The Power of a Praying Life by Stormie Omartian guides the reader in how to practice the Christian life across as range topics (such as guilt, forgiveness, temptation, relationships, giving) through an effective and targeted discipline of prayer. The author, Stormie Omartian, shows the reader from Scripture what this looks like in practical terms.

There is only one way to find success and fulfillment: learn the power of a praying life.

We all want our lives to work out. We want everything to fall into place. But when we try to take the reins, the horse runs off the track. We try to fill the emptiness with brokenness, so we are never satisfied … because God alone can fill the gap He placed in the human heart.

Stormie Omartian understands this situation well. She experienced an abusive childhood, leaving her with scars and a great awareness of emptiness within. In The Power of a Praying Life, Omartian shows us what she learned about the power of prayer and what it can do to restore us to a fuller and more fulfilling life.

In this summary, you will learn:

  • what it means to have fellowship with the three Persons of the Trinity;
  • how to accept God’s forgiveness and gain the power to forgive others; and
  • ways to find God’s will for your life.  

Knowing the Trinity is the first step in understanding the power of prayer.

God the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit. We know these three names and titles, but do we breeze past the Trinity?

Prayer should focus on the One to whom we are praying. We must start with a desire to know God and then continue to seek Him in prayer. In the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus gave to His disciples, He tells us to address God as Our Father, who is in heaven. This tells us that first, we establish our relationship to Him, and then through prayer, we establish a relationship with Him. Other religions may offer a cold and distant god, but no other religion has the power of the One True God as our Father.

We must know God as our heavenly Father, not just the fact that He is our heavenly Father. An abandoned son, for instance, knows who his father is but does not know him as his father.

When we know who our Father is and know Him as He is, we can know better who we are.

Projecting feelings toward earthly fathers (who often fail us) onto our heavenly Father is not the right approach, even if it is a natural response. Find who your heavenly Father is, not by reflecting on your earthly father, but by digging into the Word He has given to us.

Many names belong to our Father: Emmanuel, Strong Tower, Peace, Hiding Place, Wisdom, Everlasting, and more. Each of these names shows the character of God: He guides, comforts, counsels, and delivers us – to name just a few of His roles.

In addition to knowing the Father, we must receive the gift of salvation by acknowledging Jesus as Lord. We do this by believing, repenting, and asking.

  • Believe that He died on the cross to save us from our sins – a task we could never do in our strength and one that washes away our guilt and gives us eternal life.
  • Repent of your sins, which means turning away from sin and turning toward Christ.
  • Ask for forgiveness and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life.

As a believer, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we no longer live in the flesh. We are called to live according to the Spirit, and He is at work within us and through our thoughts, words, and actions. Specifically, the Holy Spirit empowers us to pray.

At the center of a successful life is the Word of God, worship, and prayer.

The truth found in God’s Word is the only truth that sets us free. The Bible, as the Word of God, should direct our paths and lead us in righteousness. Holy men inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote the Word, through which we connect to God in a personal and prayerful way. If we want direction and clarity in our lives, we must be immersed in the Word. Only then can we be confident in our direction and decisions.

If prayer is really nothing more or less than communication with God, then praising and worshipping God is the purest form of it because its object is God alone. After all, we become like what we worship, and worshipping the God of peace, comfort, and joy makes us more like that. When we worship corporately, we join together with others in a bond of peace. God created us to worship Him, so that is when we are fulfilled.

The author had a sister who was diagnosed with breast cancer. The devastating news left the family with nothing to do but cry and pray. For the next few weeks, they prayed and cried more but did not feel like they could overcome this grief. When they met for a time of prayer in Omartian’s office, they read the Word, sang, and then prayed for two hours. After that, they felt the overwhelming presence and comfort of God. They were reminded that He alone is in control, even of that situation.

Sometimes we are tempted not to pray. Maybe we feel like we do not deserve to approach the Throne of Grace. But we must remember that because of Christ, not only can we approach the Throne of God but approach it with confidence.

At other times we feel like God will not hear us or that He must be too busy for us – or that we don’t know how to pray. Do not be afraid that any prayer is a bad prayer. If you believe that praying is how we communicate with God, then speak to Him. When it seems God has not answered your prayer, remember that He is in control. He will answer; though it may not be what you wanted, it will be what He ordained for you…

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