Quick Take
- Narration: Stormie Omartian narrates her own work, and her voice carries the kind of seasoned warmth that comes from decades of writing and speaking in women’s ministry contexts, direct, unhurried, and genuinely maternal without being cloying.
- Themes: Prayer as conversation with God, Christian identity formation for tweens, spiritual confidence
- Mood: Gentle and encouraging, like a trusted mentor rather than a lecture
- Verdict: A focused, accessible devotional for tween girls that serves its specific audience well, particularly as shared listening between a parent and daughter.
Stormie Omartian has been writing about prayer for adult women for decades, and her Power of a Praying Wife and Power of a Praying Parent have sold millions of copies. The Power of a Praying Girl is her attempt to pass that orientation directly to the next generation, addressed to tween girls rather than the mothers who raised them on her books. That lineage matters, because it shapes the audiobook in a particular way: this isn’t a children’s book that happened to get an audio edition. It was conceived for an audience old enough to think seriously about faith and young enough to still be forming the habits that will carry them into adulthood.
Omartian self-narrates, and that choice is correct. Her voice is unhurried and warm in a way that feels genuinely earned rather than performed. She has been speaking about prayer in women’s ministry contexts for long enough that the material sits comfortably in her delivery. She doesn’t strain for authority because she has it, and she doesn’t strain for accessibility because she’s thought carefully about how to explain these ideas simply. One reviewer noted approvingly that the book uses no big words or confusing phrases, just straight-to-the-point treatment of topics young girls actually face. That assessment is accurate, and it’s a harder achievement than it sounds.
What the Book Actually Teaches
The synopsis outlines the scope accurately: this isn’t just a how-to-pray manual. Omartian structures the content around the foundations of prayer, covering who God is, who the listener is in relation to God, who Jesus is, and the practical mechanics of talking to God. Each chapter carries discussion questions and space in the print edition for written responses. In the audio format, those interactive elements obviously can’t be completed as designed, but Omartian reads the questions aloud in a way that invites genuine reflection rather than skipping over them, which means the audiobook still functions as more than passive listening if you approach it that way.
The content occupies the specific middle zone that makes children’s devotionals hard to write well: too young for adult theological depth, too old for the simple moral-of-the-story format. Omartian stays in that zone effectively, covering topics like identity, fear, family relationships, and what it means to belong to God without either oversimplifying or overreaching. One reviewer observed that the devotional doesn’t use confusing phrases and gets right to the point on topics young ladies deal with regularly. That’s a fair description of the experience: the writing is clean and direct without being thin.
The Self-Narration Question
There are devotionals in this space where self-narration is a liability, the author is a writer, not a speaker, and the delivery suffers. That isn’t the case here. Omartian has spent a career in women’s ministry contexts where speaking and writing are intertwined, and her pacing reflects that. The 3-hour-26-minute runtime covers substantial devotional ground without ever feeling rushed or padded. She treats the young listener with the same seriousness she brings to her adult readers, which is itself a kind of respect for the audience that comes through in the listening experience.
Who Should Listen, Who Might Want Something Different
This works best for tween girls ages 9 through 13 who are already operating within a Christian framework and want to deepen their prayer practice. It also works well as a shared listening experience. The reviews note it being used by single mothers with their daughters, and by grandparents gifting it to girls in the family. Omartian’s voice lends itself to that generational passing-on quality.
Those looking for a broader interfaith spirituality guide for kids, or a more intellectually exploratory approach to theology, will want to look elsewhere. This is specifically evangelical Protestant in its framing, and it assumes a listener who is open to that tradition. It also pairs naturally with the print edition for anyone who wants to use the discussion questions and journaling prompts, since those elements are somewhat orphaned in the audio-only format.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age range is The Power of a Praying Girl written for?
Omartian specifically targets tween girls, typically understood as ages 9 through 12 or 13. The language and topics are calibrated for that range: mature enough to address real concerns about identity, relationships, and faith, simple enough to avoid theological overload.
Does the audiobook include the discussion questions and journaling prompts mentioned in the book description?
Omartian reads the discussion questions aloud in the audio version, which gives listeners a chance to reflect, but the actual journaling prompts require the print edition to complete. The audiobook works as a standalone devotional listening experience, but pairing it with the physical book unlocks the full interactive design.
Is this devotional specific to a particular Christian denomination or tradition?
It’s broadly evangelical Protestant in framing, focused on personal prayer, relationship with Jesus, and Scripture-based faith formation. It doesn’t carry strong denominational markers, so it will resonate across evangelical, Baptist, non-denominational, and similar traditions without feeling sectarian.
How does Stormie Omartian’s self-narration compare to professional narrators in similar devotionals?
Her narration is notably strong for a self-narrator. She has spent decades in women’s ministry speaking and writing, so her delivery is warm, paced well, and free of the awkwardness that sometimes accompanies author-narrated devotionals. For this kind of material, the authenticity of the author’s own voice adds something a hired narrator might not replicate.
