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Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer
In the form of warm, relaxed letters to a close friend, Lewis meditates on many puzzling questions concerning the intimate dialogue between man and God. Lewis also considers practical and metaphysical aspects of private prayer, petitionary prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, and other forms of prayer.“A beautifully executed and deeply moving book” (Saturday Review).
132 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,032 books47.9k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 720 reviews
December 24, 2017
Outstanding. Read another time in July of 1999. Great. Listened to audio in 2016. Still great. Listened to it again in July of 2017. And again in December of 2017. Really rich.
September 19, 2024
2024 Review
The great thing about reading a collection of letters is that you get to see a slightly less varnished version of the author. You don't see C.S. Lewis calling his buddy out for being a bigot in Mere Christianity. It kind of cracks me up.
2020 Review--5 stars
This was a good book to read amidst COVID-19 social distancing. In my devotions this morning I was thinking about how long it has been since I stepped foot in a church. I suppose in the big picture of things two months isn't particularly long, but I miss it. I watch sermons online, and sometimes even tunelessly sing along with the worship songs, but I miss the spiritual community.
A book like this helps fill that ache.
In his Reflections on the Psalms, Lewis describes his writing as akin to two schoolboys trying to work out a problem together that long ceased to puzzle their schoolmaster. He uses a similar analogy in this book, describing his letters with Malcolm as akin to two solitary walkers in the foothills. They do not walk in the mountains, they merely try and make sense of where they are.
To read this book is to, in some ways, join in their conversation. It is not necessarily sermons, to edify, convict, and inform. Neither is it a like a popular modern devotional, leaving you with your daily warm fuzzies. It is instead the observations, questions, and delights of a fellow traveler on the road.
The epistolary format makes this volume even more casual than other Lewis works. And for a subject such as prayer, perhaps that works best. It makes things less about answers and more about the questions. It creates a little bubble of community where I at least found I could easily say: "Wait, you too?"
2013 Read--4 stars
Left me with a lot to chew on. I liked the more casual atmosphere, this is not a book with immediate and solid answers to all the questions. Definitely going to need a re-read. Highly recommended.
The great thing about reading a collection of letters is that you get to see a slightly less varnished version of the author. You don't see C.S. Lewis calling his buddy out for being a bigot in Mere Christianity. It kind of cracks me up.
2020 Review--5 stars
This was a good book to read amidst COVID-19 social distancing. In my devotions this morning I was thinking about how long it has been since I stepped foot in a church. I suppose in the big picture of things two months isn't particularly long, but I miss it. I watch sermons online, and sometimes even tunelessly sing along with the worship songs, but I miss the spiritual community.
A book like this helps fill that ache.
In his Reflections on the Psalms, Lewis describes his writing as akin to two schoolboys trying to work out a problem together that long ceased to puzzle their schoolmaster. He uses a similar analogy in this book, describing his letters with Malcolm as akin to two solitary walkers in the foothills. They do not walk in the mountains, they merely try and make sense of where they are.
To read this book is to, in some ways, join in their conversation. It is not necessarily sermons, to edify, convict, and inform. Neither is it a like a popular modern devotional, leaving you with your daily warm fuzzies. It is instead the observations, questions, and delights of a fellow traveler on the road.
The epistolary format makes this volume even more casual than other Lewis works. And for a subject such as prayer, perhaps that works best. It makes things less about answers and more about the questions. It creates a little bubble of community where I at least found I could easily say: "Wait, you too?"
2013 Read--4 stars
Left me with a lot to chew on. I liked the more casual atmosphere, this is not a book with immediate and solid answers to all the questions. Definitely going to need a re-read. Highly recommended.
February 7, 2017
This book is a collection of (fake) letters to a friend focusing on various aspects of and questions about prayer. Many of these are practical considerations, and I didn't feel like all were important or relevant to me, but I still found pieces of wisdom to keep from it, usually expressed in the most beautifully touching phrases, Lewis always transforming complex religious questions into the most simple and beautiful truths. He repeats many times that these are only his musings and should not be taken as doctrine or fact. I, however, read Lewis as I would a textbook. Here is my book report:
-on church services:
"The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.
-recited prayers vs. one's own words: "I still think the prayer without words is the best--if one can really achieve it."
-Should we kneel?
"The relevant point is that kneeling does matter, but other things matter even more."
-Can we pray for "petty" things?
"We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.
"as those who do not turn to God in petty trials will have no habit or such resort to help them when the great trials come, so those who have not learned to ask Him for childish things will have less readiness to ask Him for great ones."
-on vain repetitions:
"It would be rash to say that there is any prayer which God never grants. But the strongest candidate is the prayer we might express as the single word 'encore'."
***on hard times:
"Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith. I don't agree at all. They are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the Passion of Christ.
"We all try to accept with some sort of submission our afflictions when they actually arrive. But the prayer in Gethsemane shows that the preceding anxiety is equally God's will and equally part of our human destiny. The perfect Man experienced it. And the servant is not greater than the master."
-Do our prayers make a difference?
"if He takes our sins into account why not our petitions?"
***Why are prayers, even those made in "faith", often unanswered?
"For most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait.
"Our struggle is to achieve and retain faith on a lower level. To believe that, whether He can grant them or not, God will listen to our prayers, will taken them into account. Even to go on believing that there is a Listener at all."
-on praying for others:
"I am often I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them."
***on the fantastical
"Enlightened people want to get rid of this magical element in favour of what they would call the 'spiritual' element. But the spiritual, conceived as something thus antithetical to 'magical,' seems to become merely the psychological or ethical. And neither that by itself, nor the magical by itself, is a religion. I am not going to lay down rules as to the share--quantitatively considered--which the magical should have in anyone's religious life. Individual differences may be permissible. What I insist on is that it can never be reduced to zero. if it is, what remains is only morality, or culture, or philosophy."
-on predetermination:
"our creaturely limitation is that our fundamentally timeless reality can be experienced by us only in the mode of succession."
-Why does prayer feel like such a chore?
"If we were perfected, prayer would not be a duty, it would be a delight. Some day, please God, it will be.
"I must say my prayers today whether I feel devout or not; but that is only as I must learn my grammar if I am ever to read the poets.
"In the perfect and eternal world the Law will vanish, But the results of having lived faithfully under it will not."
-on what our glorified bodies might be like (my favorite letter, the last):
"I can now communicate to you the fields of my boyhood only imperfectly, by words. Perhaps the day is coming when I can take you for a walk through them.
"The dullest of us knows how memory can transfigure; how often some momentary glimpse of beauty in boyhood is a whisper which memory will warehouse as a shout...Why should what we see at the moment be more 'real' than what we see from ten years' distance? It is indeed an illusion to believe that the blue hills on the horizon would still look blue if you went to them. But the fact that they are blue five miles away, and the fact that they are green when you are on them, are equally good facts."
-on church services:
"The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.
-recited prayers vs. one's own words: "I still think the prayer without words is the best--if one can really achieve it."
-Should we kneel?
"The relevant point is that kneeling does matter, but other things matter even more."
-Can we pray for "petty" things?
"We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.
"as those who do not turn to God in petty trials will have no habit or such resort to help them when the great trials come, so those who have not learned to ask Him for childish things will have less readiness to ask Him for great ones."
-on vain repetitions:
"It would be rash to say that there is any prayer which God never grants. But the strongest candidate is the prayer we might express as the single word 'encore'."
***on hard times:
"Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith. I don't agree at all. They are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the Passion of Christ.
"We all try to accept with some sort of submission our afflictions when they actually arrive. But the prayer in Gethsemane shows that the preceding anxiety is equally God's will and equally part of our human destiny. The perfect Man experienced it. And the servant is not greater than the master."
-Do our prayers make a difference?
"if He takes our sins into account why not our petitions?"
***Why are prayers, even those made in "faith", often unanswered?
"For most of us the prayer in Gethsemane is the only model. Removing mountains can wait.
