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Talking in the Dark
Praying When Life Doesn't Make Sense
by Steve Harper
eBook
Grief
Prayer
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.
Reviews
"Many people could write books on prayer, but not many could write a book like this. Steve Harper has lived the questions of life, experienced the mystery, and is honest enough to share his journey with us. If you have been or are haunted by the question 'Why pray?' this book is for you. If you are a bit beyond that question, you probably still need the book because someone you know is asking the question.Though focused on prayer, Talking in the Dark will help readers with their questions and wonderings about how God relates to the whole of our lives. For me the book represents teaching and witness at their best — honest experience and practical guidance."
— Maxie Dunnam
Chancellor
Asbury Theological Seminary
"God gifted Steve Harper with the ability to cut through theological jargon, clear a pathway to Jesus, and guide others into the embrace of the Comforter. Harper is absolutely right: Life does not always make sense, and he has the courage to speak with honesty about how that feels. Talking in the Dark invites us into painful spaces, agonizing questions, and hushed moments in order to be found by the great Companion of our lives."
— Paul W. Chilcote, PhD
Visiting Professor of the Practice of Evangelism
Duke Divinity School
"In Talking in the Dark, Dr. Steve Harper rephrases the familiar Shakespearean refrain: 'To pray or not to pray; that is the question.' Each chapter convinces us that we can no more give up praying than can stop breathing. For those of us who continue to pray in the dark, this book is like a beam of light leading us to new depths of trust and surrender to the Holy One who hears our cries."
— Susan Muto, PhD
Dean, Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"Read this book, and you’ll probably feel as I did, that you are sitting with a friend who is willing to talk honestly about the struggles we have with prayer when life makes no sense. When you rise from this 'conversation,' likely you will feel that you have found more than an understanding friend — you have found a wise friend, one who provided the perspective you needed. Harper’s book does not attempt to placate with simplistic answers but resonates with profound wisdom. The book is real and rings with truth because the author is honest, vulnerable, a man of faith, and insight. I can attest to this because he has been my friend for decades. After reading Talking in the Dark, you’ll find him to be the kind of soul friend you have needed as well."
— C. Reginald Johnson, PhD
Dean, School of Theology and Formation
Asbury Theological Seminar