Customer Reviews

God, Help Me: How to Grow in Prayer

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

God, Help Me: How to Grow in Prayer

Absolutely one of the best books I've read in quite some time on growing in personal prayer! Jim's interweaving of family stories with solid Catholic teaching makes the book very easy to read and hard to put down. I highly recommend "God, Help Me: How to Grow in Prayer" for anyone wanting to take their prayer life to a deeper, more enriching level.

God Help Me is written primarily for youth and young adults and those who minister to them. As a youth minister, Beckman contends that over the past 20 years the Church has failed to help young people develop a personal prayer life. "This fundamental poverty has left a generation defenseless against today's attacks on the faith," he writes. Beckman turns to wisdom found in the tradition and writing of the Church to help readers discover ways to connect intimately with God in prayer.

The ten chapters are grouped under three categories: prayer for our times, understanding prayer, and coming alive in prayer. Chapter 4, know your enemy, opens with the story of a college student who was "turned off" by his parish liturgy and had taken to spending time alone with God in the mountains on Sunday mornings instead of going to church. Beckman finds the story familiar and disturbing. "There's a heck of a lot more going on at Mass than what you can see on the surface," he says, referring to less than inspiring music and a priest who isn't particularly engaging. Basic to our faith, Beckman reminds us, is the knowledge that God "has always hidden himself and left a certain element up to our faith and personal assent." He dismisses the idea that praying alone in the woods is an adequate substitute for the corporate worship found in the liturgy. Beckman characterizes the thoughts that led the college student to favor the woods over Mass as "classic desolation." Thinking of this kind, he writes, comes from the devil's power and ability to manipulate the flesh and the "world" to tempt us. To counter these temptations, Beckman offers a discussion of basic discernment skills and St. Ignatius' rules of discernment with guidelines for applying them.

This book is outstanding. This book discusses the topic of prayer on a level that is easy to understand. This book would enhance everyone's prayer life and should be read by all. There are lessons in this book that I will keep in my head and heart forever.

This book is phenomenal! The author makes straightforward and thoughtful arguments for the essential nature of prayer in our relationship with God and the challenges we face living in modern times. This book definitely gives you the push needed to renew your commitment to prayer and some extremely practical ways of doing so.

Jim Beckman does an amazing job breaking down what prayer really is and inspires the readers to let their prayer life grow deeper with many practical tips.

Jim Beckman's book God, Help Me: How to Grow in Prayer, begins by noting that many young adults were never taught to pray. While we have grown up with programs and events, a whole generation is defenseless against today's attacks on the faith. I immediately recognized myself as one of those (not so young anymore) adults raised on CCE classes that were less about learning the catechism and more about feeling good in our knowledge that God Loves Us.

In fact, I chose this book because I was curious how to grow in prayer. Growing up "praying" meant a specific prayer and as an adult praying a Rosary is the closest I've come to a structured meditation of prayer. I suspect I'm not alone in saying that I haven't been formally exposed to the specifics on using prayer to broaden my relationship with God.

God, Help Me! is divided into three parts. Part One addresses why prayer is important and defines the cultural realties that prevent us from developing a capacity for true intimacy with God.

In the first chapter Beckman addresses the major excuses of why we don't pray today, predominantly a lack of time. But, the most intimate relationships in our lives are with those people with whom we purposefully schedule quality time. So it is with God, and regular, consistent, daily prayer is our doorway to embracing that loving relationship.

Beckman also addresses the daily influences within our culture that steal our attention and diminish our ability to pray, including living in a godless society of isolation, independence, "tolerance," and sexual confusion. We are constantly busy, over-saturated, and blind to our spiritual journey. Distracted prayer is not conducive to a deep prayerful life.

Part Two focuses on understanding meaningful prayer, how the Holy Spirit speaks to us, the ebb and flow of desolation, and how to discern what messages are coming from God vs. our enemy. Beckman elaborates on the core principles and dynamics of a good prayer, which requires consistency and honesty. (Chapter five is a key chapter) He also identifies key roadblocks to achieving good prayer.

Part Three demonstrates what can happen in our lives when prayer comes alive. Real experiences illustrate the gift of Christian imagination and discernment in prayer to connect with spiritual realities. Beckman encourages the development of good habits. "Little things done consistently become a formidable force in our lives."

The challenge of committing to purposeful prayer is to take our natural habits and push past them to develop new, healthy "supernatural" habits, similar to adopting a physical work out schedule that over time supersedes our natural habit, or desire, to be at rest. Our spiritual life is a journey, always moving, either toward or away from God. Beckman presents an effective analogy of that spiritual journey compared with the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. (You'll have to read the book for the fascinating details.)

The book closes with testimonies and five appendices of additional information on finding closeness with God through structured prayer.

This book, like the prayer it recommends, requires an alert and active mind for thoughtful processing. For a working mom who multi-tasks everything, especially reading, I note the irony that as I read this book these sentences really stand out to me.

"The pace of our life, the constant noise in our environment, the barrage of media and images - all contribute to a poverty of silence, which is the breeding ground of the interior life. Years of this rapid, noisy pace leave us somewhat impaired, sort of `attention deficit' when it comes to prayer. We have a difficult time quieting ourselves, stilling our hearts and listening."

Even in these few hours I've taken to read the book and write the review, I've been distracted, even guilted, about the time it's taken. The kids are calling, doors are opening, the TV is loud in the other room, the phone rings, the dryer buzzes, and my husband interrupts me to talk. My house is never still except when all are asleep. However, if you too feel the call from God to "be still" and don't know what to do with that message, I encourage you to read this book.

What I loved most about this book was that it was not the author's opinion on how to pray, but an insightful look at what the Church and the Saints (especially St. Ignatius) had to say about prayer, contemplation, and spiritual discernment.

I have only one complaint about this book and that revolves around the fact I think Jim Beckman did himself a disservice in saying that "God, Help Me" is written primarily for youth and young adults. While I still consider myself a young-ish adult, I believe this book is beneficial for all ages, no matter where you are in your journey, and no matter your age. "God, Help Me" has been one of the most enlightening, challenging, and affirming books on prayer that I've ever read and I wholeheartedly recommend it, not only for youth and young adults, but for everyone who has ever felt like they are failing in their prayer life and want to really understand how to develop a deep and truly honest relationship with God.