Prayer can feel mysteriously difficult, boringly perfunctory or like the ultimate folly. In fact, says pastor Matt Woodley, prayer is actually a real encounter with the untamable God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore our experience of it should reflect the power, mystery and even risk of entering into relationship with the Lord of the universe. In this book Woodley strips away all the religious-speak and presuppositions we have about prayer, distilling it to the wild essence of wholehearted engagement with the living God. It is through this folly that we are ultimately made wise.

Exploring an earthy, unadorned, jargon-free approach to prayer, Woodley unpacks a host of fresh synonyms for God-encounters, including prayer as desperation, invocation, mystery, astonishment, groaning and even absence. With stories from his own experience and biblical and historical examples, this book gives fresh language to describe a life grounded in prayer.