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Stormie Omartian's books—including The Power of a Praying Wife, The Power of a Praying Woman, and Praying God's Will for Your Life—dominate the Christian best-seller list and are used in small groups and Sunday school classes around the world. Yet she blushes when someone calls her an expert on prayer. "A lot of people think because I've written books on prayer that I know something special," she says. "The truth is, I'm just desperate for God."

Raised by a mentally ill mother who verbally and physically abused her, Omartian, 59, spent much of her teens and twenties searching for the love and acceptance she never received at home, which led to suicide attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, and failed relationships. Nothing helped her insecurity and pain—until a friend took her to church. There she discovered the acceptance she'd longed for through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Prayer and total surrender to God healed Omartian's brokenness, helped her forgive her mother, and turned around her once troubled marriage (she and her husband, record producer Michael Omartian, have been married now for 29 years). Her faith also carried Omartian through a yearlong recovery after she nearly died recently from a burst appendix. Through it all, she has learned much about the central role of prayer in every Christian's life.

How did prayer help you overcome your traumatic past?

My journey from brokenness to wholeness didn't happen overnight; in fact, it took 14 years from the time I began the process until I was able to help others with the same problems. When I was a new Christian, I thought once you received Jesus into your life, that was it—no more problems. The truth is, my life here on earth still needed work.

But my best friend since high school came to Christ the same year I did. Because we had similarly dysfunctional families, we understood each other's prayer needs. We began praying regularly together over the phone. Our prayers for each other were instrumental in our spiritual growth and emotional healing.

As I matured in my faith, I knew I wanted to forgive my mother. However, unforgiveness as deeply rooted as mine must be unraveled one layer at a time. I had to deliberately pray, "Lord, my desire is to forgive my mother. Help me to forgive her completely." Being in touch with the heart of God through prayer for my mother brought such forgiveness in me that when she died a few years later, I had absolutely no bad feelings toward her.

How did you learn to pray so passionately?

It was because I was desperate for God—for his help in overcoming the scars of my past. Every time I read something in the Bible about prayer, I did what it said. For example, the apostle James says we don't have because we don't ask (4:2), so I thought, I might as well go ahead and ask! But James 4:3 adds, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives." I realized I have to be obedient to God if I expect him to answer.

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