Fresh Pathways in Prayer

by Julian Hardyman

If you’ve ever felt like you’re the only person who’s thought that prayer is a bit strange, then this is the book for you. It can feel wrong to admit that having a conversation with someone we can’t see can feel rather unusual. Prayer is one of those disciplines that we all know we should be doing more regularly and perhaps enjoying more than we are, but the reality is that it can be something even mature Christians find a struggle. Prayer doesn’t come naturally to most of us which can leave us feeling guilty, stuck in a rut, or far away from God.

Julian Hardyman tackles head-on those questions we all have about prayer, but feel we can’t ask. He gives us permission to be honest about how our prayer lives are going and he provides fresh, practical ideas to help us to enjoy talking to our heavenly Father.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Prayer, Theology, Faith, Christian Living

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2019

About the author

Julian Hardyman is Senior Pastor of Eden Baptist Church in Cambridge. His enthusiasms include walking in the Cambridgeshire Fens, listening to opera and eating strong cheese. In his daydreams he beats his contemporaries at squash, serves as a local councillor and services his own car. But these are only dreams. He is married to Debbie and they have three children; Robin, Fiona and Kitty.

Reviews

[Emily Crutchley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading this for our student book group reminded me how much of an impact this book had on my prayer life when I first read it several years ago!

In fresh pathways of prayer, Julian Hardyman presents a helpful blend of perspectives and practicalities that encourage us to cultivate prayerful hearts and minds. Throughout he maintains a tone that encourages us to remember God's nearness and our privileged position before him. Hardyman helps clear the path to prayer by tackling some common barriers and so challenges us to respond to God's invitation to engage with him in prayer.

Looking forward to discussing it with some of the students at church and hearing how it's impacted their view of prayer and habits of prayer!!

(However, although they probably make the book more accessible for the non-reader, the fake dialogue/conversation sections are a bit much for my intolerably low cringe threshold.)

[Eilidh Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple wee chapters but so helpful. Lots of practical examples and tips. A much needed read - really recommend!

[Cameron McCartney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a refreshing book for those with a silent prayer life. This book gives doable advice for a faithful prayer-life, and the author communicates this in a challenging yet calm tone. I particularly liked the encouragement to use the words of the Bible when praying, and how this was set up and explained.

My one criticism is that I wasn’t a fan of the dialogue style of writing. However that is a matter of personal preference, and it certainly wouldn’t slow me down from recommending this book.

[Michael Kenan Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easily one of my favourite books on prayer. This is a devotional, practical, God-gripped and fresh (yes, the title is apt for the book!) invitation to be renewed in prayerful relation to God in love through his Son.

[Aneurin Britton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical book for all those who need to speak to God. (All of us)
This book has some really helpful observations throughout.
It's not a book that pushes forced prayer techniques but it helps us to understand how we might engage in prayer, and thus engage with the Lord.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very useful book, offering helpful (if somewhat obvious) ways to improve your praying life. A quick and quite simple read, I'm definitely going to take some of the advice!

[Eloise Rickard · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whipped through it for work but am looking forward to reading again more slowly - full of wonderful practical advice and heartwarming gospel insights.

[K A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, practical and helpful book on prayer.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book on prayer had a little bit of a different flavor than the norm. It doesn't deal so much with the theology of prayer as it does the emotional aspects of it. For instance, what do you do when God feels far away when you're praying? What do you do when you "feel like rubbish" (as he puts it)? I'm not sure there is much here for people who already have a disciplined and vibrant prayer life, but I think it is great for those who struggle.

One of the strengths of the book (but also what makes it feel a bit strange at times) is that he attempts to describe what should go on in the mind of someone with a healthy attitude towards prayer. So he'll have an example internal dialogue of someone who is trying to decide if they are too busy to pray. Or he tries to describe what it is like to feel the presence of God. - what does it look like to "draw near" to God? If you tend to be a practical person like me, it can be tempting to flinch away from those descriptions and feel like they are a bit too "out there" (and he does admit that these things are difficult to put into words), but Hardyman is very clear that he is not advocating any sort of weird new-age spirituality, but rather a movement in people's minds towards the truth of the realities in Scripture. For me, his attempts to put some of those intangible realities into words was very helpful.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't get this book because I'm struggling with my prayer life but rather it was free. Regardless of that, it's made me rethink my prayer life, how I'm doing it, what I can work on and what is doing ok. It's also given me some techniques and considerations I hadn't even thought of before, in terms of meditating on some of the short prayers in the Bible: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner".

