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Prayer for Beginners [Paperback]

Peter Kreeft
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 1, 2000
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.


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Prayer for Beginners + You Can Understand The Bible: A Practical And Illuminating Guide To Each Book In The Bible + Catholic Christianity: A Complete Catechism of Catholic Church Beliefs Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is the best short introduction to prayer I've read. Read it and pray. --Ralph Martin, Author, Called to Holiness

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, Editor, New Covenant

Product Details

  • Paperback: 130 pages
  • Publisher: Ignatius Press (February 1, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0898707757
  • ISBN-13: 978-0898707755
  • Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 0.4 x 7.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author


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RECORDED LECTURES:
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---"Beauty" -- The branch of philosophy dealing with aesthetics.
---"C. S. Lewis and Mere Christianity" -- C.S. Lewis' masterpiece
---"Christianity in Lord of the Rings" -- The cleverly disguised role of God
---"Culture War" -- A call to arms, mapping key enemies and battlefields
---"Existence of God" -- A magnificent overview of the arguments
---"Good, True, Beautiful" -- C.S. Lewis on three great transcendentals
---"Happiness" -- How do you get it? Christ's version vs. the world's
---"Heaven" -- The heart's deepest longing
---"Hollywood Screenwriting" -- Encouragement to film's creative storytellers
---"If Einstein Had Been a Surfer" -- Rediscovering intuitive thinking
---"Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" -- The famous argument for Christ's identity
---"Problem of Pain" -- C.S. Lewis's brilliant exposition on suffering and evil
---"Sex in Heaven" -- Imaging the fire of God's love
---"Sexual Reconnection" -- Healing the link between sex & love
---"Shocking Beauty" -- The live character of Christ
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Lecture scheduling and more info:
http://www.peterkreeft.com



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Customer Reviews

This book is very rich in insight and easy to understand. J. Valley  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
This will be my third time reading this book. L. Brupbacher  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 93 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
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.

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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Kreeft makes another direct hit January 4, 2003
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
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!

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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the second book I have read by this author. October 6, 2000
Format:Paperback
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
This is a wonderful book on prayer. Although it is titled "Prayer for Beginners" I would recommend it to anyone who would like to lean more about prayer, even if they do... Read more
Published 14 hours ago by C. Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars Prayer for Beginners
Never too old to learn more about prayer, easy to read and easy to understand, would recommend it to anyone wanting to enrich their prayer life...
Published 1 month ago by Bill Nicol
5.0 out of 5 stars Build the Foundation
This a truly phenomenal book about building a foundation for prayer. Just as Kreeft says, intellectuals and people with an abundance of information today can think more about God... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Luke Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book
Kreeft rights in an engaging fashion that is both challenging and thought provoking... I've purchased this book for a number of other people and have quoted it many times...
Published 2 months ago by Peter Keith Pellicaan
5.0 out of 5 stars a keeper
This will be my third time reading this book. I keep going back to it for its simplicity and basic truths. A must have for your bookshelf.
Published 7 months ago by L. Brupbacher
4.0 out of 5 stars Good for anyone at any point in their prayer life
Peter Kreeft is a well-respected Philosophy professor and has written dozens of spiritual/Catholic books. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Stuart Dunn
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide
Kreeft has, as usual, written an excellent guide to get serious about your prayer life, which after all is life.
Published 9 months ago by Marycatherine S. Sehr
5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Will Rocket Your Prayer Life To A New Level
This was my first book by Peter Kreeft and will be the first of many. His clear insight into prayer rocketed my prayer life to a new level. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Toluca Lake Grandma
5.0 out of 5 stars Read slowly, again and again
This book is very rich in insight and easy to understand. I did as the author suggested and read it slowly and have read it again and again. Peter Kreeft is a beautiful soul. Read more
Published 15 months ago by J. Valley
5.0 out of 5 stars Learning prayers
This is suggested reading and it appears to be a realistic view of where we all are in our prayer life. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Pat
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