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 much better at it. Thus, 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 Lawrence's classic, The Practice of the Presence of God. In short, straight-forward and unsentimental chapters, Kreeft covers all the key areas for understanding and developing that intimate form of communication with our Creator that we call prayer. He covers such areas as the necessity of prayer, various motives and methods, steps, patience, suffering, sin, faith, and grace. "There's no shortage of good doctrinal material today. But, for the post-Boomer generations, the burning question remains: How do I begin to pray? Peter Kreeft answers that question in a simple, direct way that will reach ordinary unchurched Americans — as well as devout Catholics who have hit a dry spell. This book can be a powerful tool in the new evangelization." —Mike Aquilina "This is the best short introduction to prayer I've read. Read it and pray."—Ralph Martin, Author, Called to Holiness

lgrsnf/Prayer for Beginners - Kreeft, Peter-KSwnVC.azw3

zlib/Religion & Spirituality/Christianity/Peter Kreeft [Kreeft, Peter]/Prayer for Beginners_14456905.azw3

United States, United States of America

San Francisco, California, 2000

First, First Edition, PS, 2000

Pap, 2000

Book based on Brother Lawrence's The practice of the presence of God.

<p>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 <i>The Practice of the Presence of God</i></p> <h3>Publishers Weekly</h3> <p>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.|</p>

In short, straight-forward and unsentimental chapters, the author covers all the key areas for understanding and developing that intimate form of communication with our Creator that we call prayer. He covers such areas as the necessity of prayer, various motives and methods, steps, patience, suffering, sin, faith, and grace

2021-05-21