Have you ever stopped praying?
When life seems unfair and prayer doesn’t seem to make any difference, you may quit praying. Most people who admit that they stopped praying for a while, including the author, say they felt as if they were suffocating after a period without prayer.
'Sometimes I think God has called me to speak, write, and teach about prayer so I won’t give up on it altogether, ’ writes Harper. 'After more than forty years of praying, I still don’t understand prayer. …Prayer does not come easily for me.’
'In the pages of this book, ’ Harper continues, 'I will ask you to roll up your sleeves and confront your problems with prayer—and then keep praying. Sometimes you will feel as though you are talking in the dark. But the fact is, sound travels in both darkness and light.’
If you’re frustrated in your prayer life and wonder whether prayer is worth the effort, this book is for you. Nothing daunts Harper in this wrangle with God. No doubt, experience, or unholy feeling is out of bounds as he considers life and prayer’s dark patches.
No matter how lost or lonely you feel, he offers assurance. During days when you feel the number one problem with prayer is an unresponsive God, you’ll have the strength to dig deeper and surrender to the mysterious sustenance God offers.
As you read Harper’s brutally honest stories and follow his advice on how to cultivate a prayer life, you’ll discover the kind of prayer that makes you want to continue even though everything in you wants to quit.
O autorze
Dr. Steve Harper (Ph D, Duke University, 1981) is a retired elder in the Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and a retired professor of spiritual formation and Wesley studies. Steve is the author of 16 books and coauthor of 13 others, as well as numerous articles and entries in Christian encyclopedias. He continues in ministries of preaching, teaching, and writing but is also enjoying the blessings of retirement. Steve and his wife, Jeannie, live in Winter Springs, Florida.