"Our struggle is to achieve and retain faith on a lower level. To believe that, whether He can grant them or not, God will listen to our prayers, will taken them into account. Even to go on believing that there is a Listener at all."
-on praying for others:
"I am often I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them."
***on the fantastical
"Enlightened people want to get rid of this magical element in favour of what they would call the 'spiritual' element. But the spiritual, conceived as something thus antithetical to 'magical,' seems to become merely the psychological or ethical. And neither that by itself, nor the magical by itself, is a religion. I am not going to lay down rules as to the share--quantitatively considered--which the magical should have in anyone's religious life. Individual differences may be permissible. What I insist on is that it can never be reduced to zero. if it is, what remains is only morality, or culture, or philosophy."
-on predetermination:
"our creaturely limitation is that our fundamentally timeless reality can be experienced by us only in the mode of succession."
-Why does prayer feel like such a chore?
"If we were perfected, prayer would not be a duty, it would be a delight. Some day, please God, it will be.
"I must say my prayers today whether I feel devout or not; but that is only as I must learn my grammar if I am ever to read the poets.
"In the perfect and eternal world the Law will vanish, But the results of having lived faithfully under it will not."
-on what our glorified bodies might be like (my favorite letter, the last):
"I can now communicate to you the fields of my boyhood only imperfectly, by words. Perhaps the day is coming when I can take you for a walk through them.
"The dullest of us knows how memory can transfigure; how often some momentary glimpse of beauty in boyhood is a whisper which memory will warehouse as a shout...Why should what we see at the moment be more 'real' than what we see from ten years' distance? It is indeed an illusion to believe that the blue hills on the horizon would still look blue if you went to them. But the fact that they are blue five miles away, and the fact that they are green when you are on them, are equally good facts."
June 22, 2020
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer has the distinction of being the final work that CS Lewis produced. The manuscript was completed in May of 1963, approximately six months before his death.
The book's structure takes the form of fictional letters written by Lewis to his friend “Malcolm” in which they discusses matters of deep importance to the Christian life. Mostly, these letters all discuss issues that have to do with prayer, and the other issues branch off of that. Worship, Heaven, and other issues are mulled over, but they all come back to prayer. When this is taken into account, the reader will find the title quite fitting.
There is some controversy over this title, and it has not received the same popularity as Lewis' other works for two main reasons. First off, Lewis proposes many logic puzzles and theological questions, but doesn't really seem to follow through on them. He leaves many questions unanswered. The second issue is how he refused to condemn some liberal Christians.
I can see why some today, and even at the time, I suppose, may have had problems with the gentleness Lewis showed towards critics and his reticence to answer questions specifically in certain areas. I am not of that number, however. On these two issues, both Lewis, and those who dislike his style here, have a point, for both “styles” of approaching these issues are needed in the Church.
What I mean by this is that we have a great need for a deep understanding of doctrines and the ability to defend what we believe. Thusly, we can witness to others, and praise God. But the flip side is that we need humility in our interpretations of Scriptures, and in our answers to questions the Word is not clear on. Also, we need to call out the folks who distort the Bible, as some were disappointed Lewis did not do here. On the other hand, we need to disagree while showing them love and compassion. Thus, we may win them over to Christ, Lord-willing. Both approaches are needed, and which one each Christian takes is between him and God.
I really benefited both from the musings and studies of Scripture that CS Lewis engaged in here, as well as his humility in admitting he doesn't know everything, and that we must consider these issues carefully. Again, some are called by God to be more forceful, while others, like Professor Lewis, were called to be humble and understanding, as he was in this book.
The book's structure takes the form of fictional letters written by Lewis to his friend “Malcolm” in which they discusses matters of deep importance to the Christian life. Mostly, these letters all discuss issues that have to do with prayer, and the other issues branch off of that. Worship, Heaven, and other issues are mulled over, but they all come back to prayer. When this is taken into account, the reader will find the title quite fitting.
There is some controversy over this title, and it has not received the same popularity as Lewis' other works for two main reasons. First off, Lewis proposes many logic puzzles and theological questions, but doesn't really seem to follow through on them. He leaves many questions unanswered. The second issue is how he refused to condemn some liberal Christians.
I can see why some today, and even at the time, I suppose, may have had problems with the gentleness Lewis showed towards critics and his reticence to answer questions specifically in certain areas. I am not of that number, however. On these two issues, both Lewis, and those who dislike his style here, have a point, for both “styles” of approaching these issues are needed in the Church.
What I mean by this is that we have a great need for a deep understanding of doctrines and the ability to defend what we believe. Thusly, we can witness to others, and praise God. But the flip side is that we need humility in our interpretations of Scriptures, and in our answers to questions the Word is not clear on. Also, we need to call out the folks who distort the Bible, as some were disappointed Lewis did not do here. On the other hand, we need to disagree while showing them love and compassion. Thus, we may win them over to Christ, Lord-willing. Both approaches are needed, and which one each Christian takes is between him and God.
I really benefited both from the musings and studies of Scripture that CS Lewis engaged in here, as well as his humility in admitting he doesn't know everything, and that we must consider these issues carefully. Again, some are called by God to be more forceful, while others, like Professor Lewis, were called to be humble and understanding, as he was in this book.
January 26, 2022
Lewis's letters to a FICTIONAL friend are a delight to read. (I am amazed at how many reviewers think these are real letters written to a real person!) In these letters, Lewis addresses many different facets of prayer and our inhibitions when it comes to prayer. It is a very quotable book as well. I noticed quite a few recognizable quotes throughout.
June 16, 2021
Lewis said it himself, "...I am not good enough at Theology. I have nothing to offer. Hiding any light I think I've got under a bushel is not my besetting sin! I am much more prone to prattle unseasonably."
May 31, 2025
It’s been over a decade since I read this. It’s way better now. I don’t love the chapter on purgatory, but on the whole, it’s wonderful.
November 2, 2025
I don’t know if I loved this book so much because it was a new (to me) Lewis book or if it was actually better than my old favorites.
This reads like a conversation between two deeply connected people on their private experiences with prayer.
The informal format removes this book from setting itself up to answer all the questions on the various topics. Instead it allows us to consider with Lewis some of the questions to which answers are allusive or difficult.
It doesn’t focus on the big concepts of life, philosophy, and theology. Instead it addresses those things that I actually wonder about in my own mind. Things that I don’t have words fully formed to talk about the nettlesome questions.
For example, on Sunday a preacher in church here in Belgium said something that didn’t seem quite right to me. But I didn’t puzzle out why. It just seemed off. On Friday I was reading Lewis, and he tapped that nail into place and gave me words for why I didn’t like it and why it doesn’t line up right with God’s character.
I’m so glad that I picked this one up. I have already seen it maturing my own time in prayer.
This reads like a conversation between two deeply connected people on their private experiences with prayer.
The informal format removes this book from setting itself up to answer all the questions on the various topics. Instead it allows us to consider with Lewis some of the questions to which answers are allusive or difficult.
It doesn’t focus on the big concepts of life, philosophy, and theology. Instead it addresses those things that I actually wonder about in my own mind. Things that I don’t have words fully formed to talk about the nettlesome questions.
For example, on Sunday a preacher in church here in Belgium said something that didn’t seem quite right to me. But I didn’t puzzle out why. It just seemed off. On Friday I was reading Lewis, and he tapped that nail into place and gave me words for why I didn’t like it and why it doesn’t line up right with God’s character.
I’m so glad that I picked this one up. I have already seen it maturing my own time in prayer.
March 16, 2009
Spectacular and beautiful. CS Lewis' earlier books were very well written and (in my personal opinion) rather well argued. This is not an "argued" book, though; the subtitle "reflections" is a more apt description. That's not to say Lewis fails to present good arguments for his ideas, but the matter of the book is more of a 'search' than of a 'telling.' Especially towards the end, Lewis shows how much he has learned through his life on how to describe the beauty that we see beyond the physicality of the world. I'm not sure I learned as much on 'prayer' itself from reading this book, but, like Surprised by Joy, I learned quite a bit about where prayer brought another human, and where I too wander when my thoughts turn to God.