I would also recommend it because while it does use big words and Christian jargon, it also explains what they are, words like intercessions and mediation, which I think is really useful. For a new Christian, there's a lot to learn and hopefully they'll be enthusiastic to learn, but if they can have a short guide to starting to prayer that also explains Christian jargon, then so much the better.

All in all, a good starting point, or even a good book to come back when your prayer life is feeling dry or is struggling.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you find it hard to pray? If so, this is a really helpful and encouraging nudge in the right direction. Hardyman's approach is not to guilt you into praying more, or to give you some abstract theology of prayer, but to get really practical, and show you some biblically-rooted small steps that can make a genuine difference to your prayer life. He goes through various hindrances to prayer ("when I am too frazzled to pray", "when I drift away from God during the day" etc.), shares his own struggles, and then shares his responses too. The whole thing is very readable, and includes some imagined conversations, which is helpful. This would be ideal for a younger-in-the-faith Christian, but even the most mature believer will be rewarded by reading it.

[Matthew Cliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a breath of fresh air. So many books on prayer focus on the ‘theology of prayer’, which certainly have their place. However, pastorally Hardyman is writing for those of us who can also find prayer a struggle. In this book he offers not a ‘how to guide’ but rather suggests ways in which a person can breathe new life into their prayer life. I especially found the sections on ‘micro sabbath’ and ‘drawing near to God’ refreshing. The length is not long and the book is written in a clear and accessible way. I would recommend for those whose prayer life has become frustrating and dry.

[Melanie Mead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! A very relatable, short, honest look reasons why we struggle to pray. The author shares his own experience in a humble, real way and offers simple, practical ideas for praying. The book didn't feel shallow at all, it is firmly rooted in Scripture, but it also felt simple and accessible. I've come away encouraged and inspired to try some new ideas as I connect with God each day.

[Thomas Creedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fresh Pathways in Prayer is a short and refreshing book. I warmly recommend it to those who are perhaps new to the Christian life, or, like me, a bit rusty and dusty when it comes to prayer. It has some good reflection questions and suggested prayers throughout – Julian has worked hard to make this a book that not only invites you to the party, but shows you where to go!

Let down by the publisher - I received a review copy that was printed upside down.

[Jonathan Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful reflections from Hardyman here with personal application (and prayer!) in each chapter. Ten (or eleven?) different things to try. I liked the range contained here. Some chapters were on elements of prayer to introduce or different ways to pray; others were on how prayer can fit into your daily life more easily. Cheers for this one Julian!

[Cando · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read on developing prayer habits. I think it’s designed for new believers however going over the basics again was helpful and there were some new ideas I could try to help spur more prayer.

[Phil Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable book with short chapters covering different reasons why we might find prayer difficult at different times. Practical and helpful. My only slight negative is that I wished the thrust of every chapter had Scripture to back it up.

[Joy Conkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, straightforward introduction to prayer, or re-introduction, to prayer. Chapters are to the point but make excellent points which challenge many of the barriers we put up which prevent us from praying.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and practical advice for growing our prayer lives.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and practical advice presented simply and clearly.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the best books on prayer I’ve read

[John Hayward · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Christien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, insightful and lovingly written.

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

hab nur die Accelerate-Version gelesen. Eher praktisch, wobei da noch mehr möglich wäre...
Gute Erinnerung daran, ...
- dass (und warum und wie) Gebet schwierig ist.
- dass Gottes Wort ein Hilfsmittel für unser Gebetsleben ist (besonders das Vater Unser und die Psalmen).
- dass Gebet unsere Abhängigkeit vor Gott aufzeigt.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and encouraging

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wholesome and helpful - Julian was also my pastor at Eden Baptist :)

[Maged Zakher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! It has some practical and insightful advice. Highly recommended!

[Grace -thewritebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful little book with friendly, approachable chapters about prayer. What is it? Why do we do it? And how can we get better at it?

Read this over a long period of time in small chunks and appreciated the little suggestions to practice praying in certain ways to try and find what works for you.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deceptively simple, but actually very profound. I am trying out a few of Julian's suggestions which have been a great help. This is a book to read and read again if you're serious about developing your prayer life.