Who is stormie omartian

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians A Special Video Message from Stormie. Stormie Omartian. Join us in wishing Stormie and Michael a very happy 48th anniversary this week! See More See Less. Stormie Omartian is a bestselling author who connects with readers by sharing experiences and lessons that beautifully illustrate how God changes lives. What Readers Say Stormie Omartian's books are always a joy to read and very helpful in kickstarting your prayer life.

If you're not sure how to start praying or even if you think you don't know how to pray this book will guide you in the right direction. Highly recommended! Keep in Touch Email address:. When she was a little girl on a remote Wyoming ranch, her mother would lock her in a closet and leave her for hours. She also beat her and cursed her. Her father, a quiet and gentle soul, was too passive to defend her. They had no neighbors. The little girl would make up poems and stories to entertain herself.

Ultimately Omartian's mother would be diagnosed as schizophrenic, though she was never hospitalized. Her daughter, an only child until she was 12, believed her mother hated her. The family moved to Southern California, where her father ran a gas station and later worked at Knott's Berry Farm. Omartian felt ashamed of her home. She believed herself ugly and unlikable.

In junior high school, she tried to commit suicide. In high school she compensated for her shaky confidence by joining student government and participating in school plays.

She always got good grades. Soon she was singing, dancing, and acting on one TV show after another. Yet she grew even more unhappy.

She used drugs and practiced occult religions. Relationships with a variety of men, married and unmarried, led to illegal abortions. She had panic attacks wherever she worked. She entered a brief and loveless marriage. Deeply depressed at 28, she began to plan her suicide. That was when a friend talked her into visiting a young pastor, Jack Hayford. He gave Omartian three books to read: C. When they met again, Hayford invited Omartian to commit her life to Jesus.

Omartian had almost no church background. She knew nothing about Christian living. Furthermore, she soon discovered that her problems had not gone away.

But she had incredible motivation to grow. There was a childlikeness in Stormie's heart toward God that she has always maintained. Even though she fell in love with Hayford's church, The Church on the Way, Omartian continued to struggle with depression.

Even after marrying Michael and quitting show business, she had daily thoughts of suicide. A church counselor, Mary Anne Pientka, believed that a spirit of oppression was involved. She suggested three days of fasting, followed by a careful regimen of confession and prayer. I had no idea that could even happen.

I felt the depression lift and I thought, 'Okay, this is amazing, this is like taking an aspirin, and you get rid of your headache. And the next day, it was still gone. And the next, and the next, and the next. I tell you, if I wasn't a believer before, I was then. I was never so shocked. I tell you, it wasn't my faith. It was a demonstration of God's power, and I really had nothing to do with it.

I was so amazed. That changed my life. Omartian started a prayer group in her home. She carefully selected a group of church friends, many in the entertainment business.

Their experiences praying formed the basis for Omartian's first books on prayer. Omartian knows that some people need thoughtful counseling as well as prayer. Some people need medical attention. A chemical imbalance requires drug therapy, she says.

Omartian also knows that not all our prayers get answered as we prefer. Just trust him. Strikingly, she gives hardly a hint of Pentecostal distinctives. Hayford's church is Foursquare Gospel, a Pentecostal denomination, yet Omartian never mentions speaking in tongues, and says almost nothing about demonic activity. She doesn't even name the book on the Holy Spirit that Hayford gave her when they first met, because some denominations don't agree with it.

For the same reason, Omartian steers clear of politics. Being a uniter doesn't necessarily mean avoiding controversy, though. In Nashville she's successfully pushed to change the "rebel" name for two different schools, because she thinks the term is divisive.

With any board she belongs to, "If I see that the board is white, and there are no black people, I say there's something wrong. I say let's draw in others. This is a country that is multiracial, multiethnic. If we're doing a musical project, there's no way I'm going to do it with 18 white singers.

No way. If there's not color in here, I'm not going to do it. Omartian's most popular books have to do with marriage. She is remarkably open about her difficulties, not in spectacular marital troubles but in the mundane stuff of getting along. She brought a load of problems into her marriage. She encourages men and women to praise and worship God during times of difficulty, sorrow, fear, and confusion, as a first reaction rather than a last resort.

Sharing personal stories, practical principles, and biblical truths, Omartian offers step-by-step instruction on how to develop a deeper relationship with God. A sought-after media guest, Omartian has been interviewed on many national radio and television programs and featured in many Christian publications and magazines.

She and her husband, Michael, have been married more than 45 years, have two married children, and two granddaughters.