July 3, 2017
"I am not saying to anyone in the world: 'Your explanation is wrong.' I am saying: ' Your explanation leaves the mystery for me still a mystery.'
C.S. Lewis witty and candid ability to convey his thoughts never ceases to amaze me. This short but powerful read was no different.
C.S. Lewis witty and candid ability to convey his thoughts never ceases to amaze me. This short but powerful read was no different.
May 14, 2022
Lewis had a brilliant mind and beautiful imagination, and he wasn’t afraid to use them. He dared to explore the serious things of life, but did so in the most playful, engaging, and disarming manner. Here the subject is of course prayer; and if you’ll allow him, he'll gladly bring you along on his venture. Read with careful discernment—he speculates frequently—but read too with carefree delight. His trips are one of a kind.
April 4, 2020
This was a nice daily read. Maybe it was my own restless mood in the middle of the quarantine but I did not like this as much as other Lewis books, but it does bring me closer to my goal of reading all of his books.
January 31, 2023
As a gay person who identifies as Christian, I often feel disconnected from traditional doctrinal approaches to God and scripture because of the assumptions they are based on. I’ve reviewed some progressive books, like Inspired (by Rachel Held Evans), that break the norms and beautifully reflect the Christian values I hold dear. There have also been times I have resonated deeply with Lewis, but here for me he fell flat. Prayer is central to faith for me and I think can be a basic link to God for any person of any race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious experience. Here I was hoping that Lewis could help me with some of my deeper questions about prayer, but instead I felt like his theological reasonings worked themselves in and out of knots, in a doctrinally self-created quagmire. For me Lewis is at his best when he stays away from the metaphysical and discusses instead how humans interact with God.
I will continue to pray and hopefully the next book I read on prayer will prove more enlightening.
I will continue to pray and hopefully the next book I read on prayer will prove more enlightening.
April 18, 2021
This was a glimpse into a correspondence with Lewis’ fictional friend Malcolm, and Betty, his wife, through letters discussing prayer and the praying life. I really enjoyed it because as is always the case with Lewis, he expanded my mind around heart and soul matters almost to bursting and like any true growth, dismantled my muscle memory on prayer, making it grow back stronger. So many slight tweaks of even thinking about how I look at and go to the place of prayer was really helpful. I have been mulling over several points for weeks and I believe he helps Malcolm, Betty and even myself consider the responsibility and privilege of prayer in hopefully, a clearer light.
October 20, 2025
Before I review this book and disappoint you (Zach), know that it took me far too long to read this. Therefore, I did not get as much out of it as I had hoped that I would. This review will then be me essentially going back and observing the things that I underlined.
One of the things that I appreciated about Lewis’ writing in the book is how relatable he is. He speaks candidly about prayer saying things such as, “We are reluctant to begin. We are delighted to finish. While we are at prayer… any trifle is enough to distract us.” Or “What is more natural, and easier, if you believe in God, than to address Him? How could one not?”
The reason that I gave this four stars is simply because I am not smart enough to understand all of its contents. Lewis writes above my (and our) heads, and it is nearly frustrating to think that had I understood more, I could enjoy more.
There are some profound insights though as I go through this. Speaking of one’s posture, Lewis writes, “The body ought to pray as well as the soul.”
Speaking on habits, he writes, “those who have not learned to ask Him for childish things will have less readiness to ask Him for great ones.”
Speaking on the phrase “Thy will be done,” he writes, “The petition, then, is not merely that I may suffer patiently God’s will but also that I may vigorously do it.”
Speaking of our sinfulness, he writes, “We poison the wine as He decants it into us; murder a melody He would play with us as the instrument. We caricature the self-portrait He would paint. Hence all sin, whatever else it is, is sacrilege.”
Finally, speaking on objects in worship, he writes, “The mere fact of keeping one’s eyes focused on something — almost any object will do — is some help towards concentration. The visual concentration symbolizes, and promotes, the mental. That’s one of the ways the body teaches the soul. The lines of a well designed church, free from stunts, drawing one’s eyes to the altar, have something of the same effect.”
Sorry for the bad book review, but I hope you appreciated the quotes.
One of the things that I appreciated about Lewis’ writing in the book is how relatable he is. He speaks candidly about prayer saying things such as, “We are reluctant to begin. We are delighted to finish. While we are at prayer… any trifle is enough to distract us.” Or “What is more natural, and easier, if you believe in God, than to address Him? How could one not?”
The reason that I gave this four stars is simply because I am not smart enough to understand all of its contents. Lewis writes above my (and our) heads, and it is nearly frustrating to think that had I understood more, I could enjoy more.
There are some profound insights though as I go through this. Speaking of one’s posture, Lewis writes, “The body ought to pray as well as the soul.”
Speaking on habits, he writes, “those who have not learned to ask Him for childish things will have less readiness to ask Him for great ones.”
Speaking on the phrase “Thy will be done,” he writes, “The petition, then, is not merely that I may suffer patiently God’s will but also that I may vigorously do it.”
Speaking of our sinfulness, he writes, “We poison the wine as He decants it into us; murder a melody He would play with us as the instrument. We caricature the self-portrait He would paint. Hence all sin, whatever else it is, is sacrilege.”
Finally, speaking on objects in worship, he writes, “The mere fact of keeping one’s eyes focused on something — almost any object will do — is some help towards concentration. The visual concentration symbolizes, and promotes, the mental. That’s one of the ways the body teaches the soul. The lines of a well designed church, free from stunts, drawing one’s eyes to the altar, have something of the same effect.”
Sorry for the bad book review, but I hope you appreciated the quotes.
May 1, 2018
I love C.S. Lewis's ability to take the abstract elements of Christian faith and make them seem much more attainable and real. Each of the individual letters in this collection examines a different aspect of prayer, with Lewis's overall message being that prayer should never be made into a complicated or difficult task. In his mind, the day-to-day is packed full of meaning and opportunities for spiritual growth, if only we would recognize them and use them.
His very first letter was particularly relevant to today's church service, at least in my experience. He argues that novelty in worship services can actually impede worship itself. I think he's right here; in trying so hard to attract new members with the 'latest and greatest' in digital tech, music styles, or video editing, the church can actually interfere with the congregant's ability to just worship. As Lewis observed, "There is really some excuse for the man who said, 'I wish they'd remember that the charge to Peter was Feed my sheep; not Try experiments on my rats, or even, Teach my performing dogs new tricks.'" There's something so beautiful about the traditional liturgy, and I really love that Lewis understood that and valued it.
I also enjoyed how Lewis views the "low" or commonplace parts of life as the building blocks for "higher" faith. As he so wisely put it, "We - or at least I - shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest . . . Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are 'patches of Godlight' in the woods of our experience." So beautiful, and so true!
Another great one by C.S. Lewis!
His very first letter was particularly relevant to today's church service, at least in my experience. He argues that novelty in worship services can actually impede worship itself. I think he's right here; in trying so hard to attract new members with the 'latest and greatest' in digital tech, music styles, or video editing, the church can actually interfere with the congregant's ability to just worship. As Lewis observed, "There is really some excuse for the man who said, 'I wish they'd remember that the charge to Peter was Feed my sheep; not Try experiments on my rats, or even, Teach my performing dogs new tricks.'" There's something so beautiful about the traditional liturgy, and I really love that Lewis understood that and valued it.
I also enjoyed how Lewis views the "low" or commonplace parts of life as the building blocks for "higher" faith. As he so wisely put it, "We - or at least I - shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest . . . Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are 'patches of Godlight' in the woods of our experience." So beautiful, and so true!
Another great one by C.S. Lewis!
