Awakening by Stovall Weems

I finished reading the book Awakening by Stovall Weems this past week and was blown away by the depth of spiritual insight and application. The book is written on the principle of the need for spiritual awakening in each of us and how we can attain that by fervently seeking God through prayer and fasting. As the founder and lead pastor of Celebration Church, it is obvious that he is committed to this vision and practice for his personal life as well as for the growth of God's church. Stovall believes in the desire for all Christ-followers to be passionately pursuing this spiritual insight with the Holy Spirit. He writes, "Awakening to the presence and power of God is both a one-time event and recurring newness we experience throughout our lives."

Weems writes with a passionate style that captures the attention of any reader and also inspires you to practice these spiritual disciplines so that this awakening can be personally experienced. He presents theologically sound evidence for frequent times of prayer, worship and fasting and yet also offers practical advice to help in the process. The use of personal stories from people in his church make the book even more real and the resulting experiences more tangible.

I recommend this book for anyone who is serious about pursuing fasting as a spiritual discipline and a way to open your spiritual life to what God has ready to bless you with. I am excited about entering into a church-wide time of prayer and fasting this summer and the awakening that God will bring for our church. This is a book that I will recommend to anyone asking about fasting and I will certainly be re-reading it myself.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.