Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

Lewis challenges the height and depth of orthodoxy. This is another if his expansive works. Broaden your mind, Malcolm. Broaden your mind. This line from the book is the essence of what I mean. If you love Christ and His communion then Lewis can help you in the journey.

If this is your first time meeting CS Lewis through his writings , read another of his writings first. However, if you have read many of his other works then you will find this final book a more thoughtful debate on what the act of prayer is or could be. There are gray areas in our faith and Lewis helps us contemplate what that means in our daily contemplative life. He is a man of substance. After reading him, I have the feeling that I have dropped by his home and enjoyed yet another deep discussion with a good friend. He brings up differences in thinking as a way to examine what is useful in describing prayer. CS Lewis is a man who thinks before he speaks, and we can feel how he doesnt want to waste our time. He gently leads us to profound insights that are intended to better our own lives. I believe he wrote this last book not to leave a legacy behind, but to help us in our own spiritual walk with God. It was his last act of love to us. This alone is a good first reason to read this book.

This is a second reading of Letters to Malcolm. As I was reading it, I confirmed that Letters to Malcolm is probably my favorite of Lewis books. I am not sure many others think so, several reviews on Goodreads think it is one of his weaker popular books. But like Pauls II Timothy, there are hints of real humanness here that give me great joy. Letters to Malcolm is a fictionalized set of letters that Lewis writes as if to a close friend. It was Lewis last book to be published while he was alive, about 6 months before his death. And while it is fiction, it feels like real letters. There are side notes and personal details. You can feel his age and some loss of freedom because of his health. (I was convinced these were real when I read them the first time.) At the same time this is not a book that is completely easy to read. There is only one side of the letters. Malcolms letters are not included so we only know the response through Lewis side. Some of the letters are light and simple, some are pretty dense and dealing with heavy problems. It is always surprising how relevant and distant Lewis can be at the same time. The early section about potential changes to the Anglican Liturgy and hymns could with a few word changes be written today. The section on spontaneous and written and wordless prayers is very helpful to think about. It is not only insightful, but wise. Lewis wants to make sure that choices that one makes, are not binding (or restrictive) for others. And Lewis wants to make sure Malcolm understands that not only are different people going to have different mixes of prayers, but throughout our life, it is likely that we will desire and need different types of prayer. Lewis also has an exemplary section on intercessory prayer. They discuss it through a couple letters and then Lewis fictional friends son George becomes sick and is undergoing tests for some serious health concern. Georges sickness refocuses the discussion on intercessory prayer to the very practical and away from the theoretical (as any real discussion of intercessory prayer needs to do.) The discussion of George leads to a poignant section on comfort of friends. Lewis talks about his loss of his wife Joy and how difficult it is to give and receive comfort. This is a book that I am pretty sure I am going to come back and read a third time. There is too much wisdom to absorb all at once.

Though C.S. Lewis speaks in terms that aren\’t common to the English language of today, he still brings intelligent insight into prayer and all its many facets. His dialogue between himself and Malcolm is very entertaining, a reflection of conversations between friends. I definitely recommend Letters to Malcolm for a different approach to a theological topic from a logical perspective.

Ive read quite a few of CS Lewiss books, and they are all amazing. This one might be one of my favorites.

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