If prayer is simply a matter of talking to God, why do we often find it so difficult, or at the very least, hard to prioritise? While a surprisingly high percentage of people in the UK admit to praying at some time or other, the challenge for Christians is to move beyond prayer as crisis management or shopping list, and experience it as being in the very presence of our heavenly Father.

Prayer - a beginner's guide is a short guide to help people explore personal prayer and is written by Jane Holloway, National Prayer Director at the World Prayer Centre. Written in an accessible, easy-to-understand way, it's an ideal resource for new Christians or those who have recently completed Alpha or Christianity Explored courses.

Contents include:

• What is prayer?
• Why pray?
• Prayer is worship
• Prayer is saying sorry
• Prayer is giving thanks
• Prayer is asking
• Prayer is listening
• Prayer is joining with others
• Prayer is a powerful weapon
• Prayer: where, when, how?
• Prayer is not always easy