I am so grateful to be collecting and reading all of the books in the Moody Bible Studies for Women series, as each one has proven to be a valuable gem in my library. The newest in the series was written by Crickett Keeth, and is entitled “On Bended Knee: Praying Like Prophets, Warriors, and Kings – An 8-Week Bible Study”. This book is for you (and me) if you are “dissatisfied with your prayer life, wanting to be more consistent in prayer, or looking to deepen your intimacy with God”.

Taking 8 prayers from the Bible and diving deep into an examination of the people, context, and reasons behind each one, Crickett helps us uncover new ways to pray and simultaneously deepen our relationship with God. The prayers we study include:
– Jesus: A Model Prayer (Matthew 6)
– Paul: A Prayer of Intercession (Ephesians 3)
– Job: A Prayer of Despair (various verses from Job)
– Hannah: A Prayer of Longing (1 Samuel 1)
– David: A Prayer of Lament (Psalm 25)
– Asa: A Prayer of Seeking God (2 Chronicles 14-16)
– Jehoshaphat: A Prayer of Dependence (2 Chronicles 17, 20)
– Nehemiah: A Prayer of Boldness (Nehemiah 1-2)

The book is divided into 8 weeks, each with 5 days of study. Every day has a specific set of verses to read, followed by several sections of questions, cross-reference verses to look up, and suggestions for reflection. I found that some of the questions could not necessarily be answered without looking it up in another resource such as a study Bible, and also there was not a lot of discussion from the author. She primarily teaches through question and answer format. Of course this is totally fine, just a little unexpected as some of the other books in the series are based more on the author’s teachings. This one is more interpretive by each reader, as they answer questions in their own way.

One trick I found helpful for some of the deeper questions was even though I am completing this study on my own, I would read through the leader’s guide for that section (located at the back of the book). This helped me work through a few topics that I found difficult to grasp; sometimes I had already reached the same conclusion, sometimes it encouraged me to look at things a little differently, and sometimes I disagreed and preferred my own answer! In any case, I found it helpful.

If you enjoy Moody Bible Studies for Women, or if you’ve never tried them and are simply looking to dive deeper into the prayers of some of the spiritual giants of the Bible, I recommend giving “On Bended Knee” a try. It is definitely a resource that I learned from and will refer to again over time.

I received this book courtesy of Moody Publishers, as part of a launch team initiative. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.