the day and end the day. The prayers come from throughout history. There are Old Testament prayers and New Testament Prayers. There are prayers from the Eastern Orthodox church, prayers from the catholic church, prayers from Martin Luther, from Spurgeon. There are prayers from just about every walk of the Christian faith and every era of the Christian faith. And its amazing. It's refreshing and invigorating to pray the prayers of those before us. To have that as a inspiration towards more personal & intimate prayers. And THAT is the purpose of the book.

This book comes as a beautiful deep purple hardback, with a ribbon marker. The paper is fairly thick parchment. It doesn't feel like your usual book paper. Rather it lends an air of ancientness to the book as if to set it apart from any other book you may pick up. The parchment reminds me of what I think a book from hundreds of years ago might be like.  There are also pictures throughout the book, they're usually found depicting an event on the Western Church Calendar (many of the daily prayers follow along with the Church Calendar). Something super helpful to me as I have decided to follow along with the church calendar this year (starting with Advent 2018).

I highly recommend. Especially for those who may struggle to pray. Some days there is no struggle for me to pray and other days I need the assistance.

Below are a few excerpts:

{FYI: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.}

The Better Mom Devotional

The is the devotional follow up to Ruth Schwenk's novel The Better Mom (my review on it here) named after her blog, The Better Mom. And I must say it is quickly becoming my favorite devotional! It literally speaks to my often overwhelmed, sometimes weary mom heart. That part of me that questions just how well am I doing at this job. 

And on top of that, it is insanely beautiful. It comes as a hardback which means...longer lasting quality. HUGE plus. And the pages are of great quality, they're heavy enough to be read and turned many times without worrying about them ripping so easily. 

Each day starts with a bible verse/passage and ends with a prayer prompt and questions for pondering that I use as daily journal prompts. There are exactly 100 devotions, so that's just over 3 months of devotions.

Below are a few shareable images: 

THIS is one of the main themes of this devotional.

This is an often prayer of mine, that we are acceptable representatives of Christ in all we do & say. That people want to join His family when they interact with mine and feel God's love in action.

This one is such a HUGE truth that we have to remember daily as moms and wives. We are supposed to be a gift to each other AND an example to the WORLD of Christ's relationship with His bride, the church

God's Blessings Day By Day

If you knew me personally and could view my home bookshelf, then you'd know I love kids devotionals. Why? Because usually, kids have a shorter attention span, so giving them the Word in nuggets each day works SO much better and easier until their attention spans get longer and they're ready for full on bible studies.

So a couple of things to note about this devotional. First, it is of course for kids. Second, it is a compilation of devotionals written by people from around the country. There are 52 weeks of devotions, with devotions for Monday-Friday and then one for the weekend of each week. Each devotional starts with a focus bible verse, which can be easily used as a daily memory verse (make it fun with treats or rewards for actually memorizing) and then has the actual devotional. Ending each devotional with a prayer or praise prompt.

This book is hardback with solid pages, not too thick yet not too thin that they'd easily rip.  I definitely recommend this for kids, up to around 9 years old. After that, it may seem babyish to them and they may require a pre-teen devotional.

(FYI: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my HONEST OPINION.)

The Unexplainable Church

The Unexplainable Church, the second bible study by Erica Wiggenhorn on the Book of Acts. This one covers Acts 13-28. It covers what happened to the church! And this is a big deal because we are to live this out daily, so what better way than to study what happened with the church and how God grew them and used them for His glory to further spread the Gospel around the world. The study is ten weeks long with specific questions and reading for five days.

(table of contents)

In the first week, you will go back into the earlier part of Acts (mind you this Bible study is a continuation from an Unexplainable Life Acts 1-12) and read on the forming of the church as well as Paul's conversion because that plays a huge part in early church history.

I really enjoyed this book because it's Scripture driven and centered. It seeks to help us understand and interact with God's Word. Not in it being focused on us (because the Bible may APPLY to us it is not about us) but in its actual context. And by helping us to understand God's Word, Erica helps us to connect with God through His Word. Oftentimes we are called to pray God's Word and speak it back to Him, but how can we do that if we do not know it? So we must study.

Hugely recommend this book as well as its predecessor, An Unexplainable Life, to study your way through the book of Acts.

{FYI: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my HONEST opinion.}

The Daniel Key

So here is Anne Graham Lotz's latest book. I was quite excited to dig into this book and completely devoured it. It is my first time reviewing a book by Anne Graham Lotz.

