Displaying a Passionate Intensity

fer·vent 

1. having or displaying a passionate intensity.

A little over two years ago, my husband lost his Grandmother. Mama Nell was 92 when she went home to be with the Lord. My husband had the divine opportunity to be beside her, holding her hand and ushering her into the arms of Jesus. I only had the privilege of knowing her for a few short years before she was called home, but those few years I did know her, she left an impact on me that I will never forget.

See, I met my husband in August of 2007. We had a very quick, whirlwind romance and were married in April of 2008. A lot happened during our eight-month courtship, but the thing that still stands out the most to me is the first time I met Mama Nell. I had already “jokingly” been told that her opinion of me was one of the ones that mattered most so I was nervous. When we arrived at her house and I shook her hand, she smiled up at me and with a sense of divine, holy knowledge simply said, “I have been praying for you for 26 years.”

I don’t remember what else we talked about that day at her house. I don’t remember what day it was or what we did afterward. That statement, however, stuck with me. Over the course of the coming months and years as a part of their family, I learned that what she said that day, she meant with an intensity and an honesty that I had never known before. She had really prayed for me for 26 years. She may not have known me by name, but pray for me she had.

Those words have stuck with me in the almost 10 years that my husband and I have been married. A little over two years ago, after the release of the movie War Room, I picked up a copy of Priscilla Shirer’s book Fervent and worked through it here on my blog with all of you. The feedback from that was enormous! After it concluded, I continued to receive emails asking if I would do a second study on it…one that people could follow in real time and ask questions, etc. After the chaos that was 2017 (with all of the politics and the mess that is our culture right now), I thought what better way to start 2018 than with a call to pray?

A lot has happened in my own life since our initial study and I’m looking forward to some new insight as we work through this book a second time. If you haven’t looked at the last study, every week we will cover one strategy from the book (which you can purchase here on Amazon). We will walk through the chapter, I will share some personal insight from my own study time and notes as well as life application in a blog post. Each chapter is full of verses to use in your own prayer life as you write out your prayer strategy and I will be including a free upload of verses that you can print out and use as you choose.

I also have a few more goodies in store and have considered very seriously doing a short YouTube video or Instagram live each week for the strategy we are covering (if this is something you are interested in leave me a comment and let me know). My own life has taken some twists and turns and been an uphill climb for these last few years and I am looking forward to digging into this book with each of you! I can’t wait to watch God do his thing!

I hope you guys are as excited as I am!

Grab your book, grab your pen and get ready to PRAY.

The 2018 Fervent Reading Plan
(posts will go live on Monday mornings at 7:30 am ET)

• January 15, 2018- This Means War & Opening in Prayer (pg. 1-24)
• January 22, 2018- Strategy One: Your Passion (pg. 25-38)
• January 29, 2018- Strategy Two: Your Focus (pg. 39-54)
• February 5, 2018- Strategy Three: Your Identity (pg. 55-70)
• February 12, 2018- Strategy Four: Your Family I/Your Marriage (pg. 71-80)
• February 19, 2018- Strategy Four: Your Family II/Your Children (pg. 81-92)
• February 26, 2018- Strategy Five: Your Past (pg. 93-104)
• March 5, 2018- Strategy Six: Your Fears (pg. 105-118)
• March 12, 2018- Strategy Seven: Your Purity (pg. 119-132)
• March 19, 2018- Strategy Eight: Your Pressures (pg. 133-150)
• March 26, 2018- Strategy Nine: Your Hurts (pg. 151-168)
• April 2, 2018- Strategy Ten: Your Relationships (pg 169-182)
• April 9, 2018- Amen (pg. 183-190)