September 3, 2018
This book is one half of a conversation. They are Lewis' half of a conversation carried out over time with a friend generally on the topic of prayer. I say generally because, as the letters meander through various specific aspects of prayer, things like free will, time, God's sovereignty, purgatory (which Lewis comes right out and says he believes in) and more are also addressed.
I found it humorous at one point how Lewis says he would never attempt to actually write a book on prayer and is grateful that the topic can be discussed with a friend where there is no fear of publication. Oops.
You can definitely hear CS Lewis' voice and personality in these letters. I don't really mind having only "half the set" so to speak because you can usually get a pretty good idea of what Malcolm would have written to Lewis by the way he responds. I always find it amusing how loved Lewis is by Evangelicals when he himself clearly was not one. I think in this book, that fact is more in evidence than in most of his more formal works. I do respect and appreciate Lewis a lot and, even though I might not agree with him on every point, I do appreciate that his informal reflections on prayer have been preserved for us all to read.
I found it humorous at one point how Lewis says he would never attempt to actually write a book on prayer and is grateful that the topic can be discussed with a friend where there is no fear of publication. Oops.
You can definitely hear CS Lewis' voice and personality in these letters. I don't really mind having only "half the set" so to speak because you can usually get a pretty good idea of what Malcolm would have written to Lewis by the way he responds. I always find it amusing how loved Lewis is by Evangelicals when he himself clearly was not one. I think in this book, that fact is more in evidence than in most of his more formal works. I do respect and appreciate Lewis a lot and, even though I might not agree with him on every point, I do appreciate that his informal reflections on prayer have been preserved for us all to read.
November 10, 2025
First off, I loved the format of this book. Lewis exploring thoughts on prayer in this way showed me one way that I might be able to work through thoughts myself. I may try this myself. It kind of follows my father's opinion that until you know how to teach someone something, you haven't fully learned it. I actually don't agree with Dad on that (we're not all suited to teach everything), but the concept was pretty cool.
I tabbed this book to death. It feels like nearly every page has at least one highlight tab. But I think what I loved most is that Lewis (in his usual way) focuses on practicality, forthrightness, and attention to prayer regardless of whether we know what's going on as we learn this life of prayer. It holds that feel of what Lewis calls "the mantle of Christlikeness." And oh my word, the bit about the Lord's Prayer being a distilling of the Psalms... fascinating!
I tabbed this book to death. It feels like nearly every page has at least one highlight tab. But I think what I loved most is that Lewis (in his usual way) focuses on practicality, forthrightness, and attention to prayer regardless of whether we know what's going on as we learn this life of prayer. It holds that feel of what Lewis calls "the mantle of Christlikeness." And oh my word, the bit about the Lord's Prayer being a distilling of the Psalms... fascinating!
July 13, 2022
3.25 stars
Some great content! Some that isn't as precise or clear and could open up some interesting theology. Overall, and as usual, Lewis is a masterful writer with poignant wisdom.
“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”
"I am often I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them."
"We want to know not how we should pray if we were perfect but how we should pray being as we now are."
“We must lay before him what is in us; not what ought to be in us.”
Some great content! Some that isn't as precise or clear and could open up some interesting theology. Overall, and as usual, Lewis is a masterful writer with poignant wisdom.
“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”
"I am often I believe, praying for others when I should be doing things for them."
"We want to know not how we should pray if we were perfect but how we should pray being as we now are."
“We must lay before him what is in us; not what ought to be in us.”
February 17, 2025
This is fantastic. If The Screwtape Letters is about the dark side of spirituality, these letters are about the side that many of us Christians know better. It deserves more renowned than it gets.
January 26, 2021
I think this may be the shortest book C.S. Lewis ever wrote, and, if I’m remembering things correctly, was also his last.
Perhaps because of this, it also feels like the most casual and intimate of his works.
And it’s not just because of the letter format. It’s because as you read it, it feels as if you and Lewis are sitting at a pub together following one of his lectures, as he gives you his off the cuff thoughts on prayer and his own theology.
“Letters to Malcolm” doesn’t offer any hard-line answers or well-researched rebuffs regarding the concept of prayer, and I think I really enjoyed it partially for that reason. Even Lewis acknowledges that prayer is a mystery, and is incredibly personal and unique in the human experience. Instead, he uses this book as an to opportunity to muse on one of the great undefined areas of the Christian life, and to invite others to do the same.
I was particularly struck by his thoughts on Matthew 7:7, “ask, and it shall be given to you” (spoiler: according to Lewis, most of us don’t qualify as “you”— only those who are truly praying in alignment with the will of God), and with his musings on communion. There are too many good quotes to include here, but I’ll end with this one:
“We are always completely, and therefore equally, known to God. That is our destiny whether we like it or not. But though this knowledge never varies, the quality of our being known can . . . When we become aware of the fact— the present fact, not the generalization— and assent with all our will to be so known, then we treat ourselves, in relation to God, not as things but as persons. We have unveiled. Not that any veil could have baffled this sight. The change is in us. The passive changes to the active. Instead of merely being known, we show, we tell, we offer ourselves to view.”
Perhaps because of this, it also feels like the most casual and intimate of his works.
And it’s not just because of the letter format. It’s because as you read it, it feels as if you and Lewis are sitting at a pub together following one of his lectures, as he gives you his off the cuff thoughts on prayer and his own theology.
“Letters to Malcolm” doesn’t offer any hard-line answers or well-researched rebuffs regarding the concept of prayer, and I think I really enjoyed it partially for that reason. Even Lewis acknowledges that prayer is a mystery, and is incredibly personal and unique in the human experience. Instead, he uses this book as an to opportunity to muse on one of the great undefined areas of the Christian life, and to invite others to do the same.
I was particularly struck by his thoughts on Matthew 7:7, “ask, and it shall be given to you” (spoiler: according to Lewis, most of us don’t qualify as “you”— only those who are truly praying in alignment with the will of God), and with his musings on communion. There are too many good quotes to include here, but I’ll end with this one:
“We are always completely, and therefore equally, known to God. That is our destiny whether we like it or not. But though this knowledge never varies, the quality of our being known can . . . When we become aware of the fact— the present fact, not the generalization— and assent with all our will to be so known, then we treat ourselves, in relation to God, not as things but as persons. We have unveiled. Not that any veil could have baffled this sight. The change is in us. The passive changes to the active. Instead of merely being known, we show, we tell, we offer ourselves to view.”
November 25, 2014
Not Lewis at his best. The excuse could be made that, as a posthumous book, it may not have been quite ready for publication. The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature was also published after Lewis died, but (despite being non-fiction) is just short of amazing.
The format is much like The Screwtape Letters: one side of an exchange of letters, this one supposedly with C. S. Lewis with an old friend Malcolm. Most, but not all, time references seem to date it to the last years of Lewis's life (the early 1060s). It doesn't work as well as Screwtape, but it does work.
Really more a 3.5. Too bad Lewis didn't have a few more years to work on it . . . and a lot of other things.
The format is much like The Screwtape Letters: one side of an exchange of letters, this one supposedly with C. S. Lewis with an old friend Malcolm. Most, but not all, time references seem to date it to the last years of Lewis's life (the early 1060s). It doesn't work as well as Screwtape, but it does work.
Really more a 3.5. Too bad Lewis didn't have a few more years to work on it . . . and a lot of other things.
November 10, 2014
This is a strange little volume. I was not aware that Malcolm is fictitious until I did some research after reading this, which throws a surreal light upon the work. Apparently Lewis was attempting to find an ideal way in which he could casually consider some topics (chiefly prayer) without the bother of having to make academically suitable arguments for his theories. I enjoyed the work, and found some of his ideas to be on the money, and some to be perplexingly under-thought (for instance, his belief in Purgatory). The parts about prayer are the best, but most of the rest feels as if, in the description of one reviewer, you're a third wheel looking in on a conversation that doesn't necessarily concern you. It's certainly worth reading if you're a Lewis fan, or if you're curious on some of his thoughts concerning prayer, but it wouldn't come highly recommended by me to the uninitiated.
