Week 1: Introduction — Meeting the Jordans and Miss Clara

1.Chris Fabry wastes no time establishing the outward appearance of the Jordan family: a beautiful home, successful careers, an impressive lifestyle. What details in these early chapters signal to you that something is deeply wrong beneath the surface?

2.Tony Jordan is presented as charming, driven, and deeply self-focused. What specific attitudes or behaviors in these early chapters reveal the condition of his heart — both toward his family and toward God?

3.Elizabeth Jordan is a real estate agent who is good at her job but struggling at home. How does her professional competence contrast with her sense of helplessness in her marriage? Have you ever experienced that same disconnect — capable in one area of life, powerless in another?

4.Miss Clara is introduced as an elderly widow living in a modest home — hardly the kind of person the world would call influential. What is your first impression of her? What does the author seem to be saying about the kind of people God chooses to use?

5.Little Danielle Jordan is caught in the middle of her parents' cold war. How does Fabry use Danielle's perspective to show the collateral damage of a struggling marriage on children?

6.The book's title comes from the idea of a dedicated space for prayer — a "war room." Before Miss Clara explains the concept, what does the phrase "war room" mean to you? What does it suggest about how the author views prayer?

7.Ephesians 6:12 says our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces. In these opening chapters, who or what does each character seem to think they are fighting against? How does that compare to what Paul says the real battle is?

8.If you were to honestly assess your own prayer life right now, would you describe it as active and strategic, or more passive and occasional? What would it mean to take prayer as seriously as Miss Clara does?