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Kreeft offers his unique insights for all those who feel that they are not good at praying but desire to become much better at it. Kreeft offers simple, but profound advice and practical steps for developing a prayer life based on the time-tested wisdom of the saints and great spiritual writers, especially the principles found in Brother Lawerence's classic The Practice of the Presence of God
This accessible, brief primer on prayer asserts that any Christian can, and is in fact commanded to, pray to God unceasingly. Kreeft, a Boston College philosophy professor who has written more than 25 books on religion, attempts to teach "Prayer for Dummies" and "Prayer for Marthas" (i.e., those who are so busy attending to daily life that they feel they have no time to pray). Kreeft encourages beginners to commence with vocal prayer, regarding silent, contemplative prayer as a more advanced skill. Beginners must learn to "stop, look, and listen," with special emphasis on listening. (Since prayer is a form of conversation, and since we must attend carefully to the wisest person in any conversation, Kreeft asserts that "we ought to be listening most of the time" when speaking with God.) Prayers can begin with a RAPT structure: Repentance, Adoration, Petition and Thanksgiving. Another powerful novice prayer, says Kreeft, is the "Jesus prayer"; simply invoking Jesus' name is in itself a creative, prayerful act. Kreeft offers advice on handling distractions ("Get right back on the horse every time you fall off," he counsels straying minds) and on the more thorny issue of avoiding prayer because of unconfessed sin. Kreeft's approach is basically nondenominational, though references to the catechism and to perfecting prayer in Purgatory suggest that Catholics may find the book more helpful than other readers. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Peter Michaud
reviewed Prayer for Beginners on June 22, 2009 Prayer for Beginners
This book, by Catholic scholar, Peter Kreef, was better than I expected. It is just one of the best books on prayer I have read, because:
it's readable, easy to understand, short chapters, not superficial; it is like a crash course on praying for new Christians or a really thoughtful refresher course for older Christians.
For instance, the chapters cover:
1. Necessity: Why Praying is More Important Than Eating
2. Motives: 10 Compelling Reasons to Pray
3. Methods: Why We Need None
4. Words: Vocal Prayer as Conversation with God
5. Steps: Stop, Look, and Listen (my favorite chapter!)
6. Thoughts: Where the Action Is
7. Faith: The One Prerequisite for Prayer
8. Themes: What Should I Pray When I Pray
9. "Jesus": The Shortest, Simplest, and Most Powerful Prayer in the World
10: Work: Praying Always
11: Distractions: Mental Obstacles to Prayer
12: Sins: Moral Obstacles to Prayer
13: Simplicity: Prayer to Saint-Making
14: Renunciation: The Necessity for the Negative
15: Suffering: How to Transform Bitterness into Sweetness
16: Patience: Forgiving Ourselves for Failure (another favorite!)
17: Grace: What Everything Is (spurring my thinking)
18: Perseverance: Realistic Fanaticism
Kreef made me think practically about the presence of God as he intertwined his thoughts with Biblical principles and themes from the devotional, Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence.
In his chapter, "Stop, Look, Listen" he teaches us how to pause (STOP) in the middle of busy and activity, each hour and ask, What are you doing, God, in the situation at hand and in my life right now?" (LOOK). and then wait a couple of minutes, anticipating God to speak to my heart. (LISTEN)
This principle alone is transforming my day(s).
As a Protestant, I am not repelled by his alluding to the Catholic concept of penance or references to Mary. I can get over those to the truth and practicality of what he is saying about prayer.
5 thumbs up.
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Add Prayer for Beginners, Peter Kreeft brings his unique insights to this most important area of our spiritual lives. He claims he himself is still a beginner in prayer, and this book is for all those, like him, who feel that they are not good at praying but desire to become , Prayer for Beginners to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add Prayer for Beginners, Peter Kreeft brings his unique insights to this most important area of our spiritual lives. He claims he himself is still a beginner in prayer, and this book is for all those, like him, who feel that they are not good at praying but desire to become , Prayer for Beginners to your collection on WonderClub |
