What Does Prayer Smell Like? Giveaway with Rachel Wojarnowski

Congrats to the winner of Holley Gerth’s giveaway.  It is……Rosey. Send your email address to my assistant at [email protected] so we can forward it on to Holley. Yay!

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Do you struggle with prayer?

I don’t mean that you, as a follower of Christ,  think it isn’t important.

I mean things I sometimes ponder like, if God is gonna do what He is gonna do anyway—being that He is all omniscient and all—then why pray in the first place? Or why at times do I pray continually only to continually get no obvious response? Is He busy? Or ignoring me? Or is He just slow? Have I done something wrong so He is refusing to answer?

If you’ve too ever wondered about the mysteries of prayer, you are gonna LOVE the new ebook by my friend Rachel Wojnarowski.

Seriously love it.

I was honored to get a sneak preview of it. (It releases tomorrow) and even more thrilled to be asked to write the forward! Now, before I ask Rachel to tell you about the book, let me tell you about Rachel.

Rachel is originally a small town country girl who converted to a suburban mother of seven by way of life happening.

She and her husband, Matt, enjoy caring for their busy family, whose ages span 9 months to 21 years and includes a special needs daughter.

Rachel leads community ladies’ Bible studies in central Ohio and serves as an event planner and speaker for special needs parenting groups.

She is a member of the Ohio Writers’ Guild and the National MPS Society; and loves to inspire others through her blog by sharing faith, family, and fun.   Wife, mom, reader, writer, speaker and dreamer, you can find Rachel on Twitter and Facebook.

Hear her heart now:

Thank you for having me over, Karen! And thank you for writing the foreword for my ebook, “The Sensational Scent of Prayer,” releasing tomorrow, May 8th!  I am thrilled to share a little about this ebook with you and your readers today.

Sometimes a book begins years before the idea of writing a book ever exists.  In this case, God began to stir my heart to write a Bible study about Hannah, the mother of Samuel, about five years ago.

Many of us know her story; after all, it takes up less than two chapters of the Bible (I Samuel 1&2).  But the miraculous power of Hannah’s prayer resonates with us because of the answer God gave her in the form of a son.  Honestly, the fact that Hannah is the only woman in the Bible to have two recorded prayers had escaped my memory when I first began to study.  And how did I miss that Hannah’s second prayer was ten verses long?

After studying Hannah’s story for almost a year, I had the privilege of teaching a summer Bible study and sharing the lessons God taught me with other women.  I cannot begin to tell you the ways God provided confirmation to me through the women that His timing is impeccable and His plan is perfect.  This study launched me into a more regular writing ministry through blogging in October 2009 and after writing out much of the study, I still felt a hunger to share more on Hannah and prayer.

On January 5, 2009, a portion of what I wrote in my prayer journal reads:

“I believe that God wants the Hannah study to be continued.”

Fast-forward to several weeks ago, more than three years later. I went out for a run and when I returned home, I told my husband that I felt the Holy Spirit impressing me that now is the time to release an ebook about Hannah. So there is the backstory to “The Sensational Scent of Prayer.”

What does prayer smell like?  How is prayer related to the sense of smell?

Without revealing all the secrets of the book, I just want to encourage you to open your heart to prayer like you never have before, allowing the tangible concepts of this earthly world to transmit a heavenly message. A message that conveys just how much God loves to communicate with His children; this is why He loves “the sensational scent of prayer.”

Ok cyber friends. Rachel has generously agreed to giveaway 5 copies to 5 women who comment on this post.

So, tell us this. What do you most struggle with when it comes to prayer?

Any of the aspects I mentioned above? What else?

Don’t be afraid to be honest. We’re a safe gang of gals here. :-)

Winners announced tomorrow.

351 Comments

  1. Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Very helpful info particularly the last part :) I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this certain information for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.

  2. to be more committed to prayer time, although I do pray as I walk to work and throughout the day I pray as people, situations come to mind or someone calls. Would love to see your new book but don’t know a whole bunch about the ebooks. I can relate to many of the comments. ie, to the lady who says she prays for someone right then & there (parking lot), I would forget so better to do it then! I believe He has put this upon my heart. It is my desire to come into a deeper worship! Happy Happy Happy Day to you!

