How to Pray: Reflections and Essays

The great C.S. Lewis said, “I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.” The act of praying demands an impossibility that we request and Lewis’s insights on Christianity, reflections, and teachings are cultivated from essays, articles, letters, and his classic words in How to Pray.

Lewis provides a deeper understanding of the personal tradition of prayer, faith, and what it means to be a Christian. This compilation addresses commonly asked questions related to prayer such as:

·       Can prayer be proven to work?

·       Why should we pray if God already knows what we need?

·       How does prayer fit with the idea of God’s providence?

·       How can prayer become a regular practice?

·       How should we pray when we’re grieving?

·       Can we pray to avoid suffering?

·       How should we handle unanswered prayers?

If you want to deepen your relationship with God or you’re searching for ways to strengthen your prayer life, How to Pray is the practical wisdom you need. 

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) 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, when 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 Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and have been transformed into three major motion pictures.