Praying God's Word by Beth Moore
"Praying God's Word" by Beth Moore is a spiritual guide that focuses on overcoming emotional and mental strongholds that can impede believers from experiencing a fulfilling life. Moore, a prominent Bible teacher and author, emphasizes the power of prayer and Scripture as essential tools for combating these strongholds, which include pride, insecurity, addiction, and depression. Central to her message is the belief that many struggles are rooted in the mind and that Scripture can provide the necessary weapons to combat these internal battles.
The book is structured around various strongholds, with each chapter dedicated to exploring a specific issue, offering insights and practical advice drawn from Moore's experiences and observations. Each chapter concludes with "scripture-prayers," designed to help readers engage in direct communication with God while addressing their struggles. Moore's narrative intertwines personal anecdotes, biblical exegesis, and community testimonials, making it an accessible resource for individuals and Bible study groups alike.
In addition to personal empowerment through prayer, Moore underscores the importance of recognizing spiritual warfare in contemporary life, positing that believers are increasingly challenged by negative influences. The overarching theme of slavery versus freedom is prevalent throughout the text, as Moore encourages readers to break free from the bondage of their struggles and embrace the redemptive power of God's love. This work has resonated with many, evidenced by its sustained presence on best-seller lists since its publication.
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Praying God's Word by Beth Moore
First published: Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 2000
Genre(s): Nonfiction
Subgenre(s): Guidebook; handbook for living
Core issue(s): Daily living; guidance; prayer; self-control; spiritual warfare; trust in God; the Word
Overview
Popular Bible teacher, conference speaker, and author Beth Moore writes about powerful “strongholds” that can ensnare individual believers and consume “so much . . . emotional and mental energy that abundant life is strangled.” Early in the book, she assures readers that she herself has been released from bondage and stands as living proof of the power of “praying Scripture to overcome strongholds.” Most often, Moore argues, battles are waged not in the physical world but in the minds of believers. She sees pride, insecurity, depression, and sexual addiction as emotional responses to the lies Satan tells Christians.
Moore first explicates what will become the central Scriptural passage of her work, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, which begins
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have the power to demolish strongholds.
The “weapons we fight with,” Moore tells readers, are Scripture and prayer, and together, they are strong enough to set captives free.
Each of the book’s main chapters is organized around a lesson that describes how to overcome a particular stronghold. Moore lists fourteen: idolatry, unbelief, pride, deception, insecurity, rejection, addiction, food-related strongholds, guilt, despair resulting from loss, unforgiveness, depression, sexual strongholds, and finally, the enemy, Satan himself. While these are distinct problems, they are related; thus, some themes recur throughout the book. For example, it might be the stronghold of pride that prevents someone from granting forgiveness. Deception leads to addiction. Insecurity can come from guilt and rejection.
In each lesson, Moore describes the problem and gives examples of ways in which it can diminish the joy of life in the body of Christ. For example, in a chapter titled “Overcoming Deception,” she offers a list of common lies that creep into the thoughts of those whose defenses are weakened: “I’m worthless,” “I’ll know when to stop,” and “There’s nothing wrong with this relationship.”
After examining the nature of a particular problem, Moore outlines key passages of Scripture that address it. Some reassuring words follow, and she often relates the message of the chapter to her own life or to testimonials of her students or friends.
The final section of each chapter contains a series of “scripture-prayers,” intimate prayers that readers might use to ask for God’s aid as they seek release and comfort. Because the invitation to “pray God’s Word” is the central part of Moore’s message, the scripture-prayers represent the largest portion of each chapter and thus the book as a whole. Moore invites readers to say the words aloud and to study the Bible verses that are referenced parenthetically after each prayer. The words of prayer are meant to combat negative messages and to prepare hearts and minds for direct communication with God.
Praying God’s Word is structured so that readers can begin with any chapter, focusing only on those that interest them or reading them all in order. The mixture of scriptural exegesis, personal anecdotes, and practical advice makes it a popular title for Bible-study groups and seminars. It was a recurring title on the Christian Booksellers Association’s best-sellers list from its publication in 2000 until late 2002.
Christian Themes
Like many evangelicals—Christians who accept a literal interpretation of the Bible and who believe one must be “born again” in Christ in order to enter heaven—Moore sees events in world politics and trends in social culture as evidence of increased evil activities and thus of the imminent return of Christ prophesied in the biblical book of Revelation. For this reason, she believes that contemporary Christians will be challenged to a greater degree than ever before. Whereas previous generations of believers might have been able simply to pray for release from the bondage of addiction or other strongholds, leading up to the last days, Satan’s activity will increase and so must the arsenal of the Christians.
Moore’s teachings are informed by the presumption of a coming apocalyptic struggle between the forces of good and evil. “Just in case anyone is still clinging to a few doubts,” she writes in the chapter on “Overcoming the Enemy,” “let me assure you, the devil is real.” For Moore, the devil is an active, deceptive, and crafty force who preys on mental and emotional weaknesses and wants to keep Christians in bondage. One of the themes at work in Praying God’s Word is the idea of slavery versus freedom. It is quite possible, Moore reminds readers, to be a born-again Christian and still be overcome by powerful forces that prevent true spirit-filled living.
Another significant message not made fully clear until the end of the book is Moore’s belief in the redemptive power of God’s love. Though the early chapters and the scripture-prayers show evidence of a mature and tested faith, the last chapter connects the prescriptive teachings back to the struggles Moore alludes to early in the work. In this section, she shares obviously painful stories about her own apparent history of abuse. Though she does not give specific details of the events, she does provide examples of the ways in which the memories of those events damaged her self-esteem, her views about relationships, her moods, and even her spiritual development. In retrospect, she sees that Satan was working especially hard on her during those years because those were also the years during which she was building what would become a large, interdenominational Bible ministry. As she waged almost daily internal battles and felt like giving up (and even, she admits, killing herself), she did not realize then what was at stake. Her prayer for readers is that they learn from her lessons and find the courage to live the life that God has planned for them.
Sources for Further Study
Cowman, Mrs. Charles E. [Lettie Burd]. Streams in the Desert. Los Angeles: Oriental Missionary Society, 1925. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1999. Mrs. Cowman’s popular devotional journal (and its revised editions) has been a best-selling title for nearly a century and is an early model of books like Moore’s.
Moore, Beth. Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ a Reality in Life. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 2000. Published the same year as Praying God’s Word, this more extensive work describes the journey of transformation believers undergo as they seek union with God.
Vara, Richard. “A Victorious Life: Local Bible Teacher Builds National Women’s Ministry.” Houston Chronicle, January 8, 2000, 1. Article looks at how Moore came to be a Bible teacher and how she founded the Living Proof Ministries.