Before the Throne (An 8-Week Bible Study): Finding Strength Through Prayer in Difficult Times

Praise for Before the Throne

Every time Crickett Keeth writes a new Bible study, that new book goes at the top of my reading/study list. I love how the author teaches both the Bible itself and how to study the Scriptures. In Before the Throne, she ushers readers into the very throne room of God as the world rages around us, and she helps us find our strength in the one who can do all things.

SANDRA GLAHN, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and multi-published author

Using prayers found in the Bible, author Crickett Keeth truly does take us Before the Throne. Her fresh insights are based on strong and accurate biblical truth. Her gentle teaching leaves room for the Holy Spirit to be our primary guide even as she helps us apply the lessons we’re learning. Crickett Keeth has definitely emerged as one of my primary choices for Bible study authors whenever I’m searching for a new study.

EDIE MELSON, award-winning author and director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference

Other people’s stories help me learn how to navigate situations that are new or challenging—for instance, all the happenings of the last couple of years. Thus, Crickett Keeth’s newest Bible study, Before the Throne, has proven valuable in teaching me how to pray amidst times of struggle and suffering. Each week presents a biblical character who faced difficult times by seeking God’s help, guidance, and strength. I was struck by how many situations resonated with our current lives today. One of the weeks gave a valuable affirmation for praying through five psalms of lament. Part of the takeaway from such a study is to realize anew how we can turn to God in every situation. I highly recommend this Bible study for a powerful prayer boost.

LUCINDA SECREST MCDOWELL, award-winning author of Soul Strong and Life-Giving Choices

Crickett Keeth’s Bible study Before the Throne helps us worship in ways both concrete and immediately accessible. We tend to restrict our definition of worship leader to the song leader who stands at the front, but worship leaders also write books. Crickett Keeth is a worship leader who has gifted the church with an extraordinarily valuable aid to worship. Prayer is the chief component of worship; Scripture is the chief stimulus for prayer. In Before the Throne, Keeth links the most relevant Scripture to the most needful forms of prayer to inspire the sincerest forms of worship. With gratitude to this writer who helps get us there.

RONNIE COLLIER STEVENS, Associate Pastor of Harvest Church Memphis; author of The Path to Discipleship, The Path to the Cross, and From Creation to Covenant

In Before the Throne, Crickett Keeth reminds us that through every disappointment, doubt, and need, God invites us to turn to Him. She weds in-depth study of biblical prayers with heart-transforming application. The result leads us straight to the best place we can go, especially during difficult times—God’s throne. May we all learn to trust God more through our challenges, as a direct result of Crickett’s work. Place this study at the top of your list!

ANGELA CIROCCO, Women’s Minister at Northwest Bible Church, Dallas, TX

When life is hard, it’s easy to lose your way. It’s in those difficult times that we desperately need someone to take us by the hand and lead us. On the pages of this Bible study, Crickett Keeth does just that. Taking us on a tour of people in the Bible who also faced difficult circumstances, Crickett shows us how to find strength through truth and prayer from those who have journeyed before us.

JILL SAVAGE, host of The No More Perfect Podcast and author of No More Perfect Moms and Real Moms … Real Jesus

We’re encouraged to pray when in distress, but sometimes we don’t know where to begin. By focusing on biblical characters’ prayers, Before the Throne leads us to the answers we need so we can bring our worries and fears to God with confidence. I highly recommend this study for both individual and group use.

GRACE FOX, author of Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos

Crickett Keeth has done it again with another masterfully written study on prayer! With all the noise and distractions of life, a study inviting you to sit Before the Throne and be still comes at the perfect time! Do not miss Crickett’s easy-to-implement strategy on prayer.

