Intimacy is a never-ending source of problems for people, because moving closer to people tends to threaten those false images of ourselves that we cherish. Before we can move into a deeper level of intimacy, we have to let something of ourselves go. Prayer is an intimacy like any other. However much we may yearn to grow closer to Cod, there is a part of us that wants to remain aloof. Growth in prayer is therefore a struggle that knows dark periods, dryness and discouragement. David Hassel explores some of the situations in which we experience difficulty with prayer. There are instances when we need to forgive but cannot, when we must admit our weakness and sinfulness but will not, instances when our solitude becomes mere loneliness. In each of these situations intimacy is thwarted, but each of them, too, offers opportunities for growth and closer intimacy with Cod.