I’ve been asking God to make me a woman of prayer…
Over the years, I’ve learned to talk to the Lord all day long, dialoguing with Him in prayer. But when it come to down-on-my-knees, face-in-the-rug intercession, I have to confess I fall short.
I’ve tried to analyze why that might be…Lack of discipline? Lack of passion? Lack of faith?
To be honest, it’s probably a little of all three. Intercession doesn’t come naturally to me, but I want it to.
Lately, I’ve been asking God to stir up my faith and teach me to pray. I mean, really pray!
I need the Holy Spirit to awaken my spirit so I fully engage in the hard work of intercession. Passionately and purposefully praying for the people I love and the needs of the world.
Because prayer – the “effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man” – or woman! – “avails much” (James 5:16 NKJV).
Schooled in Prayer
This past fall, God used “War Room,” to amplify the call to prayer I’d been feeling. What a powerful movie!
If you haven’t seen it, Priscilla Shirer plays Elizabeth Jordan, a successful real estate agent with a huge house, a beautiful daughter and a miserable marriage. She meets Miss Clara, an elderly woman who has a house to sell. But the relationship that develops involves much more than that.
Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it…
Through Miss Clara, Elizabeth learns how to fight the right battle with the right weapons – especially the power of prayer. “I see in you a warrior that needs to be awakened,” Miss Clara tells Elizabeth. As I watched the movie, her words resonated in me as well.
When I heard there was a companion Bible study to “War Room,” I couldn’t wait to share it with our weekly Bible studies. It would be a great way to end our study year.
War Room Bible Study
Written by Stephen and Alex Kendricks (the brothers who produced the movie) and developed by Nic Allen, the War Room Bible Study features five sessions built around clips from the movie, discussion questions, and three days of Bible study homework. Here are the session titles:
- Week #1 – Honest Evaluation
- Week #2 – Real Accountability
- Week #3 – Living the Gospel
- Week #4 – Victory Accomplished
- Week #5 – Impacted by Grace
Unfortunately, our ladies group needed a longer study than five weeks to finish our September-to-May Bible study year. What to do, what to do, I wondered?
The Armor of God Bible Study
As I was praying about it, I came across mailer for Priscilla Shirer’s The Armor of God DVD Study. I loved her fresh take on the “armor of God” found in Ephesians 6:10-19, especially when I saw how she centered the study around the often-forgotten weapon of prayer mentioned in verse 18-19:
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray.
Priscilla covers the weapons for spiritual warfare in seven sessions:
- Week #1 – Sizing Up the Enemy
- Week #2 – The Belt of Truth
- Week #3 – The Breastplate of Righteousness
- Week #4 – The Shoes of Peace
- Week #5 – The Shield of faith
- Week #7 – The Helmet of Salvation
- Week #8 – The Sword of the Spirit
All wonderful, but familiar stuff. At least that’s what I thought, until I read the back cover of the Armor of God workbook:
“This means War,” the back copy read. “All day, every day, an invisible war rages around you. A cunning, devilish enemy seeks to wreak havoc on everything that matters to you – your emotions, your mind, your family, your future.
“But his reign stops right here, right now. With you. The enemy always fails miserably when he meets a woman dressed for the occasion. A woman who is armed and dangerous.”
Wow. It matched the message of the War Room Study, and it was exactly what I’d been sensing the Lord speak to my heart. “Quit cowering, Joanna. Stand in the strength and the authority I’ve given you.”
Suddenly, I knew I’d found the answer to our dilemma. We wouldn’t do one study. We’d do two – and we’d do them at the same time!
After all, how cool would it be to watch Priscilla Shirer learn the lessons of prayer in War Room and then teach the lessons of prayer in Armor of God?
{ Click here to view promo video of the study. }
Blending Two Studies
So that’s what we’ve been doing in our Tuesday morning and Wednesday night studies, and it’s been fabulous! We’ve combined the 5-week and 7-week studies, then tightened them to the eleven weeks we needed. (See how we did it in the schedule below.)
Five weeks in, we are loving it. Though the studies weren’t designed to go together, it feels like God has dovetailed them to complement and emphasize the importance of prayer and spiritual warfare.
To lighten the homework load, we chose to only use the Armor of God workbook. But you really need to buy a copy of the War Room study guide for teaching. You’ll want to look at the two guides ahead of time to determine what approach to use with your group – one guide or both.
Here’s a schedule to show how we combined the studies and assigned the homework.
Download: { War Room & Armor of God Study Schedule }
Tips for Making a Study Fit Your Needs
As Bible study leaders, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when shopping for a study. There are so many studies to choose from – how do you begin to discern what the Lord wants you to do? And when you do find a study, it’s frustrating when it doesn’t have enough sessions – or too many sessions – so you pass it by and keep on looking.
May I encourage you with a few thoughts?
First, God has chosen you for this position and He will give you the wisdom you need. Just ask.
In fact, please, please, ASK! Whatever you do, don’t choose a study on your own. Don’t rely solely on people’s opinions or best-seller lists. Be led by the Spirit to the resources your women need. Keep your heart, eyes and ears open – God will reveal the study He has for you.
Second, let God expand your thinking and creativity.
If you feel drawn to a study, don’t discount it when it doesn’t meet all your needs. Think outside the box. There may be ways to expand or tighten the study to meet your timeline. (I’ve included ideas for that in all three of my DVD Study Leader Guides – it’s not as hard as it may seem.)
Third, let God expand the giftings in your group.
One of the sweet by-products of our current approach has been the extra time in the “War Room” weeks. We discuss our homework and the “War Room” movie clip, then one of our own ladies teach on that topic or an aspect of prayer that is precious to them.
Finally, don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
Don’t let fear keep you from doing something you haven’t done before. You may feel prompted to write a study or teach a book that’s decades old (even centuries old – for instance, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence is amazing!) If the Lord is leading you, you can trust Him to give you the wisdom and the resources you need to do it.
After all, my friend…there is a warrior inside you and each of your women waiting to be wakened. And I believe weekly Bible studies provide a perfect atmosphere for that to happen.
So go in the strength and spiritual authority God has given you – then watch what He will do! In your life as well as in the lives of the people you serve.
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I’d love to hear from you…What is your favorite Bible study, and why?