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Becoming a Prayer Warrior

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What's the Secret of Prayer?Prayer. We all know it should be a bigger part of our life. But few feel they have mastered prayer (if that is possible) and all of us feel we could benefit from clear, practical guidance about how to pray with more power, more passion--and just to pray more!To help everyone from beginner to seasoned intercessor, Becoming a Prayer Warrior provides a complete guide to the essentials of powerful prayer. From the basics to inspiring stories of world-changing prayer, Elizabeth Alves guides you in a fresh look at the incredible mystery of prayer and the benefits that prayer can bring.Move beyond the idea of prayer as a ritual or duty and learn how to truly communicate with God and experience His power and joy as never before.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1998

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Elizabeth Alves

13 books8 followers

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5 stars
218 (56%)
4 stars
113 (29%)
3 stars
41 (10%)
2 stars
10 (2%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
54 reviews
September 17, 2020
This book makes God sound like he is a massive killjoy who must be manipulated into giving us what we want. I can use various prayers, various stances, journalling etc to twist his arm into doing what I want. God is a good Father who is working all things for the good of those who love him, that they may be conformed into the image of his Son (Rom 8:28-30). So don't twist his arm, instead trust him like a Father with your prayers. If he doesn't do what you ask, then he has a very good reason, but you can keep asking :) Instead check out "a praying life" by Paul Miller.
One section which i thought was very dangerous was page 73 on "testing the spoken word." The process for figuring out this message from God was the most absurd thing i have read in a while. Do you really believe that if God wanted you to do something he would be so vague and unclear as this?
I think if you feel like praying for someone, do it! God is at work renewing our minds so if someone is on your mind, then pray! But trust that God has spoken through Jesus with finality (Heb 1:1-4, 2 Tim 3:15-17) and so his word is sufficient for life and godliness and you don't need to read into every situation or thought that it is a message from God. Instead see scripture as a the Word of the Lord, and on matters he hasn't spoken you have freedom to decide. For more on this matter, check out a few books but you can start with this short one "Guidance and the voice of God" by Tony Payne and Philip Jensen.
I hate to be so harsh, but dangerous teaching needs to be called out.
68 reviews2 followers
May 13, 2016
This book is a must have for everyone, its a guide that you need to help you in your prayer life. This book is one of the tools you need in your prayer life, this book provides you with a practical guide that will give you the wisdom you need to have a more powerful prayer life. Every time you decide to pray use this book as your guide its awesome and when you go to church it needs to be in your hand right with your bible. This book would be a awesome gift to friends and love ones.
9 reviews2 followers
August 7, 2014
Every prayer warrior needs to read this!. I reread this every few years to strengthen my prayer life. I like her quote "the greatest need is not that you always have great revelation ,or pray brilliant prayers , but that you be faithful to the call of prayer.
Profile Image for Princess.
3 reviews
Currently reading
October 24, 2007
Though I'm not finished with this book, it is proving to be a greatly EFFECTIVE tool in teaching me how to pray!!! I'm enthused to finish this book and use it in warfare!!
Profile Image for Stacey.
247 reviews2 followers
February 6, 2018
I really liked how she challenged my thinking and found quite a bit to be very practical. However, I thought there was awkwardness in some of her writing. I also thought that some of her interpretations were stretches. I can admit that some things were very much outside my comfort zone so was she really stretching to make a point? or was I looking for reasons to put her thoughts aside. That's something I need to think about.
Profile Image for Angela Broussard.
Author 4 books1 follower
May 30, 2021
This classic is tremendously valuable to the individual who feels called to intercession as a lifestyle. Even though the work is aged, it has aged gracefully, because it is built upon principles and Biblical examples. If you are new to intercession, read it. If you are a seasoned intercessor, read it. Honor to the author, who honors the King.
Profile Image for Maria Elena.
36 reviews
January 14, 2020
very inspiring, i think this book really helped me emotionally, spiritually, it helped me a lot understanding more about how powerful prayers are, guided me on how to be a prayer warrior, im still learning
Profile Image for Jen Cook.
109 reviews2 followers
December 21, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of great thoughts in here that seemed biblically based. Some of what she said I’m going to have to look at deeper, but I had never thought about intercesory prayer before. I gave it three stars because it got a little repetitive
Profile Image for Jeff Ragan.
87 reviews3 followers
May 22, 2025
This book is a surprisingly good introduction to Christian prayer. It is short, but remarkably comprehensive, balanced on some prickly issues, super clear and easy to understand, and generally a good read. I highly recommend it.
23 reviews1 follower
December 1, 2018
With it!