3.5
3.5
October 16, 2016
C.S. Lewis is always a good read. This is not a book, however, I would recommend to someone who wants to grow in his prayer life; there are other books that accomplish that far better.
Some quotes:
"A concentrated mind and a sitting body make for better prayer than a kneeling body and a mind half asleep."
"If the imagination were obedient, the appetites would give us very little trouble."
"Joy is the serious business of Heaven."
"There is no morality in Heaven."
Referring to the suffering and afflictions that we must experience: "We are Christians, not Stoics."
Some quotes:
"A concentrated mind and a sitting body make for better prayer than a kneeling body and a mind half asleep."
"If the imagination were obedient, the appetites would give us very little trouble."
"Joy is the serious business of Heaven."
"There is no morality in Heaven."
Referring to the suffering and afflictions that we must experience: "We are Christians, not Stoics."
November 14, 2017
Such a believable mix of the convivial and the profound that I was surprised to find out the dialogue of letters was fictional. Oh well. Very good anyway. Now I don't have to sigh with the realization that none of my conversational correspondence reaches those levels.
March 30, 2022
It was interesting to read this right after Screwtape Letters. I felt like I was getting two different perspectives on prayer and the spiritual life. Lewis is always good.
June 4, 2024
My love for this man is steadily progressing from the usual admiration by reader of author into something distinctly romantic and probably ill-advised. And I’m not even ashamed to admit it. This book is so, so brilliant, in so many different ways. Some of it was dense and difficult and made my brain hurt, some of it hit right where and when it counted and soothed my heart. There’s something bittersweet and yet appropriate about this being one of the last things he wrote.
“It takes all sorts to make a world; or a church. This may be even truer of a church. If grace perfects nature it must expand all our natures into the full richness of the diversity which God intended when He made them, and Heaven will display far more variety than Hell.”
“We cannot really believe that degrees of attention, and therefore of inattention, and therefore of something like forgetfulness, exist in the Absolute Mind. I presume that only God’s attention keeps me (or anything else) in existence at all.”
“It would be rash to say that there is any prayer which God *never* grants. But the strongest candidate is the prayer we might express in the single word ‘encore’. And how should the Infinite repeat Himself? All space and time are too little for Him to utter Himself in them *once*.”
“Have we any reason to suppose that total self-knowledge, if it were given us, would be for our good? Children and fools, we are told, should never look at half-done work; and we are not yet, I trust, even half-done.”
“In the Incarnation, God the Son takes the body and human soul of Jesus, and, through that, the whole environment of Nature, all the creaturely predicament, into His own being. So that ‘He came down from Heaven’ can almost be transposed into ‘Heaven drew earth up into it,’ and locality, limitation, sleep, sweat, footsore weariness, frustration, pain, doubt, and death, are, from before all worlds, known by God from within. The pure light walks the earth; the darkness, received into the heart of Deity, is there swallowed up. Where, except in uncreated light, can the darkness be drowned?”
“Bemused and besotted as we are, we still dimly know at heart that nothing which is at all times and in every way agreeable to us can have objective reality. It is of the very nature of the real that it should have sharp corners and rough edges, that it should be resistant, should be itself… You and I have both known a happy marriage. But how different our wives were from the imaginary mistresses of our adolescent dreams! So much less exquisitely adapted to all our wishes; and for that very reason (among others) so incomparably better!”
“Only God Himself can let the bucket down to the depths in us. And, on the other side, He must constantly work as the iconoclast. Every idea of Him we form, He must in mercy shatter. The most blessed result of prayer would be to rise thinking, ‘But I never knew before. I never dreamed…’”
“God, besides being the Great Creator, is the Tragic Redeemer. Perhaps the Tragic Creator too. For I am not sure that the great canyon of anguish which lies across our lives is solely due to some pre-historic catastrophe. Something tragic may, as I think I’ve said before, be inherent in the very act of creation.”
“Anger - no peevish fit of temper, but just, generous, scalding indignation - passes (not necessarily at once) into embracing, exultant, re-welcoming love. That is how friends and lovers are truly reconciled. Hot wrath, hot love. Such anger is the fluid that love bleeds when you cut it.”
“It takes all sorts to make a world; or a church. This may be even truer of a church. If grace perfects nature it must expand all our natures into the full richness of the diversity which God intended when He made them, and Heaven will display far more variety than Hell.”
“We cannot really believe that degrees of attention, and therefore of inattention, and therefore of something like forgetfulness, exist in the Absolute Mind. I presume that only God’s attention keeps me (or anything else) in existence at all.”
“It would be rash to say that there is any prayer which God *never* grants. But the strongest candidate is the prayer we might express in the single word ‘encore’. And how should the Infinite repeat Himself? All space and time are too little for Him to utter Himself in them *once*.”
“Have we any reason to suppose that total self-knowledge, if it were given us, would be for our good? Children and fools, we are told, should never look at half-done work; and we are not yet, I trust, even half-done.”
“In the Incarnation, God the Son takes the body and human soul of Jesus, and, through that, the whole environment of Nature, all the creaturely predicament, into His own being. So that ‘He came down from Heaven’ can almost be transposed into ‘Heaven drew earth up into it,’ and locality, limitation, sleep, sweat, footsore weariness, frustration, pain, doubt, and death, are, from before all worlds, known by God from within. The pure light walks the earth; the darkness, received into the heart of Deity, is there swallowed up. Where, except in uncreated light, can the darkness be drowned?”
“Bemused and besotted as we are, we still dimly know at heart that nothing which is at all times and in every way agreeable to us can have objective reality. It is of the very nature of the real that it should have sharp corners and rough edges, that it should be resistant, should be itself… You and I have both known a happy marriage. But how different our wives were from the imaginary mistresses of our adolescent dreams! So much less exquisitely adapted to all our wishes; and for that very reason (among others) so incomparably better!”
“Only God Himself can let the bucket down to the depths in us. And, on the other side, He must constantly work as the iconoclast. Every idea of Him we form, He must in mercy shatter. The most blessed result of prayer would be to rise thinking, ‘But I never knew before. I never dreamed…’”
“God, besides being the Great Creator, is the Tragic Redeemer. Perhaps the Tragic Creator too. For I am not sure that the great canyon of anguish which lies across our lives is solely due to some pre-historic catastrophe. Something tragic may, as I think I’ve said before, be inherent in the very act of creation.”
“Anger - no peevish fit of temper, but just, generous, scalding indignation - passes (not necessarily at once) into embracing, exultant, re-welcoming love. That is how friends and lovers are truly reconciled. Hot wrath, hot love. Such anger is the fluid that love bleeds when you cut it.”
July 17, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyable. In a similar “fictional” style to Screwtape Letters, Lewis in this book is pretending to write to his friend Malcolm on prayer. The book consists of 22 chapters (letters to Malcolm). As the title says well, the subject chiefly is prayer, but it is not limited to prayer. Lewis discusses other related (and sometimes not-so-related) subjects as well.
Because this book isn’t as well known as some of his others, I thought it would be a tad lower quality. But wow I was wrong. In fact, some of his most quoted things I found herein.
There are no joke probably 30-50 solid points in this 167 page book that I could write a paragraph on here, but here is an insufficient list of some of my favorite things he talked about in the book:
- In the first chapter he discussed liturgy, and how any liturgy is good as long as it is ‘learned, it doesn’t distract, and it aids in worship. Bad liturgy however is when we focus on the liturgy. His analogy: you have to learn to dance, but good dancing is when you dance and don’t think about the step motions; good reading comes when you not thinking about the light, eyes, or spelling; a good shoes is a shoe you don’t notice (2).
