Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

It did not occur to me as I began reading this book that it was, in fact, Lewis's last work – written only months before his death in 1963. But, the fact began to dawn on me as the author's character bled through each successive page – mature, at the height of his creativity, vulnerable as one with nothing to prove. What a blessing it was to hear him admit the burden of prayer in his next to last chapter! Lewis's golden insights are scattered all across this book, and I only regret they will be difficult to relocate without a good table of contents. His several comments on the Lord's Prayer were excellent, especially the bit in Chapter 5 about "Thy will be done," with an emphasis on avoiding the sin of "Encore," and the bit in show more Chapter 20 (at least it comes near the Lord's Prayer) about forgiving and being forgiven as being one and the same acts. His point about adjectives being more "real" than nouns in Chapter 16 was perfect. His thoughts on liturgy and praying the prayers of others in Chapters 1 & 2 were so insightful. There was so much more, as it seems there was a golden insight around each and every corner. The only material I could not follow was his idea of God answering every prayer from the beginning, as He exists out of time. It sounded too much like Deism (though I'm sure Lewis would have a good explanation for why it is not) to say every single answer was set in motion from Creation. show less

Lewis writes to a fictitious friend Malcolm on the topic of the mystery of prayer in a deceptively simple manner. It doesn't take long to read this book, but the seeds planted by Lewis may take a long time to grow. He doesn't claim to be an expert on the subject yet he covers a range of ideas from petitionary prayer to penitential prayer. His reflections provide insights from his personal experiences rather than instruction and theology.

Like Lewis, I sometimes find prayer an "irksome" task. I found comfort that such a brilliant mind shared some of my own thoughts and failings: Prayer is irksome. An excuse to omit it is never unwelcome. When it is over, this casts a feeling of relief and holiday over the rest of the day. We are reluctant show more to begin. We are delighted to finish. Lewis has experienced the difficulties of achieving this most intimate relationship with God. He urges readers to "begin where we are" and reminds us to "lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us."

This is the last book C. S. Lewis wrote. It was published after his death on November 22, 1963. U.S. readers will probably recognize that as the date of John F. Kennedy's assassination. While Lewis does not get the recognition of JFK, he is one of my favorite authors. He not only makes spirituality accessible, he makes it fun through The Chronicles of Narnia and some of his satires such as The Screwtape Letters. His books have opened up a new way for me to look at religion and spirituality. show less

You might want to disagree - even strenuously - at some points, but it's such a great read: very suggestive, at times sublime, always delightfully written. One to return to methinks.

show more 多年前買的書，今天終於看完。我覺得魯益師真的很有趣，他是一個很認真思考的人，對於知識份子對基督教會友怎樣的質疑也很了解，在書裡會略微提及，也會提出他對於他們質疑的內容的想法。他的回應不是那種「信就對了」的單純相信路線，他真的很認真在思考、會對一些未知事物做一些猜想。如果你也愛思考，讀他的書會很過癮。這本書主要是談各種禱告的內容以及禱告的功能，過程中略略談到決定論、神秘經歷、人與神如何連結、人的歡愉、懺悔、聖餐禮、新天新地、身體復活....等議題。

我買了這本書之後的多年來一直以為這本書是他與友人之間的書信往來集結而成。真的閱讀，然後去調查他到底是寫信給誰之後，發現寫信對象完全是虛構人物，只是以書信體為媒介，陳述自己對禱告與信仰的思考。太震驚了哈哈。他寫的真的很像真的信。 show less

There is no preface, description, or backstory given to this volume of letters (or to any of the letters individually). Nowhere in the book or the title or the backcover does it even say who Malcolm was(/is). So its interesting in that there's no knowledge of who anyone is (other than obviously knowing who CS Lewis is), and knowing nothing about the letters other than that the general theme will be 'prayer'.

There is also no return letters from Malcolm, so everything is in kind of just a vacuum. No dates, no explanations behind anything, just 'here you go'.

I'm not a religious man really by any stretch anymore (grew up in a Christian house, grew up always going to church). I'm not anti-religious, just more or less 'non-religious'. BUT, show more I've always been intrigued and fond of CS Lewis' writing, both theological and fictional. ... this grouping of letters though, leaves something to be desired though. Without knowing the context (not getting to know who Malcolm is, or seeing his letters), it's a bit odd. Plus there's jumps in context because of it. The book also closes out on their talk of heaven and getting to meet in real life again, but not much of a closure on the ending.

Overall interesting, but just more of a curiosity sake than anything else. A few theological gems in there however. And interesting read for those seeking enlightenment on prayer though.

_____EDIT:
Well.... after reading the bio of the 'novel' here, I see its all fictitious letters that CS Lewis wrote, in the same vain as The Screwtape Letters. (Might be why the only writing on the front/back cover of this is a blurb saying "From the writer of The Screwtape Letters".) Would have been nice to know it was fictional letters rather than thinking this was his real letters to an individual, might have given some context. This was in the religion section at the Hershey Library, which includes both fictional and non-fictional religious works, so there was no indicator of that. Well, at least it was good to find out and not be ignorant of that in the future, heh. show less

What is there to be said that has not been said before about Clive Staples Lewis? So my review will be short.

His musings left me yearning for a simpler time when letter-writing wasn't an art-form, when discussion and disagreement wasn't a declaration of personal war, and when it was kosher to talk about such things. I was also highly impressed at the small, but poignant, backstory he created for his correspondent.

I listened to this on audiobook and so there were frequent interruptions. Nevertheless, out of the 15 CS Lewis books I've read, this is probably my least favorite. The book primarily consists of speculations and musing on prayer with very few conclusions. I certainly differer from Lewis on praying for the dead and the existence of purgatory both of which he referenced but chose not to defend.As anything written by Lewis does, the book contains flashes of brilliance and a heap of great one-liners, though fewer than usual. Recommended only for those who like reading the monologue letter style that Lewis uses in Screwtape Letters or for those who intend to read all of Lewis' works.