ERICA WIGGENHORN, author of Letting God Be Enough: Why Striving Keeps You Stuck and How Surrender Sets You Free

If you’re looking for a Bible study that is grounded in Scripture and provides valuable insight into the lessons we learn from our Bible heroes, look no further. Crickett Keeth expertly dives into the lives of well-known characters and walks us through how we can learn from their mistakes and wins. Most importantly, though, Before the Throne helps us examine our own hearts so that we can come fully humbled into the presence of our loving Father.

BETHANY JETT, award-winning author of Platinum Faith

Crickett Keeth’s eight-week Bible study illuminates the power of prayer during challenging days and desperate circumstances. The honest, transparent prayers of those mighty ones such as Moses, Hezekiah, Habakkuk, and more shed light into a dark world, spark hope in the hopeless, and encourage strength to face life’s struggles. Keeth helps the reader recognize that God remains good, even when life’s difficulties shout otherwise.

JULIE LAVENDER, author of 365 Ways to Love Your Child: Turning Little Moments into Lasting Memories and Children’s Bible Stories for Bedtime

© 2022 by CRICKETT KEETH

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Scripture quotations are taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Edited by Pamela Joy Pugh

Cover design: Dean Renninger

Interior design: Kaylee Dunn

Cover image of gold brush stroke copyright © 2020 by wacomka / Shutterstock (1080410717). All rights reserved.

Author photo: Nancy B. Webb Photography

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Keeth, Crickett, author.

Title: Before the throne : finding strength through prayer in difficult times / Crickett Keeth.

Description: Chicago : Moody Publishers, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: Join Crickett Keeth in studying eight prayer warriors from Scripture who turned to God when times turned bad. As you encounter God through prayer, you’ll find that He supplies the strength you need to face whatever is before you. That’s the privilege you have when you come Before the Throne-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021051203 (print) | LCCN 2021051204 (ebook) | ISBN 9780802423788 (paperback) | ISBN 9780802499769 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Prayer--Biblical teaching--Textbooks. | Bible--Biography--Textbooks. | Bible--Prayers--Textbooks. | BISAC: RELIGION / Biblical Studies / Bible Study Guides | RELIGION / Christian Living / Prayer

Classification: LCC BS680.P64 K43 2022 (print) | LCC BS680.P64 (ebook) | DDC 248.3/2--dc23/eng/20211118

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051203

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051204

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This book is dedicated to the women of the Heart to Heart Bible Study at First Evangelical Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Thank you for your willingness to do this study during a time when we couldn’t gather together in person at the church. I love your creativity and faithfulness to meet in spite of the challenges of the coronavirus restrictions. Thank you for always spurring me on in my faith and encouraging me to use my gifts from God. I love you all and pray God will continue to draw you into a deeper relationship with Him through His Word and prayer.

CONTENTS

Welcome to Before the Throne

Week 1—Moses: Finding Strength in Times of Disappointment

Week 2—The Psalmists: Finding Strength in Times of Need

Week 3—Jonah: Finding Strength in Times of Disobedience

Week 4—Hezekiah: Finding Strength in Times of Battle

Week 5—Habakkuk: Finding Strength in Times of Questioning

Week 6—Jesus: Finding Strength in Times of Intercession

Week 7—Paul: Finding Strength in Times of Hardship

Week 8—The Revelation Saints: Finding Strength in Times of Worship

Closing Thoughts

Leader’s Guide

Acknowledgments

Notes

Friend,

Thank you for choosing to read this Moody Publishers title. It is our hope and prayer that this book will help you to know Jesus Christ more personally and love Him more deeply.

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The Moody Publishers Team

Welcome to Before the Throne

I wrote Before the Throne during a difficult time in our world—the lockdowns during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. As I studied these men in the Bible who found themselves in distressing times, I saw how they went before the throne in prayer, looking to God for help and guidance.

God strengthened me through each prayer He directed me to study, and I pray He will strengthen you through these prayers for whatever difficulties you may be facing now or will face in the future.

The intent of this study is to guide you through prayers in the Scriptures. After writing my first study, On Bended Knee, which focused on specific prayers in God’s Word, I heard from many readers