- In chapter 6, he talked about how we need not only a preliminary act of submission to any afflictions that God gives us, but an act of submission to any blessings he might give us. This is new and profound to me. His point is that we often “reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good…God shows us a new facet of glory and we refuse to look at it because we’re still looking for the old one” (34). In other words, we must, in prayer, in the begging of the day preferably, not only get ourselves ready for trials, but good things. Why? Because we need to submit to what goods God decides to give us too. So often we don’t do this, and we miss the good, or we wish we had some other good. Lewis’ point is practical and I believe will bear much fruit for those who heed.
- In chapter 10, he beautifully explains that one of the purposes of prayer is probably “to bear witness that the course of events is not governed like a state but created like a work of art to which every being makes it contribution and (in prayer) a conscious contribution, and in which every being is both an end and means” (75). His point is that we must see that we do not worship a mere “Managerial God” who governs all things just by his general laws. Rather, “if there is Providence at all, everything is providential and every providence is a special providence” (74). In other words, he is involved in all. So it isn’t like a lawgiver trying to keep the state governed. It is rather like a master Artist creating a piece of art. Prayer is involvement in this Artist’s process, not mainly submitting to a Governor.
- Concerning sin, in chapter 93 I think he explained it so well, talking about how it is so bad because it is taking God’s energy and twisting it: “Indeed the only way in which I can make real to myself what theology teaches about the heinousness of sin is to remember that every sin is the distortion of an energy breathed into us…We poising the wine as He decants it into us; murder a melody He would play with us as the instrument. We caricature the self-portrait He would paint. Hence all sin, whatever else it is, is sacrilege” (93-94). Poignantly said.
- In chapter 15, he has this great section about how the real struggle for him in prayer is to get behind all the transitory and even less-real things and truly communicate with God, since he is truly real. Here’s his ideas: “Now the moment of prayer is for me—or involves for me as its condition—the awareness, the re-awakened awareness, that this ‘real world’ and ‘real self’ are very far from being rock-bottom realities. I cannot, in the flesh, leave the stage…In prayer this real I struggles to speak, for once, from this real being, and to address, for once, not the other actors, but—what shall I call Him? The Author, for He invented all? The Producer, for He controls all? Or the Audience, for He watched, and all judge, the performance?” This is true of itself. But then he brilliantly continues, explaining how prayer is essential a theophany in itself when this is considered: “The attempt is not to escape from space and time and from my creaturely situation as a subject facing objects. It is more modest: to re-awake the awareness of that situation. If that can be done, there is no need to go anywhere else. This situation itself, is, at every moment, a possible theophany. Here is the holy ground; the Bush is burning now” (111). What a way to stir prayer! Realize what is real; the Bush is burning now.
- In chapter 17, he talks about how when you pray, it is helpful to “begin where you are.” Meaning, don’t try to right away go into huge adoration for God’s grand glories. That is hard to do. Instead, use what is clearly manifest then and there to start. For example, thank God for the water and the hands you have. See Lewis’ actual quote for more on page 119, for it is far better than that weak description.
- One of the best and deservedly most famous quotes from the book comes on pages 119-123, where Lewis talks about not just thanking God for good/pleasures, but turning pleasures into “channels of adoration.” These pages are brilliant. Seriously. But to sum it up, he says that “Gratitude explains, very properly: ‘How good fo God to give me this.’ Adoration says, ‘What must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscation are like this!’ One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun” (121). Oh that I would thank God more for the little goods and pleasures, but even more, oh that I would adore him more like this! The good news is that Lewis admits this is hard, but by practice it can become easier. If we start doing it for the small things here and there, doing it more frequently and for the big things will become easier: “We must learnt o walk before one can run” (122)
Much more could and should be said. Overall, a wonderful book. I (with hesitance) might say I enjoyed the content here even more than The Weight of Glory addresses. I enjoy longer 20 pages chapters rather than many short 6 page chapters personally, but wow he was full of profundity in this book!
I would totally recommend. It wasn’t a prayer book per se—trying to just stir one to prayer—instead it has some insights on prayer, but many insights on the Christian life, God himself, and the glories to come. Read and enjoy!
Because this book isn’t as well known as some of his others, I thought it would be a tad lower quality. But wow I was wrong. In fact, some of his most quoted things I found herein.
There are no joke probably 30-50 solid points in this 167 page book that I could write a paragraph on here, but here is an insufficient list of some of my favorite things he talked about in the book:
- In the first chapter he discussed liturgy, and how any liturgy is good as long as it is ‘learned, it doesn’t distract, and it aids in worship. Bad liturgy however is when we focus on the liturgy. His analogy: you have to learn to dance, but good dancing is when you dance and don’t think about the step motions; good reading comes when you not thinking about the light, eyes, or spelling; a good shoes is a shoe you don’t notice (2).
- In chapter 6, he talked about how we need not only a preliminary act of submission to any afflictions that God gives us, but an act of submission to any blessings he might give us. This is new and profound to me. His point is that we often “reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good…God shows us a new facet of glory and we refuse to look at it because we’re still looking for the old one” (34). In other words, we must, in prayer, in the begging of the day preferably, not only get ourselves ready for trials, but good things. Why? Because we need to submit to what goods God decides to give us too. So often we don’t do this, and we miss the good, or we wish we had some other good. Lewis’ point is practical and I believe will bear much fruit for those who heed.
- In chapter 10, he beautifully explains that one of the purposes of prayer is probably “to bear witness that the course of events is not governed like a state but created like a work of art to which every being makes it contribution and (in prayer) a conscious contribution, and in which every being is both an end and means” (75). His point is that we must see that we do not worship a mere “Managerial God” who governs all things just by his general laws. Rather, “if there is Providence at all, everything is providential and every providence is a special providence” (74). In other words, he is involved in all. So it isn’t like a lawgiver trying to keep the state governed. It is rather like a master Artist creating a piece of art. Prayer is involvement in this Artist’s process, not mainly submitting to a Governor.
- Concerning sin, in chapter 93 I think he explained it so well, talking about how it is so bad because it is taking God’s energy and twisting it: “Indeed the only way in which I can make real to myself what theology teaches about the heinousness of sin is to remember that every sin is the distortion of an energy breathed into us…We poising the wine as He decants it into us; murder a melody He would play with us as the instrument. We caricature the self-portrait He would paint. Hence all sin, whatever else it is, is sacrilege” (93-94). Poignantly said.
- In chapter 15, he has this great section about how the real struggle for him in prayer is to get behind all the transitory and even less-real things and truly communicate with God, since he is truly real. Here’s his ideas: “Now the moment of prayer is for me—or involves for me as its condition—the awareness, the re-awakened awareness, that this ‘real world’ and ‘real self’ are very far from being rock-bottom realities. I cannot, in the flesh, leave the stage…In prayer this real I struggles to speak, for once, from this real being, and to address, for once, not the other actors, but—what shall I call Him? The Author, for He invented all? The Producer, for He controls all? Or the Audience, for He watched, and all judge, the performance?” This is true of itself. But then he brilliantly continues, explaining how prayer is essential a theophany in itself when this is considered: “The attempt is not to escape from space and time and from my creaturely situation as a subject facing objects. It is more modest: to re-awake the awareness of that situation. If that can be done, there is no need to go anywhere else. This situation itself, is, at every moment, a possible theophany. Here is the holy ground; the Bush is burning now” (111). What a way to stir prayer! Realize what is real; the Bush is burning now.
- In chapter 17, he talks about how when you pray, it is helpful to “begin where you are.” Meaning, don’t try to right away go into huge adoration for God’s grand glories. That is hard to do. Instead, use what is clearly manifest then and there to start. For example, thank God for the water and the hands you have. See Lewis’ actual quote for more on page 119, for it is far better than that weak description.
