Prayers for People under Pressure

by Jonathan Aitken

Jonathan Aitken's conversion occurred at a time when he was experiencing the pressures of political life, a public trial, pleading guilty to perjury, being divorced by his wife, going to prison, and returning to "normal" life. Amid all the pressure of those years, he was discipled in such a way that he learned the discipline of daily prayer and kept extensive prayer journals. It is from these that he mined the material for this book. Essentially following the ACTS approach to prayer-Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication-Aitken also adds an element of Our Relationship with God. His acronym, then, is ACTORS, and his collection of prayers and reflections is accordingly divided into five parts, all preceded by a narrative of his introduction to a life of prayer. "Since direct communication with God in prayer is surely the truest path for a spiritual journey," writes Aitken, "my prayer is that this small book may help others along that path."

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2005

About the author

Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for 24 years, and a former British government Cabinet minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months.

Reviews

[Dermot O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prayers for People under Pressure is a compilation of approximately 100 prayers assembled by former Conservative party Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken. While it is a personal choice, the author has endeavoured to accommodate Christians of different traditions. Therefore we have an eclectic mix of inclusions from Anglicanism, Catholicism, the Orthodox Church and many more. The prayers are organised into six categories such as Prayers of Adoration, Prayers of Confession, Prayers of Thanksgiving and Supplication. So the title of the book is misleading in that there is literally a prayer here for every occasion.

The prayers are printed on the left page with an analysis or commentary on the right. The commentary consists of supporting biblical or historical information, and personal reflections by the author. Indeed, Jonathan Aitken kicks off with an autobiographical chapter recounting his imprisonment for perjury and the rediscovery of his Christian faith. It is a slim enough volume to be packed into a brief case or handbag, and to be read on a train or in a waiting room as easily at home. As someone who was trying to embark on a prayer life I found it very helpful.

[Samantha Zee · Rating 3 out of 5]

self help, religious, memoir

So I didn't know who Jonathan Aitken was, but I just was curious on the book. The first part is a bit of a recap of Aitken's story and how he found his faith and admittedly, it was a little dry. Thankfully, that section isn't overly long, and then we got to the prayers.

I liked that it was a mix of both Aitken's prayers, and those from popular religious people and yet a lot of them weren't exactly familiar. He had prayers for a bunch of different situations, and on the neighboring pages, he'd explain why he picked them or what they meant which I really enjoyed the style of.

This book could be helpful to the right person, but I wouldn't say I'd recommend it to everyone.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great help in structuring your prayers

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I jumped all over it while reading it - some prayers seemed more appropriate at certain times. It's a great devotional book.

[Kenzie Strickland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book where the title is self-explanatory :-)