S4 Bonus | Praying During Hard Times with Best Selling Author Suzanne Eller

Nov 18

What an incredible conversation!

Today Carla sits down with multiple best selling author Suzanne Eller to talk about her new book - Prayer Starters: Talking With God About Hard Times. Suzie - as her friends call her - has such a heart to see women be transformed by prayer. She takes the overwhelm out of prayers and tells you how you can show up just as you are. Don’t let hurts, fears or doubts keep you from freely talking to God - He loves you and wants to hear what’s on your heart.

Get your copy of Prayer Starters anywhere you buy your books, or from Amazon shop here: https://amzn.to/3GeXJwF

Connect with Suzanne:

Author, Bible teacher, cohost of the More Than Small Talk podcast and host of the Prayer Starters podcast.

Website: www.tsuzanneeller.com

IG: @suzanne.eller

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Suzanne’s Motivation Behind “Prayer Starters”

Suazanne shares how, as a new believer, prayer was a bit foreign to her. She began to develop her prayer life from a desire for a formula to know how to do it!

Suzanne dug into the word and earmarked scripture that would inform her faith and began to call them “Prayer Starters” and then wrote the book outlining these prayer starters because she:

She wanted to grow in her faith.
She wanted to talk to God even more.
Wanted to empower others to connect with God through prayer, wherever they are.

Just Show Up

Prayer is a powerful thing because it is showing trust that God desires and delights in relationship with us! There’s beauty and transformation in showing up in prayer, no matter how you show up.

You can show up honestly and totally raw - expressing emotion to God is prayer! Wrestling in prayer is a faith builder.

How to Stay Committed to Prayer

Praying in the Face of Disappointment

How do we keep praying faithfully when we don’t see our prayers answered?

Suzanne points to Hebrews 12, and those who had faith for fulfillment of promises beyond their lifetime. Remember to look to the character of God as you consider His promises in tandem with your prayer life, and your outlook will be transformed from disappointment to expectancy. Practice trusting in the word “unfolding” instead of “unanswered”.

Remember that trusting the character of God in our prayer life keeps us in His perfect will.

Praying in the Face of Shame

Shame often works to hold us back from prayer and connection. Suzanne points to the prodigal son and the role his father played in meeting him in his shame and how God does the same for us.

Praying Continuously

We are called to prayer continuously - so how do we stay in a posture of prayer? It begins with understanding that God is with us ALWAYS, no matter the circumstance, then prayer moves from ritual to relationship. It’s about seeking God, responding to the invitation to abide. Prayer can exist ANYWHERE. Again, it’s about showing up - starting with being intentional, and then abiding in that.

God is as close as a whisper.