- One of the best and deservedly most famous quotes from the book comes on pages 119-123, where Lewis talks about not just thanking God for good/pleasures, but turning pleasures into “channels of adoration.” These pages are brilliant. Seriously. But to sum it up, he says that “Gratitude explains, very properly: ‘How good fo God to give me this.’ Adoration says, ‘What must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscation are like this!’ One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun” (121). Oh that I would thank God more for the little goods and pleasures, but even more, oh that I would adore him more like this! The good news is that Lewis admits this is hard, but by practice it can become easier. If we start doing it for the small things here and there, doing it more frequently and for the big things will become easier: “We must learnt o walk before one can run” (122)
Much more could and should be said. Overall, a wonderful book. I (with hesitance) might say I enjoyed the content here even more than The Weight of Glory addresses. I enjoy longer 20 pages chapters rather than many short 6 page chapters personally, but wow he was full of profundity in this book!
I would totally recommend. It wasn’t a prayer book per se—trying to just stir one to prayer—instead it has some insights on prayer, but many insights on the Christian life, God himself, and the glories to come. Read and enjoy!
Read
February 22, 2024Hay cosas que me han gustado mucho, pero en términos generales se trata de la obra de un hombre que había decidido alejarse de los debates públicos y, para controlar los temas, inventó su propio compañero, mucho menos inteligente que él, llamado Malcolm (una especie de Watson teológico para su propio Holmes). El resultado final es notable: tal es la magia de la ficción que este libro tan relajado, coloquial y abierto, en estilo y apariencia, es en realidad el más sectario y antagónico de Lewis dirigido principalmente contra los católicos. Su defensa principal: un Cristo que va y viene, a veces desapareciendo de la vida y sin dejar religión ni sacramentos a través de los cuales encontrarse con Él. Y todo ello me resulta muy molesto.
El enfoque general de Lewis a lo largo de toda su obra se centró únicamente en aquellas doctrinas que la mayoría de los cristianos de su época tenían en común. Se refirió a esto como "mero" cristianismo. Cartas a Malcolm, en cambio, contrasta con esta postura. Un ejemplo se encuentra en una temprana aclaración sobre las devociones a los santos, en la que escribe: “Al parecer yo mismo he sido culpable de introducir la devoción a los santos. No lo hice en lo más mínimo. Evidentemente también supone un gran peligro. (…). Sólo espero que no haya plan de canonizaciones en la Iglesia de Inglaterra”.
Si se hubiera tratado de una correspondencia real, pues bueno. Sin embargo, Cartas a Malcolm no es un diálogo real. Por lo tanto, si bien Lewis, el personaje, se muestra reticente a discutir el tema de las devociones, de hecho, es el mismo tema que Lewis el autor desea abordar. Esta técnica de protestar contra la dirección de la discusión justo antes o después de ofrecer una opinión anticatólica es una que Lewis mantiene a lo largo del libro.
Unas quince páginas después, en Malcolm hay un pasaje que cualquier católico inglés de la generación habría tomado como algo personal. Lewis vuelve su argumento contra John Henry Newman: “Newman me hiela la sangre cuando dice en uno de los discursos parroquiales y Sermones Sencillos de que el cielo es como un templo”.
En esta carta en particular, Lewis coquetea con el concepto, al menos hasta el punto de estar dispuesto a establecer una tentativa dicotomía entre "religión" y "fe". La popularidad de esta teología ha aumentado constantemente hasta la presente década, pero está más que refutada( Fe, Verdad y Tolerancia de Benedicto XVI).
Pero lo peor es que Lewis muestra a Newman únicamente bajo una luz deliberadamente negativa. Podría haber elegido cualquier cantidad de pasajes de las obras de Newman, pero no lo hizo. ¿Por qué? Lo más probable es que la respuesta sea que muchos anglicanos todavía consideran a Newman una amenaza teológica, entonces, el ataque de Lewis no es un caso único y solitario, sino parte de una tradición más amplia y sostenida de antipatía anglicana hacia el famoso converso.
A partir de este momento, Cartas a Malcolm continúa muestra desprecio por las "oraciones ya hechas", como él las llama. En la carta doce, incluso especula que aquellos que "dicen sus oraciones" podrían estar llamando a la parte irreligiosa de sus vidas la parte religiosa. De este modo, se descarta indirectamente el rezo del Rosario, Y, para colmo de males calificó tales prácticas de infantiles. Me pregunto si Tolkien se habrá preguntado qué había pasado con el Lewis que había conocido en décadas anteriores, el colega que se había unido a él en la lucha contra las mismas percepciones de la literatura mitopoeica: que era algo que debía abandonarse cuando llegaba la edad adulta.
Dejando a un lado esta especulación, Lewis continúa menospreciando la legitimidad tanto del misticismo como de la oración mental, señalando los ejercicios espirituales de San Ignacio de Loyola como particularmente innecesarios. Mientras lo hace, sus comentarios de respeto parecen incómodamente falsos, ya que toda su razón para incluir a San Ignacio en la conversación parece haber sido con el propósito de descartar la legitimidad de sus ejercicios espirituales.
Lewis se vuelve más explícitamente anticatólico al descartar los crucifijos e incluso la contemplación de la crucifixión. La larga historia de iconoclasia protestante y rechazo del crucifijo es bien conocida y no es necesario hablar sobre ella aquí; lo sorprendente es que Lewis va un paso más allá, sugiriendo que incluso la meditación sobre la pasión de Cristo debería restringirse y, en la mayoría de los casos, parte, evitado.
Significativamente, es también en esta carta donde Lewis prepara el escenario para lo que realmente debe haber provocado que Tolkien usara la palabra "horrorizado" al describir el libro; porque aquí Lewis escribe que "toda nuestra distinción entre 'cosas' y 'cualidades', 'sustancias' y 'actitudes' no tiene aplicación para Él". A pesar de la elección aparentemente aleatoria de los términos, Lewis apunta a algo específico cuando menciona la palabra "sustancias": es una referencia directa a la eucarístía. Y aquí empieza a preparar el escenario para la negación explícita de la transustanciación: “considero que la "substancia" (en el sentido aristotélico), despojada de sus accidentes y dotada de los accidentes de alguna otra sustancia, me parece una noción que no puedo entender. Mis esfuerzos por hacerlo producen pensamientos infantiles.” De nuevo catolicismo asociado con infantil.
Finalmente, en la carta número veintidós escribe sobre la Resurrección del Cuerpo y une muchas de las opiniones menos ortodoxas de Lewis (entre otras: “sobre la resurrección del cuerpo. Estoy de acuerdo con usted en que la vieja imagen del alma reasumiendo el cadáver -tal vez hecho pedazos o hace mucho tiempo útilmente disipado a través de la naturaleza- es absurda”).
Lo que más me ha molestado, es que para protegerse contra críticas, Lewis emplea el recurso de matizar y quitar importancia a sus opiniones. La atmósfera informal de conversación espontánea y privada, una atmósfera de humildad y ambiente especulativo del libro, tienen lugar de manera más prominente después de los ataques a la teología y doctrina católica romana. Vale la pena reiterar, sin embargo, que estos no fueron comentarios espontáneos ni privados. Estaban bien elaborados y deliberadamente públicos.
Si el objetivo de Lewis era atacar al catolicismo y al mismo tiempo hacer que el contraataque pareciera intolerante e irrazonable, su construcción de Cartas a Malcolm fue bastante ingeniosa. Sin duda, el resultado de los muchos años de Lewis como prolífico escritor de cartas.
El enfoque general de Lewis a lo largo de toda su obra se centró únicamente en aquellas doctrinas que la mayoría de los cristianos de su época tenían en común. Se refirió a esto como "mero" cristianismo. Cartas a Malcolm, en cambio, contrasta con esta postura. Un ejemplo se encuentra en una temprana aclaración sobre las devociones a los santos, en la que escribe: “Al parecer yo mismo he sido culpable de introducir la devoción a los santos. No lo hice en lo más mínimo. Evidentemente también supone un gran peligro. (…). Sólo espero que no haya plan de canonizaciones en la Iglesia de Inglaterra”.