  3. Sometimes I struggle with how to word my prayer! I always feel as though I need to pray in detail when praying for a sign from God! I never want to be waiting on a prayer to be answered and accidentally miss my answer from Him. I worry about not noticing His answer for me because, out of experience, I have prayed for Him to show a sign about something and when I get a sign of some sort but it’s not 100% certain, I always test to make sure that it’s not the Devil just trying to trip me up…am I right in doing that? I know that God knows that I worry about missing His signs when I ask for one and so therefore, if I think he’s trying to show me it then I always ask for Him to send of reassurance to where I can’t mistake it being Him.

  4. I struggle with keeping my mind focused on what I am sharing with Jesus. So often it tends to wander to my day ahead or the person I am praying for. I will take the time today to think about how prayer smells. I have never thought about prayer that way.

  5. I can think of a hundred things to pray about during the busy day, and then when things settle down, I can remember a few but the words don`t come easy. I think it has to be formal or something. And I too, wonder if God is going to do His will, then why do we pray? If I would remember to pray then and there when something enters my thoughts, maybe that would help. But then there`s all the interruptions…. I think your book would answer some questions in my muddled mind!

  6. I struggle with praying on a regular basis. I find myself getting “busy” and forgetting to talk to my Heavenly Father. I let other things get in my way and take up my time.

  7. Oh how I struggle with not feeling full or satisified during and after prayer. I think that I am giving Him my best but the 3 kids under 5 struggle to not interrupt, my coffee hasn’t really taken hold yet and I am wandering through my “quiet” time almost aimlessly wondering if I am doing enough… Reading and praying the “right” things, worrying that the effort isn’t enough to cover the multitude of sin I have incurred with being tired and short tempered with the kids and almost dreading being done with the prayer time because I know that I am about 30 seconds away from being annoyed with those kids. Obviously I know that I cannot do a thing to cover my sin, that debt has already been paid, but I struggle to know if this faithful attempt to walk in Grace will really make a difference in my day to day parenting. I struggle to really feel filled, covered, holy and acceptable. In my heart I know it, but in my daily walk I wonder.

  8. My biggest struggle with prayer is having consistent time praying. I pray during the day but to set aside time and pray is hard for me

  9. this sounds like an interesting view on prayer. i would love to read it to expand my prayers life.

  10. I have read about several different “formulas” for prayer, acronyms like P.R.A.I.S.E. in which each letter represents a portion of a prayer and puts one’s prayers in order. I feel like when I don’t necessarily follow this that I’ve left something out or have done it “incorrectly.” When I try to write my prayers out, they often become too lengthy. Basically, I believe I make the entire process/concept of prayer way too complicated. I look forward to reading this book whether I win or buy it. I love Hannah’s story, and my son’s name (Samuel) was chosen because of it.

  11. I often feel that my prayers are sort of rote because I keep asking for many of the same things that I believe need God’s continual help, such as various protections for family and friends when traveling or engaged in various activities and in general on a daily basis. Also, I keep praying that specific non-believers will accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Praise God that he has transformed some of those lives. The Bible does tell us to persevere in prayer, but I hope God isn’t bored with my repeated requests. I do add new ones too.
    Also, I struggle with trying to be quiet and listen to what God might be trying to say to me. My mind starts to wander, and I have trouble concentrating in silence.

  12. I have a hard time of making it a daily habit. I find myself being distracted. When I finish praying I find it very hard to be still and listen to God. I am not good at silence.

  13. I have to admit that my prayer life needs revamping badly! I don’t seem to be able to keep myself focused on what I want to pray about, and also I struggle with the idea of whether or not our prayers make any difference to God if He already knows how everything is going to turn out in each situation. I would love to read this e-book as a help to enriching my prayer life.

  14. I struggle with not making it another thing on my to do list. Also, trying not to make it a listing of what I need and want, rather than a worship/praise/conversation.

  15. I struggle with allowing the quiet time in my prayer life to let God talk to me. To “Be Still and Know That He is GOD!! I am working on spending more time praising and worshipping the awesomeness of Him!!

  16. Where do I struggle? Where do I not struggle? I don’t slow down often enough to properly acknowledge God working. I can’t (or don’t) focus well enough — constant distractions, often my own. I don’t model real prayers for my kids. I don’t think I even know how to really pray. In times of trouble, my heart groans and I hope God hears those deep felt cries. In regular times, I’m mostly just lost and float along without praying.

  17. I struggle with content what is important to pray for and what it petty. How do I express gratitude so that it sound sincere. I wonder if praying allowed and praying in your heart are the same.

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