Stormie Omartian - A Book of Prayers for Young Women

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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Cover by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cover illustrations Thinkstock

A BOOK OF PRAYERS FOR YOUNG WOMEN

Copyright 2013 by Stormie Omartian and Paige Omartian

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-5360-3

ISBN 978-0-7369-5361-0 (eBook)

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.

My teens and twenties were the most difficult years of my life. And they didnt have to be. But I didnt know that then. I made a lot of wrong choices and paid a heavy price for them because I didnt know how to navigate my circumstances. I thought things just happened to me and I had no control over them. But nothing could be further from the truth.

I lived with depression, anxiety, fear, hopelessness, and constant problems that I struggled to overcome or tried to hide. I now know that those early years can be inspiring, fun, and productive, and become the foundation for a life of purpose and success. That foundation is laid in a relationship with God through Jesus, His Son, and in communication with Him through prayer. I didnt discover all that until I was 28 years old and wanted to end my life because I couldnt live with the pain I felt any longer. But a friend took me to meet her pastor and he led me to the Lord.

Since that time I have come to understand who God is and what He wants to do in our lives. And He wants to do far more than we think. Now I want everyone to know God. I want to help people walk closely with Him by learning to pray. I want as many people as possible to understand how the amazing power of prayer affects not only their own lives, but also the lives of other people and situations.

I have written over fifty books on prayer but I have not written a prayer book specifically for young women until now. And it has long been on my heart to do so. But now I have the perfect writing partner for this book. When I first met Paige, it was before I even dreamed she would become my daughter-in-law. I was immediately impressed by how she, at such a young age, was wise beyond her years. She was nineteen at the time and had survived a traumatic near-death experience at eleven years old. In that experience God gave her a new perspective on life and the desire to help others in her generation gain that same perspective without having to go through a traumatic experience themselves. She is a great example of how God uses the difficult things in our lives for good.

Paige had recorded an album that my son, Christopher, produced. That is how he met her. She was also working on a television show for young people and through that I saw that she is an excellent communicatorvery natural, passionate, and heartfelt. When I told her she should write a book about her amazing life experience she said she had already started writing it. She let me read what she had written, and I thought it was excellent and needed to be published. I recommended her to my publisher, Harvest House Publishers, and they agreed that she was writing something that must be read by young people everywhere. The result is her book Wake Up, Generation . If you have not read it, I highly recommend that you do for I know it will inspire you to great things in your life. It did that for me.

After that book came out, Harvest House Publishers asked Paige and me to cowrite this book of prayers for young women because we each have a specific perspective that we bring to it. We each have written seventy-two prayers. I have written mine from the standpoint of a mentor to you. These are prayers I wish I had known to pray when I was your age because I could have spared myself so much grief. But I can now give them to you so you will have the benefit of that knowledge and experience without having to pay the price I did for not knowing. Paige knows what the specific needs of your generation are and the situations and challenges that you uniquely and commonly face today. She applies that knowledge to her prayers along with a passionate concern for the men and women of her generation. Paige has a tremendous heart for the Lord because she has faced the enemy of death and by the power of God has won. She can help you face the challenges of your life and win too. As you read on, I know you will love and appreciate her as I do.

The first time I met Stormie was when she came to dinner with her son, Chris, and me at our favorite Japanese restaurant. I had heard many great things about her, but had no idea how great until I met her. Stormies presence and spirit instantly made me feel loved, safe, and like I had known her for years. There was hardly a pause in our conversation the whole night, except when we absolutely had to chew. One of the things that struck me that night was the way that she would humorously make light of herself, revealing a captivating humility that I adored. I couldnt believe the way my heart felt at home.

Chris and I married on November 11, 2011, and it was truly the most profound and incredible day of my life. Not only did the Lord so graciously give me the man of my dreams whom Ive prayed for my whole lifebut He gave me an amazing family along with him! I cannot believe Gods goodness to me. Now that Stormie is my second mom, Ive had the privilege of witnessing what a woman of God she is daily. Even when shes finishing her latest book, preparing for a speaking event, and keeping her own household running, she still remembers an item I once mentioned I needed and calls to let me know shes found it and its being delivered. There are not many people who care about others the way she does. I believe this is a huge reason why her books have been so successful and powerful. She truly cares about you.

When Stormie called me a few months ago to let me know that Harvest House Publishers would like us to write this book together, my end of the phone line went silent. To say that I was intimidated to write this book with her is an understatement. Stormie has written more books than I can count and is known for the beautiful and life-changing way that she leads people to deepen their walk with the Lord in prayer. While God has done miraculous things in my life and allowed me to have my first book published, theres no need to explain the difference between our experience and positions. Though I had no idea what I had to offer, I felt like God was calling me to accept and journey with her in the writing of this book. I trusted that God knew my inadequacies far better than I did and would provide!