Revive Our Hearts

Guest (Female): When you are connected to God in prayer, you become more sensitive to what he is doing around you. Here is Kimberly Wagner.

Kimberly Wagner: People are constantly pouring out their hearts to us. You cannot go into Walmart or into the grocery store, hardly, without running into someone who is in need. You may not even know that person and God may lay on your heart to pray for them.

Guest (Female): This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, co-author of True Woman 101. For July 13th, 2026. I'm Danna Gresh.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: I've often said that if I could only share one message with women, it would be on the importance of spending time with God each day in the Word and in prayer.

Last week we covered that topic in a series on the True Woman Manifesto. Here are two of those True Woman declarations that we looked at last week. First, we will be women of the Word, seeking to grow in our knowledge of Scripture, and to live in accord with sound doctrine in every area of our lives.

And then we will nurture our fellowship and communion with God through prayer in praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, and supplication. If you missed any of the teaching segments that go along with those points, you can hear them or read them at ReviveOurHearts.com.

After teaching through those declarations to a group of women, I wanted to explore more of what being a woman of the Word looks like in real life, and also some more practical aspects of how to develop a vital prayer life.

Guest (Female): Right. So you talked with our dear friend Kimberly Wagner. And our listeners have heard her before on Revive Our Hearts, perhaps they've read her blog post at Revive Our Hearts, or maybe they've even read her books, Fierce Women, and Men Who Love Fierce Women.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: That's right, Danna. Living a life of communion with God in his Word and in prayer is a life message for Kim. As you listen to our conversation, I think you'll get a lot of practical ideas on how you can connect with God day by day.

Now, early in this conversation, we'll talk about a man named Brother Lawrence who lived in the 17th century. He wrote what's become a classic book called Practicing the Presence of God. It's all about staying connected with God even while doing mundane tasks.

You'll also hear us discuss The Valley of Vision. That's a book of prayers by the Puritans that I have found really helpful and passed out to many friends over the years. Well, Kim began talking about some questions that she had as a child.

Kimberly Wagner: I do remember in fourth grade asking my Sunday school teacher, "What does it mean to pray without ceasing? What does that verse in 1st Thessalonians mean?"

And I remember the teacher looked kind of startled and perplexed, and like she wasn't sure how to answer that, and she just very firmly said to me, "It means you have an attitude of prayer." And so I went home and I thought about that. Attitude of prayer, what does that mean? Attitude of prayer.

It's interesting how often prayer is talked about, is spoken of in the context of a father-child relationship. And I think God was very gracious to me and calling me to himself as a young child, as a five-year-old little girl.

Although, of course, as a child, I didn't have scripture memorized. I didn't know all of the different components of prayer for effective praying, but just to have conversations with God. That began very early, and I delight in that.

At some point, God brought into my life the little book of Brother Lawrence's, Practicing the Presence of Christ. And it

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: And that's not, tell us a little bit about that book. It's not a modern book.

Kimberly Wagner: In that book, yeah. He was a 17th-century believer, and in that book, he just talks about incorporating a conversation with God. And that's I think that's really the beginning place for us to recognize, as someone said earlier, I think a beginning place is to recognize that it is a conversation. It is not a monologue, it is a dialogue with our Creator, and to incorporate that into every moment of our life.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: He talked about how he would do that in the kitchen.

Kimberly Wagner: Peeling potatoes, washing pots and pans. And what I love so much about the fact that we can talk to God at any time, we can incorporate that, whether I'm having a conversation with Sandy even, or with you, Nancy, over the phone, or a woman needing counsel. We can be having a conversation with them, but inwardly, as Romans 8 talks about, we may not even know how to pray, but we're seeking the Holy Spirit for wisdom, for insight to be able to minister to them, ultimately to bring God glory.

Kimberly Wagner: I wouldn't sit here and say, I am not a prayer warrior. As you said that someone contacted you and asked you to pray because you were a prayer warrior. I'm not a prayer warrior, but I do delight in conversing with the Father and I have my set time of prayer in the morning, when I first get up, I do.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Okay, give us a peek into that set prayer time. How does that how do you structure that? How do you do that practice?

Kimberly Wagner: When my children were little, they would tell people if they called too early in the morning, "Mom can't speak to you yet. God is still dealing with her."

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: And you don't want to talk to her till after God has dealt with her, right?

