I received a review copy of this book; all opinions expressed are mine.

“This book is a call for women of all generations…in every community to dream like their daughters and pray like their grandmothers,” T. D. Jakes writes in the introduction of his new book, When Women Pray: 10 Women of the Bible Who Changed the World Through Prayer. He shares about 10 women who had faith that their prayers would change things—and through their stories we see the power of prayer and the importance of prayer…we find inspiration, encouragement, and strength from their example.

The book presents the stories of these 10 women of the Bible so compellingly, I was immediately drawn into the book. The 10 different chapters focus on 10 different women whose experiences and struggles are amazingly relatable to issues women face today. They all believed God would hear their prayers and that their prayers would bring about change—and their stories show how God was faithful to answer their prayers.

Throughout the book, Jakes illustrates how the prayers of these women brought about change: through Hannah’s prayers, God brought new life; through Mary’s prayers, God brought redemption; through Naomi’s prayers, God turned curses into blessings; through Esther’s prayers, God brought victory over injustice. Some of these women are nameless in the Bible, like the Samaritan Woman, but their prayers and victories are just as powerful.

When Women Pray is a book that calls women to pray for God to move in their circumstances and in our world, just as these women of the Bible did. Through their prayers and God’s answers, the world and the course of history was literally changed. Our prayers can bring about the same significant, victorious change today. Jakes writes, “Each of these amazing women are your grandmothers of faith. Their DNA exists in you. Their courage runs through your veins like blood. And when life gets tough…always look back at them—always look up at their God and believe that He who has begun a good work in you shall guide you through as He did them!”