Prayer for Beginners

That is the message of Peter Kreeft in this small book with short chapters. In my opinion, the most striking chapter is on the Jesus Prayer as the "shortest, simplest, and most powerful prayer in the world" (p. 53). Also striking is Kreeft's analysis of the suggestion that prayer is a waste of time by pointing out that through prayer God will instead multiply our time (p. 124). As usual with Kreeft, the book is full of gems of insight that will strike readers in different personal circumstances with varying levels of significance. That is as it should be. There is something in this book for just about everyone.

This book is written in a simple and straightforward way yet it also contains much insight . It is for anyone who wants a better understanding of how to pray and what prayer means to a christian. The book starts off with why we should pray then goes into the effects of prayer and it's importance . Then we learn different methods of prayer and the role of faith in our prayer life. There is an ancronym used in the book to help us remember what to say in prayer. The acronym is RAPT, which stands for: Repentance,Adoration, Petition, and Thanksgiving. The book also talks about obstacles to prayer, such as sin and distractions.The last couple of chapters deal with suffering and Grace. This is another practical and helpful book by peter kreeft.

Kreeft is straight-forward and direct. His thinking and writing are clear. This is book is immensely practical. It is small enough to be completed in a short time and deep enough to warrant re-reading whenever the beginning pray-er needs a boost. Kreeft's point is that we must begin to pray. Kreeft first motivates. Then he offers an intelligent summary of the major forms of prayer and the progression from rote to contemplative prayer.Kreeft speaks directly to the reader - to me - when he asks if I really want to pray, or if, by reading a book on prayer, I have deluded myself into thinking that I am doing it. What a challenge! What clarity of purpose!

This brief introduction to prayer contained some very helpful kernals of truth for me, e.g. the idea of the presence of God - taken from Brother Lawrence. I find that Dr. Kreeft writes in a very clear and accessible way, while, at the same time, he doesn't dilute the essence of what he wants to say. I found this book had a profound impact on the way I think about prayer, and how I pray. And, as he points out (i.e., from thought to behavior to habit to character) this has lead to a change (I hope) in how I live my life. Not bad for a short (104 pages) little book! The other book by the same author was Back To Virtue, which was excellent, also.

This book is a wonderful guide for anyone who wants to begin praying in a more meaningful way, but doesn't know how to begin. It has changed my prayer life immeasurably... and I can feel my every day life being transformed as well.I spent years thinking that I was doing something wrong when I prayed. I never felt any kind of internal "high," which I assumed was a sign that I was truly praying. I always felt rather like a fraud when I prayed, because I was sure I was doing something wrong.This book helped me in so many ways. It dispelled the myth that there is some kind of special "feeling" you get when you pray. There is a list of ten reasons to pray that really opened my eyes up to why this is so necessary... the first one is that "only prayer can change the world," and that is so powerful all by itself. It doesn't tout a method of prayer, but gives strategies to begin and keep praying. It talks about what faith really means: "God said it, and I believe it, and that's that."Most helpfully, it opened my eyes to the value and peace of praying in "words." Reciting the Lord's Prayer or prayerfully reading the Psalms isn't taking the "easy way out," as I always assumed. I always had the impression that "real" prayer is some kind of wordless conversation with God, and that only children need words to recite. Peter assures the reader that "mental prayer" is more difficult, and it comes naturally for very few people. The rest of us can be assured that we are not cheating by using the words of others to open ourselves to God.I am Catholic, and this book is geared toward Catholics. However, I would recommend it for any Christians struggling with getting started.