Kimberly Wagner: Exactly, and that's what I would tell my children. I would say, "Mommy needs to talk to God and He needs to deal with her first before she even starts her day." And so, that is the first thing in the morning to, as you mentioned in your session on prayer, your habit of going to your knees at some point during the day. That is the first thing I do in the morning is drop to my knees to just cry out to Him for grace. Many, many times to pray back Psalm 46 to Him. "You are my refuge and strength, my very present help in trouble." To thank Him that I don't have to be shaken that day because He is my mighty fortress, and I take my refuge in Him. And to begin my prayer time in that way, just reflecting on and talking to Him about how good He is, and looking forward to the day with Him.

As I move then into my really structured time, what I would say, my daily practice of prayer, who I pray for regularly. I begin with my husband first, and there are several scriptures that I have prayed for Him throughout the years. And that changes too with our different seasons of life. One verse that I pray for Him now that he's older is from Psalm 92 that "the righteous will flourish in the courts of our God, they'll still yield fruit in old age." And I pray that for Him, that He and I both will yield fruit. We will be fruitful to the very end of our days.

I pray for my children's specific things, that that's changed over the years. According to what they're going through. Nancy, I have prayers that I have recorded and scriptures that I pray for you and some of those have changed through the years. And the night before the radio, the first radio taping for Revive Our Hearts, we met together over at Tim Grissom's house.

One of the scriptures I remember, Nancy, that you had mentioned that God was using as you were preparing for that first radio taping, and if you've listened to Nancy very much in Revive Our Hearts, she is a strong, bold, courageous teacher. It doesn't sound like she would have ever been fearful about teaching the Word of God over the radio. But she was very dependent on God's grace.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Oh, yeah.

Kimberly Wagner: And Psalm 18 verses 28 through 36 was something that she was asking God to do and clinging to. And it's, "For You light my lamp; the Lord my God illumines my darkness. For by You I can run upon a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is blameless. The Word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? The God who girds me with strength and makes my way blameless. He makes my feet like hinds' feet and sets me upon high places. He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You also have given me the shield of Your salvation and Your right hand upholds me; and Your gentleness makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped."

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: So you wrote that that scripture out and do you use those scriptures as part of your praying for people?

Kimberly Wagner: I don't pray through these scriptures every day for people. The same scriptures every day. And I have several different scriptures that I pray for different individuals. But there are a set group of people that I pray for daily. And then there are, you know, weekly prayer. Mondays is normally my day to pray for my friends, who are all across the country. And just as the week is divided up over days, different people, different individuals, different ministries, Revive Our Hearts ministry, other ministries, specific things that are going on with them.

One thing I like to do with my prayer journal, it has little pockets and flaps. And as I get a newsletter, if you receive Revive Our Hearts emails or newsletter, is to notice what their needs are there. And keep that in that flap to be able to refer to that when I pray. You know, it was interesting this week, as I was looking back over my prayer journal. And it concerns me when believers say, "God doesn't really answer my prayers."

And I think that perhaps God doesn't answer our prayers if we're not praying in line with His will. And that's one reason I like to pray Scripture because John 15 informs us that if we ask anything according to His will and we're abiding in Him, and our Word abides in Him, that we can pray according to His will. But I think it's good too to just go to Him and ask Him a lot of questions.

Ask Him questions about Himself, ask Him questions about certain passages of Scripture we're reading through, ask Him, "Why did You write this? Why did You want this particular verse inserted here? What does this mean? How do You want me to apply this to my life?" And then at different points in our life to just spiritually evaluate where we are. So this was a year ago. I wrote this out and I said, "This list is composed of areas in my life that do not reflect an accurate portrayal of the triumphant work of Christ."

And I was thinking about 2nd Corinthians 2:14, you know, being a fragrance of Christ, and that He's always He leads us to triumph in Christ. So are there areas in my life that do not reflect the resurrected Christ? What are those? And I in my prayer was, "Father, give me discernment to recognize the difference and to know what weaknesses or challenges You're bringing into my life for the sake of spiritual refinement, for the sake of sanctification, and what things are actually perhaps fiery darts or attacks from the enemy sent to disable, harm, or hinder my effectiveness in Your kingdom."

And I listed the top four biggies that I saw in my life right then. And what was interesting as I looked back at this list, which was just over a year ago, that God has answered three of these in a major way. One of them just this past week.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Do you write out a lot of your prayers?

