CHAT with Linda Evans Shepherd
Author of
"Praying Through Every Emotion:
Experiencing God's Peace No Matter What"
1. How did researching/writing this book challenge you to reimagine/rethink prayer?
LINDA EVANS SHEPHERD>>> The first thing I did was a Bible-study on every emotion I could imagine. It was amazing to see what the Word had to say about how much God wants to help us through our emotional challenges. My study led me to discover that when we learn how to yield our emotions to God, we can break free from being a slave to the cares of this world.
2. The subtitle is both expected and unexpected: "Experiencing God's Peace" is a familiar focus but it felt uncommon to have it juxtaposed with "No Matter What" ...
LINDA EVANS SHEPHERD>>> I’ve lived through the ‘no matter what’ when a car crash put my 18-month-old baby into a year-long coma. On the most difficult day of that ordeal, the hospital team told me Laura was a vegetable and could live to be 80 years old. That night, as I sat in my daughter’s hospital room, I didn’t think I could live without hope. I considered pulling the plug on my daughter’s ventilator and taking a bottle of pain reliever. It was the prayer of Job that stopped me. Job had lost it all, his riches, children, and the loyalty of his friends and wife. Still, Job prayed to God, “Even if you slay me, I will trust in You.” I decided to pray the prayer of Job, and added, “I will live and give you this mess, just to see what you can do with it.”
Seven months later, when I placed our newborn son in Laura’s arms, she woke up. Sure, she had disabilities, but she was our daughter and we loved her.
I love to share what I learned from my experiences; we can have peace when we learn to trust our difficulties to God.
3. How does your format help a reader reimagine prayer as a Spirit-led, Scripture-fed experience?
LINDA EVANS SHEPHERD>>> I share prayers, based on the Scriptures in my original Bible-study. In other words, you are actually praying paraphrased Scripture. This means you are praying the Living Word to the Living God. You are praying in His will, in the power of His Spirit. As you pray, you will experience a transfer of your burden, in exchange for the peace of God. I found the writing process to be an amazing experience, and I’m getting reports from all over the world that this little book is helping to change lives.
4. You wrote: "Your emotions are a gift from God and He uses them to help you grow." How does this truth weave into each of the 70+ prayer focuses?
LINDA EVANS SHEPHERD>>> If we let Him, God will use our emotions to draw us closer to Him, whether through ’joy’ or ‘thanksgiving’, or ‘anxiety’ or ‘fear.’ As we invite God into these emotions, He will transform our hearts as we yield our pain and burdens to Him.
5. You coach us to pray through EVERY emotion. From the expected (guilt, sadness, hurt) but also through uncommon feelings; perplexed, jealous, shocked, regret, burdened, even worshipful. How can we use Scripture to help us reimagine painful emotions?
LINDA EVANS SHEPHERD>>> Recently two of my friends told me how God had set them free from addictions through the power of His Word. Everything else they had tried, had failed. Praying God’s Word will help you release your pain to God because prayer releases you to a deeper trust in God. A deeper trust in God enables you to find the peace that passes understanding. Powerful prayers based on Scripture can help lift your burdens and cares, so that you can rise above the circumstances of your life.
{with thanks to BakerPublishing Group}
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