Si se hubiera tratado de una correspondencia real, pues bueno. Sin embargo, Cartas a Malcolm no es un diálogo real. Por lo tanto, si bien Lewis, el personaje, se muestra reticente a discutir el tema de las devociones, de hecho, es el mismo tema que Lewis el autor desea abordar. Esta técnica de protestar contra la dirección de la discusión justo antes o después de ofrecer una opinión anticatólica es una que Lewis mantiene a lo largo del libro.
Unas quince páginas después, en Malcolm hay un pasaje que cualquier católico inglés de la generación habría tomado como algo personal. Lewis vuelve su argumento contra John Henry Newman: “Newman me hiela la sangre cuando dice en uno de los discursos parroquiales y Sermones Sencillos de que el cielo es como un templo”.
En esta carta en particular, Lewis coquetea con el concepto, al menos hasta el punto de estar dispuesto a establecer una tentativa dicotomía entre "religión" y "fe". La popularidad de esta teología ha aumentado constantemente hasta la presente década, pero está más que refutada( Fe, Verdad y Tolerancia de Benedicto XVI).
Pero lo peor es que Lewis muestra a Newman únicamente bajo una luz deliberadamente negativa. Podría haber elegido cualquier cantidad de pasajes de las obras de Newman, pero no lo hizo. ¿Por qué? Lo más probable es que la respuesta sea que muchos anglicanos todavía consideran a Newman una amenaza teológica, entonces, el ataque de Lewis no es un caso único y solitario, sino parte de una tradición más amplia y sostenida de antipatía anglicana hacia el famoso converso.
A partir de este momento, Cartas a Malcolm continúa muestra desprecio por las "oraciones ya hechas", como él las llama. En la carta doce, incluso especula que aquellos que "dicen sus oraciones" podrían estar llamando a la parte irreligiosa de sus vidas la parte religiosa. De este modo, se descarta indirectamente el rezo del Rosario, Y, para colmo de males calificó tales prácticas de infantiles. Me pregunto si Tolkien se habrá preguntado qué había pasado con el Lewis que había conocido en décadas anteriores, el colega que se había unido a él en la lucha contra las mismas percepciones de la literatura mitopoeica: que era algo que debía abandonarse cuando llegaba la edad adulta.
Dejando a un lado esta especulación, Lewis continúa menospreciando la legitimidad tanto del misticismo como de la oración mental, señalando los ejercicios espirituales de San Ignacio de Loyola como particularmente innecesarios. Mientras lo hace, sus comentarios de respeto parecen incómodamente falsos, ya que toda su razón para incluir a San Ignacio en la conversación parece haber sido con el propósito de descartar la legitimidad de sus ejercicios espirituales.
Lewis se vuelve más explícitamente anticatólico al descartar los crucifijos e incluso la contemplación de la crucifixión. La larga historia de iconoclasia protestante y rechazo del crucifijo es bien conocida y no es necesario hablar sobre ella aquí; lo sorprendente es que Lewis va un paso más allá, sugiriendo que incluso la meditación sobre la pasión de Cristo debería restringirse y, en la mayoría de los casos, parte, evitado.
Significativamente, es también en esta carta donde Lewis prepara el escenario para lo que realmente debe haber provocado que Tolkien usara la palabra "horrorizado" al describir el libro; porque aquí Lewis escribe que "toda nuestra distinción entre 'cosas' y 'cualidades', 'sustancias' y 'actitudes' no tiene aplicación para Él". A pesar de la elección aparentemente aleatoria de los términos, Lewis apunta a algo específico cuando menciona la palabra "sustancias": es una referencia directa a la eucarístía. Y aquí empieza a preparar el escenario para la negación explícita de la transustanciación: “considero que la "substancia" (en el sentido aristotélico), despojada de sus accidentes y dotada de los accidentes de alguna otra sustancia, me parece una noción que no puedo entender. Mis esfuerzos por hacerlo producen pensamientos infantiles.” De nuevo catolicismo asociado con infantil.
Finalmente, en la carta número veintidós escribe sobre la Resurrección del Cuerpo y une muchas de las opiniones menos ortodoxas de Lewis (entre otras: “sobre la resurrección del cuerpo. Estoy de acuerdo con usted en que la vieja imagen del alma reasumiendo el cadáver -tal vez hecho pedazos o hace mucho tiempo útilmente disipado a través de la naturaleza- es absurda”).
Lo que más me ha molestado, es que para protegerse contra críticas, Lewis emplea el recurso de matizar y quitar importancia a sus opiniones. La atmósfera informal de conversación espontánea y privada, una atmósfera de humildad y ambiente especulativo del libro, tienen lugar de manera más prominente después de los ataques a la teología y doctrina católica romana. Vale la pena reiterar, sin embargo, que estos no fueron comentarios espontáneos ni privados. Estaban bien elaborados y deliberadamente públicos.
Si el objetivo de Lewis era atacar al catolicismo y al mismo tiempo hacer que el contraataque pareciera intolerante e irrazonable, su construcción de Cartas a Malcolm fue bastante ingeniosa. Sin duda, el resultado de los muchos años de Lewis como prolífico escritor de cartas.
February 13, 2022
Just listening to the Convo
This has been one of my favorite C. S. Lewis reads. I do enjoy listening to a good conversation. This book is a collection of letters from Lewis to his friend Malcolm, mostly on the subject of Prayer. They discuss a variety of odd snippets along the way. But, it felt like sitting off to the side of the great man's armchair while he talked with his friend Malcolm. You don't hear Malcolm's side of the convo, but much can be guessed.
As most of you know, I've enjoyed reading 15 of Lewis' books that do not require travel through wardrobes during the first half of February. I've called this theme 'Loving Lewis' because, I admire his work. His writing is not only prodigious, having a great quantity of output, but the quality of his work remains spectacular across many generations. He has influenced many people around the world. My reasoning for choosing to avoid the wardrobe, by the way, was that most people have heard of and/or read those books. Many of us know how great they are already. I wanted to showcase more of the man's work. This will be my last Lewis for the time being. I hope you've enjoyed these as much as I have.
My next February read is Sankofa, by Chibundu Onuzu.
Once again, I enjoyed all these Lewis books entirely free on Audible from the Members Plus catalog. I also downloaded free e-text copies of most of them from the FadedPages website. I think it is entirely possible to fill a Kindle and/or Audible account with great free books for your children, granted you will find a number you are willing to buy along the way. While I continue to love to hold hardback books in my hands, and read them frequently, and repeatedly; I enjoy books digitally and audibly as well.
This has been one of my favorite C. S. Lewis reads. I do enjoy listening to a good conversation. This book is a collection of letters from Lewis to his friend Malcolm, mostly on the subject of Prayer. They discuss a variety of odd snippets along the way. But, it felt like sitting off to the side of the great man's armchair while he talked with his friend Malcolm. You don't hear Malcolm's side of the convo, but much can be guessed.
As most of you know, I've enjoyed reading 15 of Lewis' books that do not require travel through wardrobes during the first half of February. I've called this theme 'Loving Lewis' because, I admire his work. His writing is not only prodigious, having a great quantity of output, but the quality of his work remains spectacular across many generations. He has influenced many people around the world. My reasoning for choosing to avoid the wardrobe, by the way, was that most people have heard of and/or read those books. Many of us know how great they are already. I wanted to showcase more of the man's work. This will be my last Lewis for the time being. I hope you've enjoyed these as much as I have.
My next February read is Sankofa, by Chibundu Onuzu.
Once again, I enjoyed all these Lewis books entirely free on Audible from the Members Plus catalog. I also downloaded free e-text copies of most of them from the FadedPages website. I think it is entirely possible to fill a Kindle and/or Audible account with great free books for your children, granted you will find a number you are willing to buy along the way. While I continue to love to hold hardback books in my hands, and read them frequently, and repeatedly; I enjoy books digitally and audibly as well.
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