Kimberly Wagner: I do. Yeah, I do that with my journaling in my daily time. I like to write them out. I also use something that I find is real helpful and that's The Valley of Vision. I start out my morning with Puritan prayers. And not that I pray these prayers perhaps like a religious ritual, but I feel like the Puritans have a good grasp on our sinful conduct, our fleshly way of thinking, worldly way of thinking, and of God's glory and God's greatness. And so as I read those prayers and it helps to inform my praying to be more biblical, to be more scriptural.

One of the prayers I pray for you, Nancy, from The Valley of Vision is, "Sanctify me in every relation, office, transaction, and condition of life, that if I prosper, I may not be unduly exalted. If I suffer, I may not be overly sorrowful. Balance my mind in all varying circumstances and help me to cultivate a disposition that renders every duty a spiritual privilege. That I may be content, be a glory to Thee, and an example to others."

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: I know that you are a woman who loves the Word and do you find that usually your time in the Word is you are you doing that the same time as your prayer time and are those intermingled or do you read in the Word and then pray or how does that look for you?

Kimberly Wagner: I pray first for my regular time of prayer with the Lord. But then my prayer time is intermingled all through study of the Word. And then as I go through my day, as and you asked me one day whether I pray mainly out loud or whether I pray silently. And more times than not it's probably out loud because I'm by myself so much now. I am, you know, alone a lot in the house. So I do pray out loud to the Lord because it's a conversation. I'm having a conversation with Him. And in my car out loud a lot. But even when the children were home, they would walk in often thinking I was talking to someone, I was talking to the Lord. But then here in this room, while all of you are here, you know, I'm praying inwardly as I'm sure many of you are and no one hears that but the Lord. So it's a combination.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: You say you start the day with the Lord. How did you manage that when you had little children?

Kimberly Wagner: I got up really early, very early. And sometimes, you know, it would start as I'm nursing early in the morning, a child in a rocker. And at that season I had preschoolers, I wasn't able to have the amount of prayer time that I have now. One thing that I did that was helpful to me because I didn't have as long a time to just sit with the Lord is I would write out a scripture that was meaningful to me or a verse I needed that day, something I was praying and on a 3x5 card and just tuck it into my it might even be my robe that I didn't get out of that whole day as I was taking care of preschoolers, and we'd just look at it at different points throughout the day and it would bring that refreshment.

You know, Jesus says in John 4 that the Father is seeking out worshipers, those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. And that is one of the first prayers that that I began to ask Him, to teach me how to worship Him in spirit and in truth. And then as you said earlier, to ask Him to give me greater love for Him. To ask Him to teach me how to pray. He loves for us to ask Him questions like that. He loves to instruct us in spiritual disciplines, to train us in righteousness. That's the desire of His heart. And so I think we need to ask Him things like that. I think we need to ask Him about basic decisions, daily decisions.

Even just this week, and some people may think this sounds odd, but I was coming home after a long day, long day of ministry, and I knew I was going to be counseling later that evening, and I just wanted to go home for a bit to rest. And the Lord just really impressed me that I needed to go to the grocery store. And I, you know, because He is living, He is alive and He is not silent. He speaks through His Word. He also impresses and leads us daily in the steps He has ordered for us. And so I went to the grocery store to buy a few groceries. Well, I found out later in the week why I needed to buy those particular groceries. It was on Thursday then, Thursday morning, as I'm preparing a meal for that evening, the Lord impresses a family on me. And that came from Him impressing as I'm making this meal that they need that meal. And I didn't understand it first and He kept bringing them to mind, and so I called the mom and sure enough she'd been in the emergency room with a child late the night before. There was a lot of upheaval in their home right then. The Holy Spirit knew what was going on in their lives. I didn't, and He led in that way.

And so, I think a lot of times, we miss out on how God wants to use us. I miss out on how God wants to use me because we're not connected in conversation with Him. We're not watching for Him at work. We're not listening. We're not recognizing His hand at work around us or those in need around us. As people are constantly pouring out their hearts to us. You cannot go into Walmart or into the grocery store hardly without running into someone who is in need. You may not even know that person and God may lay on your heart to pray for them. But so often, we'll run into someone in our daily activities who pours out their heart to us and they just have a need.

