Omartian - 30 Days to Becoming a Woman of Prayer

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture verses are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota

Cover photo Bigstock / Luna Vandoorne

Author photo Michael Gomez Photography

THE POWER OF A PRAYING is a registered trademark of The Hawkins Childrens LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the federally registered trademark THE POWER OF A PRAYING.

30 DAYS TO BECOMING A WOMAN OF PRAYER

Previously published as The Power of a Praying Life

Copyright 2010 by Stormie Omartian

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Omartian, Stormie.

30 days to becoming a woman of prayer / Stormie Omartian.

p. cm.

Rev. ed. of: The power of a praying life. c2010.

ISBN 978-0-7369-5362-7 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5365-8 (eBook)

1. PrayerChristianity. I. Omartian, Stormie. Power of a praying life. II. Title. III. Title: Thirty days to becoming a woman of prayer.

BV210.3.O54 2013

248.3'2dc23

2012042175

All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the L ORD , thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

J EREMIAH 29:11-13

Contents

W e are all trying to make our life work. And while we dont always know for sure when its working, we definitely know when its not.

When your life is working, that doesnt mean everything is perfect. It means you are in a place of peace with God, and you know without a doubt that you are in His hands and He will not desert you, leave you hanging off a cliff, or fail to be with you in challenging, difficult, or tough times. When your life is working, you have a deep and abiding certainty that things are going to work out for good in your future, no matter what is happening today. That means even when something goes wrong, you know you have access to a power that can make it right again. That power only comes from one sourceGod. And He has certain specifications for tapping into it. When we live according to those specificationsthe way He wants us to liveour life works.

We all desire stability and consistency in our lives. Its not good enough to live by chance or luck. That is too unpredictable. We want to know we can count on having the ability to make right choices. We will never have the peace we desire if our life is not progressing well because we didnt have the wisdom to make good decisions. We want to be able to avoid doing anything stupid that will bring undesirable consequences. We want to have an ongoing awareness of our purpose and a sense of hope about our future. But where do we get that sense of purpose, hope, peace, wisdom, stability, and consistency? It comes from God. In order to achieve this in our lives, we must connect with God in a deep and powerful way. We cannot enjoy freedom, wholeness, or true success without this vital connection.

What Is True Success?

You were not created to live in bondage, brokenness, or failure after failure. You have been put here to live a life of God-given power, purpose, and accomplishment. God wants you to live in true freedom, true wholeness, and true success.

True freedom doesnt mean freedom to do whatever you want. It means being liberated by God from anything that keeps you from doing what He wants. It means being free to become more like the Lord every day so you can live the life He created you to live and become all He created you to be. It means getting free of the restrictions, fears, false beliefs, and negative emotions that keep you from moving in to all God has for you.

True wholeness means having all the brokenness of your life put back together in a lasting way that allows you to become a whole person. It doesnt mean you are perfect, but rather that the Lords perfection can shine in you and work through younot only for your benefit but also for the benefit of others. When anything in your life is broken, God can mend it and make it like new again. The presence of Gods holiness can make you whole.

True success is the kind of success God has for you. His ways are different from the worlds. Too often when people think of success, they envision being rich and famous. Or being at the top of whatever they do. But true success is not about wealth, fame, and worldly accomplishment. True success is knowing who you are in the Lord and never violating that. Its trusting that God has a good future for you, no matter how things appear at the moment. Ive known too many wealthy, famous, and accomplished people who were miserable because they chased after a selfish dream of their own making. I have witnessed the emptiness of a life lived totally for oneself, and there is nothing truly successful about it. That doesnt mean wealth, fame, and accomplishments are all bad. If you are doing what God has called you to do and the Lord blesses you with those things, then they are good. And you can enjoy that kind of success as long as you are using part of what God gives you to help others.

True success doesnt mean you never have problems. It means whenever you go through a difficult time you have a deep sense that God is with you and will bring you out of it or through it successfully. It means you see the hand of God in your life, and you acknowledge His presence and His touch with a grateful heart.

True success means you have an understanding of the ways of God and the heart of God, and you find great pleasure in honoring Him by living according to His laws and His ways.

True success means living in close contact with God throughout each day and finding everything you need in the Lord and from the Lord. Its having a deep inner peace because you know God is on your side and always there for you. Its believing God is greater than anything you face and trusting that His power can positively affect every situation that threatens you. Its knowing in your soul that no matter what problem comes along, God has a solution, a way out, or a way through. Its unwavering faith that your prayers are heard by God and He will answerin His way and His time. Its sensing the love of God in your life and being able to extend it to others in the manner He wants you to. Its trusting that God has the answer to every question you have, and so you stop obsessing over your questions and start trusting His answers.