I really enjoyed her writing style. It's not overly personal and incorporates a friendly tone. The book is about 20 short chapters (160 pages). It has MANY nuggets to treasure. Each chapter is about a choice that Daniel made in his determination to remain faithful to God in spite of his circumstances. We read about his worship and faith, his forgiveness and humility. We read how daily prayer time makes a HUGE difference in our lives, even if it means going against the grain (like it did for Daniel). She points out much of Daniel's life that we can use in our own lives to strengthen our faith.

I think the main thing I dislike about this book is how she refers to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah by their pagan, Babylonian names (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) rather than referring to them by their Hebrew/Israelite names. I think if the goal is to glorify God, then we need to use their Hebrew names that identified them as belonging to God than using their pagan names, which were given in the hopes of wiping out their loyalty to God.

Other than that, no complaints whatsoever. I do recommend to others, especially those who may be struggling with identity and even discipline.

Creating a Vision Board

I see a vision board like a vision goal list. It lists the things I want to do, the things I entrust to God's capable hands. My expectations are that IF what I want to do is in God's will for me then it will happen and if it is not is God's will for me then that's perfectly fine as well. As my main goal is to be in the centre of God's will for my life, not my will or anyone else's but GOD's will. 

There are some negative connotations to the vision board and that often stems from 'The Secret' which follows the thinking that you can compel the universe to do what you want by simply visualizing it and that's not quite how it works. 

There are some things you need in order to create your vision board. First, think of the things in life you want to accomplish and entrust them to God's hand. Second, write them down (make the vision plain). Third, gather your supplies: poster board, magazines, markers, tape/glue/stapler. And lastly, create. You decide how you want to put everything up, do you have an organized way you want to put it up or perhaps you're adding as you go. There is no right or wrong way as long as it makes sense to you. Cut out photos and inspirational phrases that match your goals. Even add a prayer or two that you can pray over your goals and your tribe (your family/friends).

Check out mine below:

So this year I decided to do something I have not done in several years. Create a vision board and intentionally create goals (something I have not ever really done) for things I want to do in the future. It's nothing fancy or from Pinterest.

As you can see above, My vision board is not very large and has quite a few inspirational quotes and bible verses on it. But then there are the things I want to accomplish this year, such as ongoing on a cruise with my husband and children for our summer vacation this year. I also want to accomplish creating a stream of revenue for my family. One that is totally home-based so that after I have baby #5 this Spring I can be okay with staying home with him/her (we don't know the gender yet).

Also, you'll see my WORDs for this year: THRIVE, ENGAGE, and JOY. Most people usually stick to one word that they choose to emphasize in their life over the coming year. However, for me, I need these 3 words as they are very intentional and are related to one another. Apart of thriving and being engaged is to choose joy. I choose to be joyful in all things, no matter the circumstances and not to stress when I have a Savior who bears my burdens and offers me a lighter load of simply trusting Him.

Pocket Prayers, anyone?

How many people have trouble praying? 

Sometimes we just don't what to pray or how to pray. Or rather we run out of prayer.

The best part of this book is the variety of topics and it is small enough to be taken on the go (in a purse, diaper bag, or for men in a pocket). 

But let's say you want to pray on a specific topic, there's a topic index in the back of the book to help you go exactly to the topic you want to pray on. Each prayer also has coordinating Scripture as well.

I tend to keep this book by my bed, if for no reason than as a prompt to pray. Some days I refer to it when I want to pray on specific topic, other days I pray on my own.

What the book looks like. The cover feels like suede almost.

A peek in the book as to what one of the daily prayers look like. 

{FYI I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my HONEST opinion.}

Prayer & A.W. Tozer

The first thing to note is that this is a compilation. It is not a complete direct book written on prayer but rather a compilation of sermons on prayer. So there will be times where you will be reading a decades old sermon on prayer by A.W. Tozer and there will be times you will be reading the current day reflection from the compiler.

Note that it is not an instruction manual or guide. It is a peek into the sermons Tozer preached on prayer. The goal is to help us understand the necessity and the priority prayer should take in our lives. To help us see how prayer is not about us nor is it a singular event. 

Prayer changes us and humbles us and in effect glorifies GOD. It is us saying to GOD, I cannot do it on my own, I am in need of a savior of THE savior of Jesus Christ. My strength is no strength at all and is not enough. I need the strength of the Father. 

