Fervent
By Priscilla Shirer
Reviewed By: Ashley Davis
Has your prayer life grown stale? Are you repetitively, passionlessly bringing the same list of needs to God each day? Are you ready to arm yourself against the attack of the enemy? Then Fervent should be the next book on your to-be-read list. The back cover synopsis describes Fervent as “a hands-on, knees-down, never-give-up action guide to practical, purposeful praying.” Just the refresher from this review makes me want to reread this one RIGHT now.
For those looking for ideas for using this book with groups, we studied Fervent with the ladies at our church several years ago and kicked off the study by watching War Room (the leading role is played by the book’s author, Priscilla Shirer). To learn more about the movie, watch the trailer.
This book begins with a declaration, a declaration of war against the enemy. We Christians are not interested in glorifying what the enemy is attempting to do, but we can’t ignore that he and his evil forces exist (Ephesians 6:12). The introduction lays out the basic strategy of prayer and ten different areas of life where we can formulate focused strategies for prayer. Shirer also takes times in the introduction to make sure readers have an appropriate view of the enemy with facts like these: the enemy is not omnipresent, he can’t read minds, he’s an illusionist, and he’s running out of time. She includes some simple prayer guides to get readers started on their journey, including a couple acrostics.
As I mentioned, each chapter of the book focuses on a specific strategy area for prayer. The strategies focus on the following topics: your passion, your focus, your identity, your family, your past, your fears, your purity, your pressures, your hurts, and your relationships. Each chapter begins with the phrase “If I were your enemy” and goes on to describe a method the devil may take to destroy the area of your life focused on in that chapter. What follows this statement is the real truth about the enemy, God, and what the Word says is true about the reader. Each chapter concludes with a call to prayer and several verses the reader can use to drive and supplement their prayer time. The book concludes with an “Amen” chapter, a few pages for notes, and some perforated notecards to help kick off your intentional, fervent prayer journey.
Here are a few quotes I liked from Fervent:
“We pray because our own solutions don't work and because prayer deploys, activates, and fortifies us against the attacks of the enemy” (14).
“Passion is the fuel in the engine of your purpose” (26).
“Instead of convicting you for the purpose of restoration, as God's Spirit does, he [Satan] condemns you for the purpose of destroying, humiliating” (28).
“… there is something you can’t see working underneath the surface, controlling and manipulating what you can” (41).
“Truth – God's standard and viewpoint about us—must come first in our hearts and minds if we want to be effective in battle against the enemy. We need to put it on as our foundational garment and then reorient everything else around it” (62).
Audience:
Women, 16+; The age appropriateness of this book will depend greatly on the maturity of the teen reader.
Usefulness Rating:
Fervent is super practical and useful. It gives insight into how to better use all the tools (the Bible first and foremost) we have at our disposal to fight against the enemy and his schemes.
Entertainment Value:
If you want some entertainment, watch the War Room movie!
Good for Groups:
I would recommend this book for groups, though how precisely you would structure its use would be very individual since it doesn’t come with discussion guides and the like.
To learn more about Priscilla Shirer, you can visit her website.
For more information about this book or other reading suggestions, feel free to contact me directly.
