Try Praying is a singular seven-day prayer guide for non-religious individuals – an invite for people who find themselves latest to prayer and open to discovering God outside a church setting. The booklet has garnered great success around towns and cities across the UK, sparking change within the lives of many.
Christian Today spoke with Emma Weaver, Development Co-ordinator for Try Praying, to listen to concerning the origins of the booklet, the impact it has had, and the simplicity of communicating with God.
What sparked the concept for the Try Praying booklet?
Try Praying was created 14 years ago through David Hill, who had experience in evangelism and helping others come to Christ through his work with Agapé and There is Hope. He was inspired after he met a woman who told him her aunt had turn out to be a Christian after being given a 40-day prayer guide. He had two reactions: one was, that’s wonderful; the opposite was that he would never give a 40-day prayer guide to a non-Christian since it was too heavy. Then he had an easy lightbulb moment: why don’t we write a prayer guide for individuals who usually are not religious and who don’t do church? It would help them start praying about what is essential to them, but crucially would introduce them to Jesus and make them trust him with their lives. Since then, it has just gone from strength to strength.
What are some common misconceptions about prayer?
Some people don’t realise that you could have to be consistent, you could have to maintain going and you could have to construct that relationship with God. You have to return with an open and real heart and likewise with realistic prayers – I think, not ‘I would like to win the lottery’. If you include a real heart and really need to attach, God will come and answer your prayer. He may not necessarily answer it the way in which you would like, otherwise you are dictating to God and telling him what to do. He might say, ‘I’m not going to reply your prayer, I’m going to stay silent since the answer is not any or not now.’
God has heard and answered so many prayers throughout my life, which is why I do what I do. Prayer is my ministry. I really like to inform people who they’ll have this relationship with God too.
Has the Try Praying booklet been a successful gateway for people to investigate about Jesus?
Yes, it has. We have a whole bunch of stories of how God has used this. The visibility of the emblem on church banners and bus promoting, along with the booklet, have had a big impact. People with all varieties of problems have seen our logo and prayed because they were desperate. God stepped in and helped them. When people use the booklet they often encounter Jesus. Through the booklet there’s an invite to trust Christ. We hear of individuals coming to faith because of this and we hear of individuals being baptised.
We have been running bus campaigns for the last 14 years, initially in Edinburgh but latterly across all of Scotland and now other places. We did some market research on whether it was having an impact on individuals who saw the advert and church banners. We found that over 31,000 people began praying within the 4 weeks that we ran the bus campaign.
The tagline on the Trypraying website is ‘A seven day prayer guide for individuals who aren’t religious and do not do church.’ Why did you’re feeling it was mandatory to take out the church element?
The website is aimed toward individuals who usually are not in church so in that sense, it’s a type of evangelism and an evangelistic tool for Christians to assist them share their faith. As we all know in Romans it says ‘faith comes by hearing.’ There are plenty of churches which might be struggling at once, and there are less and fewer people coming to church.
Unless we come out of the church and share our faith, how are people going to listen to about Jesus? How are people going to listen to about God unless we exit, which is a component of the Great Commission? That is our primary goal, to go and make disciples as Jesus said.
But essentially, Try Praying is three things: it is a booklet to provide away; it is a church project; and it is a multi-church project. At the church level, we’ll give a duplicate of the booklet to an entire congregation and encourage them to ‘use it and lose it.’ They have per week to read it after which the next week they pray and see who God wants them handy it to. They’ll often give it to a member of the family, to someone at work, or someone on the bus or in a café.
Have you come across individuals who were reluctant to choose up a booklet?
Some churches have a Perspex box with booklets in them next to a Try Praying banner. One church has had over 500 booklets taken over the months. So, very rarely people may be reluctant but nine times out of ten they’ll say yes, I’ll read it. Non-Christians are in search of but they do not know what they’re in search of and sometimes they do not know that they’re lost until we come alongside them and help them. The majority are open and accepting.
Do you suspect that events over the previous few years have driven more people to contemplate exploring faith?
Yes, there’s something that they’re looking for. People can request a free booklet online and we’ve sent a whole bunch of them to people who find themselves just curious or in search of. Young people especially are curious. When we do outreach and mission, people come and ask questions, and once we offer prayer they’re very thankful. Yes, you’ll get people who say no, I’m not interested, but there was a turning in the previous few years – persons are in search of.
What are your suggestions for a thriving prayer life?
Like Pete Greig says, keep it easy, keep it real and stick with it! Don’t just pray once and think, God didn’t answer my prayer, keep coming to him. When you begin out in your Christian faith journey it is difficult to recognise answered prayers and seeing God in your life. When you look back you will notice God’s hand there, you will notice that regardless of what you were going through, at a certain time God was with you. God isn’t going to return and impose himself upon you, you could have to ask him in. That is why we’ve been given free will. Prayer is just having an easy conversation with God. It doesn’t have to be biblical jargon or plenty of Latin words. If you’re offended you possibly can scream at God, you possibly can shout at God, since it is all about relationship, it isn’t about religion. When you recognise his blessing, once you recognise an answered prayer, give thanks for that since the more you recognise it and acknowledge it, the more prayers you will notice answered. Also, don’t be disheartened because God knows what you would like, he knows what is essential for you. If we do not get what we wish, sometimes that’s an excellent thing.