And I believe God wants us to pause right then. And and if if you think they might be uncomfortable with it, I always say, "Would it be alright if I pray for you right now?" Since it is in a public area. But just, "Would it be alright if I pray for you right now?" I've never had a person refuse that to me, whether it's in a a busy grocery store aisle, out on a parking lot, a public place. And God is able to minister to them in ways that I cannot. But through interceding in prayer as the Holy Spirit fills your heart and mind with what to pray for them as that as it's needed. And it points them to Christ. That is what we want to do. That is what we were created to bring God glory. And as we are asking Him to allow us to be fruitful for Him, which John 15 says that that is how the Father is glorified. When we bear fruit for Him, then we can do that, just through praying for individuals and as that ministers to them and points them to Christ, then that glorifies God.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: And I just think about women all across this country that I believe God wants to make fruitful, beyond anything they've ever dreamed possible. But you can't produce what you don't have in you. And so I think God's wanting to raise up a generation of women who who really are walking in union and communion with the Lord, taking seriously the developing of their spiritual life, saying no to some other things. You know, there are things and I'm not any great paragon of virtue on this front, but there are things I do have to say no to. Good things. Because there's just not time to do everything. So you got to make your choice and say, "Do I want to be a woman of the Word? Do I want to be a woman who really knows God? Do I want to be a fruitful woman? Do I want to be a true woman of God?" And if so, then you're going to make choices, priorities, to pray for your family, to be filled with the Word and the wisdom of God, so that you can, as you become an older woman, can be pouring that into others' lives. And that's all part of being a true woman of God. It's not just that you do certain things or you look a certain way, or you line up with a certain image of a true woman. That true woman can look very different in many different seasons of life, but one thing that is consistently true is that she's a woman who is getting to know God. And she's seeking Him with all her heart, and he is teaching her. She is responding, she's being shaped by the Word of God, and as a result her life is going to be fruitful and have an influence.

Guest (Female): Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has been talking with Kimberly Wagner about developing a consistent habit of prayer and Bible study. It's part of what it means to be a True Woman. A woman as God designed her to be. Do you relate to some of the struggles or the joys you just heard about? Well, we'd love to hear from you. If this episode resonated with you, you can send us a testimony. Just call and leave a voicemail at 219-200-2288. Or you can go to ReviveOurHearts.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on contact us. And if either of those don't work, send us a letter. You can mail those to PO Box 2000, Niles, Michigan, 49120. Again, that's PO Box 2000, Niles, Michigan, 49120.

Now, if you haven't explored ReviveOurHearts.com, I think you'll find it to be a really rich resource.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Danna, there's a lot of relatable content in there.

Guest (Female): That's right, Danna. And I'm so thankful that the Lord has allowed us to speak into women's lives on many important topics. When you have a topic or a question that you'd like to explore, you can search those through the archives. I often find myself sending women there and saying, the need you're dealing with right now, the challenge you're facing, the area you're interested in, there are resources available for you. In fact, I said that just the other day to a woman I met in the Atlanta airport who's dealing with a difficult relational situation. So I wrote it down, ReviveOurHearts.com. And you can go there and find radio transcripts of our past programs. You can stream most of those through audio, as well as lots of other practical, helpful resources.

And this vast archive and resource library exists because year by year, month by month, day by day, listeners like you have supported Revive Our Hearts. I'm so thankful for friends who found this program helpful and who thought, I really should support Revive Our Hearts. And then they took action and donated generously, so the ministry and the blessing could be passed on to others. Well, maybe you've been blessed through this ministry and you've come to the, I should support Revive Our Hearts stage. But you've never actually gotten around to making the donation. Well, today would be a good day to take that action. Typically, we see a drop in donations during the summer months, and that's why we really need to hear from you.

Guest (Female): That's right, Nancy. This month, when you donate any amount to Revive Our Hearts, we want to say thanks by sending you Mary Kassian's new book, What Is a Woman? Now, our world might not like answering that question, but God's Word doesn't shy away. In this resource, Mary defines womanhood according to Scripture and invites you to see it not as a problem to solve, but as a gift to embrace. To give and request your copy of What Is a Woman, visit ReviveOurHearts.com or call us at 1-800-569-5959. And just a note, if you're outside the U.S. or Canada, we'll be glad to give you access to a digital copy of Mary's book when you make your donation. Now, femininity is a gift. Each of us as a woman is called to trust the God who invented male and female and to gratefully accept that gift. Find out why tomorrow on Revive Our Hearts.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.