Before the Throne - Finding Strength Through Prayer in Difficult Times (Book Review)

Today I'll be sharing my review of Before the Throne - Finding Strength Through Prayer in Difficult Times, by author Crickett Keeth.   The book itself if a soft back, textured cover that just feels good in the hand.  The orange color scheme on the front cover is carried throughout the book and breaks up the monotony of everything being black as in most books.  The colors are easy on the eyes, and very inviting.  If you happen to be a "theme" person, this book would go great with "Pumpkin Spice Season".  

The book is set up as an 8-week study, that lends itself easily to either individual or group study time.  Each week is broken up into 5 days of study time.  Each day has a discussion topic spread out over several paragraphs, followed by discussion questions that are broken into the following four categories:

Looking to Gods Word

Looking Upward

Looking Deeper

Looking Reflectively

At the end of each day, there's also an inspirational and relevant quote by renowned Christians such as Oswald Chambers, W. Glyn Evans, John I. Durhnam and others.  There are also free lectures online to enhance your study time.   There is also a built in "Leader's Guide" in the back that would make group study much easier.

One thing I really like is that the topics, although ordered by week (as follows below), can be done in any order, without having to have the previous week already finished to make sense.  So, for example, if you're going through a battle, you can jump to Week 4- Finding Strength in Times of Battle, and find the encouragement that is needed.

Week 1 - Moses: Finding Strength in Times of Disappointment
Week 2 - The Psalmists: Finding Strength in Times of Need
Week 3 - Jonah: Finding Strength in Times of Disobedience
Week 4 - Hezekiah: Finding Strength in Times of Battle
Week 5 - Habakkuk:  Finding Strength in Times of Questioning
Week 6 - Jesus: Finding Strength in Times of Intercession
Week 7 - Paul:  Finding Strength in Times of Hardship
Week 8 - The Revelation Saints: Finding Strength in Times of Worship

As we all know, being a Christian doesn't make us exempt from hard times coming our way.  However, this is a great resource to help remind you that you are not alone in your journey, and help you find strength for the journey.

About the author:

Crickett is the Women's Ministry Director of First Evangelical Church in Memphis, Tennessee, where she writes and teaches the women's Bible studies.  She is the author of several published Bible studies, including On Bended Knee (Moody), The Gift of Rest and Sumatra with the Seven Churches (co-authored with Sandra Glahn).  Crickett was also on the staff with Cru for ten years and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary.  She speaks at women's conferences and retreats, as well as offering free resources at her website www.crickettkeeth.com.

Disclaimer:  I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes only.  I was not compensated in any way for my review, nor was I asked/required to give a positive review.