Explaining Prayer [antikvár]

Introduction I started this book in Cyprus where I live. I continued it in England where I was bom. And I put the finishing touches to it in New Zealand while I was working with Christians from a variety of countries: Japan, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, to mention a few. I, too, work for the Church overseas. My husband and I are Mission Partners with Interserve. We lead prayer retreats for Christians in leadership. So when our friend Chris Mungeam invited me to write this short book, I was delighted - especially when he said: 'Not everyone who reads it will have learned English as their first language. Imagine that you are writing to pastors overseas who speak their own language fluently but who may have learned English later in life.' I have had the privilege of paying short visits to Kenya and Tanzania as well as Poland and met with pastors in this situation. It is with these friends in my mind that I have penned these pages. In addition to keeping the language simple, I have included three drawings to help readers to understand my train of thought. I am grateful to Kerry Davies for drawing these for me. I feel excited as I think of this little book reaching far-flung comers of the world. I feel even more excited as I think of Christians in many countries exploring God's gift of prayer. The words which I have often prayed while writing the manuscript are these: 'Our Father ' - the first two words of the prayer Jesus taught us. As I say these words, they remind me that we are all one big family. God's family. They remind me, too, that prayer is the cement which holds us together in love. So as we continue our prayer journey, perhaps we can remember to pray for one another from