It's definitely worth reading this book. It provides a through guide to reading the Scriptures. You can't go wrong praying the Word.
Profile Image for Monica Sprague.
4 reviews
April 9, 2019
Practical Information

A bit outdated in some of the relational material but an overall good study for learning how to be a prayer intercessor.
Profile Image for Tiff.
49 reviews
June 19, 2020
Easy to read. Helpful. Really helped structure my prayer time with God. I used to be afraid to pray around other people and for others in a public setting, but now it comes natural.
2 reviews
September 6, 2020
Powerful

Great book very informative and gives you the power to stand against opposition when it comes and how to pray through it.
71 reviews
January 9, 2025
Perfect book about prayer and I love that it includes a prayer guide and prayers in the back to help. I’ll be using this everyday
Profile Image for Joseph.
317 reviews1 follower
June 10, 2025
makes a point of saying to not take verses out of context and then cuts up verses to justify tongues and praying in tongues.
Profile Image for Cristin.
4 reviews
October 12, 2025
A very practical guide on what prayer is, how to pray, and what might impact your prayer life
Profile Image for Shane.
41 reviews
November 2, 2022
This is a well written book, powerful with many nuggets to help us along our journey. There are great Bible references to back up the points made by the author. The Bible is His Word and the truth so it is a great reference.
Profile Image for Joan.
4,346 reviews122 followers
May 26, 2016
This is a reprint of an earlier book by Alves. It is a great introduction to prayer from the charismatic viewpoint.

She covers the basics of prayer, such as what it is and why Christians should pray. She reminds us of the priority it was in Jesus' life. “Prayer is entering into relationship with God so we can determine His will in the matter and call His will into existence upon the earth.”

She explores what prayer does and includes suggested formats. She covers how to pray, when, and why. She helps readers understand the different kinds of prayer, including samples and guidelines from Scripture. She has a good section on how to hear from God, paying particular attention to the Holy Spirit and to journaling.

She has an extensive teaching on the essentials of spiritual warfare, including a good section on the armor of God. She covers each of the weapons of warfare, including praying in the spirit and fasting. She reminds us of the ministry of intercessors, to watch and pray.

This is a great introduction to prayer from the charismatic viewpoint. She includes examples from her own life, the lives of others, and the Bible to illustrate the principles of her teaching. She has a good section on unanswered prayer too.

It is a practical book. There are suggested outlines for prayer near the end of the book. She includes suggested daily prayer priorities and actual suggested prayers. That makes this book a great one for new Christians (or older ones) who need prompts to begin an effective prayer discipline.

Alves believes God has chosen to work through people. “Prayer makes a way for God to act sovereignly on earth.” “Heaven waits for those of us on earth to pray for things to happen.” I'm a strong believer in the sovereignty of God (that He does not need man's permission to act) and was disappointed in that part of the book. I was glad to read, however, that Alves encourages readers to find verses to apply to each need, making sure to be praying in agreement with God's will.

This is a good book for charistmatic Christians. They will find good guidelines to enhance their prayer life. Because of the soft view on God's sovereignty, I would not recommend the book to those of the Reformed persuasion.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.
963 reviews27 followers
June 1, 2016
I received a Kindle edition of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Every now and then, a book has such an impact on me that I want to have a paperback or hardcover copy because I find them easier to look things up and at times I just really like to see more information on each page. This is one of those books that I will probably buy in one of those versions. While I haven’t finished this book yet, I wanted to offer my opinion of how wonderful it is.

I have had a desire to learn more about having a richer prayer life that encompasses more than me and my concerns. While immersing myself in as much information as I could find, I have come across some wonderful books on the subject. This one is up there with the best that I have read. The author has taken the time to fully research the subject and do an excellent job of presenting the information in a way that is easy to read.

She doesn’t shy away from the hard subjects such as how sin affects your prayer life. She also tackles things such as not forgiving those that hurt us; I needed to hear that again because years ago God led me through forgiving several people and now here I again with a few grudges that needed to be dealt with. These feelings have been so raw, that I have had great difficulty forgiving the ones that did this. Thankfully, the author helped me see that I needed to move past this and forgive.

There was also information about intercession that I feel really opened my eyes to some things that I had been missing. The author has a list of ways we might come to know that someone needs our prayers and how to pray for them. She also spend time explaining how to have a closer relationship with God, and how to hear His voice.


I recommend this book highly. I also recently recommended a few over books that I have recently read on this subject and written reviews about.
Profile Image for Sarah Abbott .
16 reviews
June 1, 2012
Most of this book was helpful, but as a young Christian who is not familiar with prayer outside of the basic praying for safety of my family, friends, neighborhood, sick loved ones, comfort for someone dealing with death, ect there were a few parts that got hard to understand. I skipped one of the last chapters completely because I knew that I wasn't really understanding it or was ready for something that deep. All in all an informative guide to making your prayer life better.
9 reviews3 followers
January 15, 2008
Want to know how to pray? Do you find yourself praying for something immediately? And then that is it? Or are you in prayer for a period of time? Find out for Elizabeth Alves has to say about the difference between a prayer warrior and an intercessor?
Profile Image for Andria.
1,178 reviews
April 21, 2013
I read this book to learn more about how to pray and to kind of get some guidelines on how to be an effective prayer warrior. The further that I read into the book, the more concerned that I grew as she had some pieces in there that I do not agree with, guess I will stick with Beth Moore.
57 reviews
November 11, 2016
A fantastic resource...I read this in in sitting and am now planning to go back through it chapter by chapter to review and pull out all the rich nuggets of teaching. This book is packed full of important concepts and scripture reference. It could very easily be used as a bible study on prayer.
8 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2010
This is very helpful in knowing how to pray.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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