And that is some of what you will read from Tozer.

{FYI: I received this book from Moody Publishers, in exchange for my HONEST opinion.}

Searching the Scriptures

If you're trying to gain not only a better relationship with God but to also learn His Word, this is a book to have:  Searching the Scriptures by Charles R. Swindoll. A little background on the author: Swindoll is a teacher of the Word, and has been in the pastorate since 1963 and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS).

I enjoy that the book reads well BUT it also has "homework" which makes you use what you read and makes you practice what Charles Swindoll is teaching in this book. I will say it isn't a book to complete in a day. This is a book to savor, take a chapter a day or a chapter every two days so that you can really digest what Swindoll is teaching. I have been reading and completing the "homework" everyday in the evenings when my littles are in the bed and it has been a total eye opening blessing. Teaching and convicting my spirit on much of my personal actions, or rather lack thereof.

This is an well written and added book to my arsenal of study aids.

I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for an HONEST review.

An Unexplainable Life

So I received a new bible study in the mail. An Unexplainable Life by Erica Wiggenhorn. 

The author describes the purpose of the study as: 

"The purpose of this study isn’t simply to reiterate a message. (You can find many studies on Acts.) Our purpose is to reignite a movement of the power of the Holy Spirit in each of us individually and in our churches collectively." 

My impression of the study is that it is fairly in depth. It only covers the first 12 chapters of Acts, which is about 28 chapters long. Yet the study is 10 weeks long. There is quite a bit of author commentary in this bible study, including short stories from the author's life and background pieces relating to the reading. Each day's worth of the study is about 4 pages long. 

I haven't had the chance to finish the entire study. I won't be done until about mid-October however I did want to comply with getting the review of the study done. 

From what I have done, I believe this study has the ability to spark a move of the Holy Spirit. However I think that depends on the engagement of the person doing the study and prayer prior to sitting down with the study each week.

I personally notice that I feel that spark of the Holy Spirit when I spend time just praising Him for who He is and pray asking the Holy Spirit to show up in my study time. I also think that bible study is a necessary in life, it helps us to understand who God is and learn His character.

Front of the book.

This is the table of contents, so you can get an idea of the topic for each week of the study.

My Aids in Prayer

In light of the recent War Room movie many of us are reexamining our lives especially in the area of prayer. How often are we praying and are we praying just when we are in trouble?

I think so often we tend to use prayer as a last line of defense instead of the first line of defense and as a hedge and the first line of offense.

For those of you who have not seen War Room, it is a movie that details how prayer and strategic planning. I have come across several tools for aiding in my prayer life and I thought I would share them with you.

• First is the use of a prayer journal. My journal has significantly changed over the years. It's went from my constant complaining and whining to me actually praying and usually when I do start to whine the Lord tends to correct my thinking and cause me to repent before I'm even done writing. I also write down people that I am praying for, usually just their name and a quick note on specifically what I am praying.
• Mark Batterson's Draw the Circle, a 40 day Prayer Challenge. It reads like a devotional with a prompt to pray each day, specifically. The point is to "draw a circle" around the people and things that are important to you. Batterson tells of how he led prayer on a corporate level with his church based on Scripture and I think it is something that we can definitely use in our personal prayer lives. The number 40 is significant because it is the number of years the Israelites spent in the wilderness and the number of days Jesus spent in the wilderness. 
• Jennifer White's article 9 prayers for your War Room. I've actually prayed these prayers and written them down in my prayer folder. 
• My prayer folder. I've read of people who have said they did not have the space to create an actual prayer room or prayer closet. And I totally understand! I have no extra closets or rooms in my house. We have a three bedroom home and readying to welcome our fourth child. So that should give you an idea of the amount of extra space we actually have. Every nook and cranny is needed. So I created a prayer folder. I use it to hold the prayers that I have written that I plan to post when I do have the space for a prayer closet.. And to contain my strategy for prayer on how I pray.
• There are also several reading plans on the YouVersion bible app that can aid in helping you see the importance of prayer in the bible. I'm doing both War Room- The Overflow Devo and Prayers of Jesus reading plans. They are short reading plans (6 days & 5 days respectively). When I'm also doing other bible studies (whether working through them or writing them) I try to keep it light and not too long on the reading plans. 

So what are your aids in prayer? Share them below!