Rating: 
Summary: This made my head hurt...
Review: And I enjoyed every minute of it. This is, by far, one of the most complex books that I've ever read. Not necessarily in terms of structure - Lewis keeps the chapters mercifully brief. His vocabulary is immense, as is his knowledge of general philosophy and Christian church history. Most of his points went above my head. I'm an amateur student, still new to most points of religious, literary and logical criticism. However, Lewis gives me hope that an intellectual as impressive as he can examine, understand and appreciate the Christian faith as real and authentic. Maybe, someday, I'll be able to read this again and understand more of it. If you're ready for some mind-numbing theology and vocabulary, logic that will stretch your knowledge and thinking, read it. If you're looking for a simple guide or easy reading, this may not be for you.
Rating:
Summary: This made my head hurt...
Review: And I enjoyed every minute of it. This is, by far, one of the most complex books that I've ever read. Not necessarily in terms of structure - Lewis keeps the chapters mercifully brief. His vocabulary is immense, as is his knowledge of general philosophy and Christian church history. Most of his points went above my head. I'm an amateur student, still new to most points of religious, literary and logical criticism. However, Lewis gives me hope that an intellectual as impressive as he can examine, understand and appreciate the Christian faith as real and authentic. Maybe, someday, I'll be able to read this again and understand more of it. If you're ready for some mind-numbing theology and vocabulary, logic that will stretch your knowledge and thinking, read it. If you're looking for a simple guide or easy reading, this may not be for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Personal, Insightful, Helpful
Review: C. S. Lewis's twenty-two letters (to a fictitious friend, Malcolm)unveil his own personal questions and answers, failures and successes, struggles and perseverance with prayer. The letters are warm and insightful, and usually very, very helpful, covering a wide range of subjects related to prayer, including: corporate prayer and worship, "ready-made" prayers, the Lord's Prayer, petitionary prayer, "those embarrassing promises," pleasure ("patches of God-light"), determinism, soliloquy, intercession, purgatory (which Lewis believed in), praying for the dead (which Lewis practiced), and more. Of course, I do not agree with nearly all of Lewis's conclusions. But he is a delightful writer and a warm-hearted spiritual director. The book was pure pleasure to read and helpful in many respects. It is, without doubt, one of the most helpful, practical books on prayer I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring Book
Review: I am currently studying this book and I find it very interesting. Many of C.S. Lewis's remarks on corporate and individual prayer can be related to the struggle going on in the church about corporate and individual worship, especially in the Pentecostal circles. His comments get me thinking and searching scripture to learn what I believe about this subject. I recommend this book to anyone on a worship team as well as anyone just looking for an inspiring book to work on during devotions.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, But Incomplete
Review: I enjoyed this book, but was somewhat dismayed by lack of introductory material. For example, who is the Malcolm of the title? Malcolm X? Malcolm McDowell? It was only once I checked the customer reviews at Amazon.com that I learned it's Malcolm Muggeridge. Also, where are Muggeridge's replies to Lewis' letters? However brilliant it may be, it's difficult to put Lewis' correspondence into context without reading the other side of the discussion.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring look at prayer
Review: In his Christian works, CS Lewis tackles many difficult and important subjects--love, miracles, and pain, to name a few. For each of these topics, and for many others, Lewis uses a very straightforward technique, and explains things how he perceives them to be. With prayer, however, Lewis takes another approach. He was constantly writing and saying that he knew nothing on the subject, that he felt himself wholly inadequate to write about the subject. His solution was to offer his feelings on prayer in the form of informal letters to a friend, thus enabling him to explain his views without appearing to claim any knowledge on the subject.
For all his feelings of inadequacy, Lewis does a remarkable job with prayer. Like many of his other books, this short work provides many insights which simplify and explain otherwise difficult subjects. He speaks not only of how and when we should pray, but also discusses what he considers to be the most elevated form of prayer, and offers his opinion of just what God expects of us when we pray.
This short book can be understood without a background in Lewis's writings, as his ideas are not really dependent on his earlier theology (this was one of his last works). This book does lean toward the mystical at times, and can be somewhat difficult to follow, but the insights it provides on prayer are invaluable. This may not be the best introduction to prayer, but it is definitely worth the time for anyone wanting to benefit from the great Christian apologist's views on communication with God.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiring look at prayer
Review: In his Christian works, CS Lewis tackles many difficult and important subjects--love, miracles, and pain, to name a few. For each of these topics, and for many others, Lewis uses a very straightforward technique, and explains things how he perceives them to be. With prayer, however, Lewis takes another approach. He was constantly writing and saying that he knew nothing on the subject, that he felt himself wholly inadequate to write about the subject. His solution was to offer his feelings on prayer in the form of informal letters to a friend, thus enabling him to explain his views without appearing to claim any knowledge on the subject.
For all his feelings of inadequacy, Lewis does a remarkable job with prayer. Like many of his other books, this short work provides many insights which simplify and explain otherwise difficult subjects. He speaks not only of how and when we should pray, but also discusses what he considers to be the most elevated form of prayer, and offers his opinion of just what God expects of us when we pray.
This short book can be understood without a background in Lewis's writings, as his ideas are not really dependent on his earlier theology (this was one of his last works). This book does lean toward the mystical at times, and can be somewhat difficult to follow, but the insights it provides on prayer are invaluable. This may not be the best introduction to prayer, but it is definitely worth the time for anyone wanting to benefit from the great Christian apologist's views on communication with God.
Rating:
Summary: Meditations on prayer life
Review: Letters to Malcolm was the last book that C.S. Lewis wrote, and consists of twenty two letters written to a fictitious character named Malcolm, mostly concerning Lewis's thoughts about prayer. This may be the most personal glimpse of Lewis's spiritual side, and many have enjoyed his relaxed, warm dialogue in these epistles. For those wishing to meditate on the various aspects of praying (content of prayer, petitionary prayers - does God grant requests?, prayer as worship, penitential prayer, the Lord's prayer, or prayer for the dead) this book will give plenty of food for thought. Personally, I like most of Lewis's other books better than this one, but if you are studying the subject of prayer, pondering worship in prayer, or musing about whether or not praying does any good, this book will be a good purchase for you.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent reflections on prayer
Review: Lewis's letters to a friend address many of the perplexities about prayer and inhibitions to prayer likely to plague anyone who's ever thought much about it, and his writing is, as always, a pleasure to read. I'm from a non-religious background and found the practice of verbal prayer attractive but hard to make any sense of. This book helped me to get over some of my intellectual blocks to prayer and actually pray. (Two other recommendations for the prayer-impaired or anyone wanting to enrich their understanding of prayer: Ann and Barry Ulanov's "Primary Speech" and Karl Rahner's "The Need and the Blessing of Prayer.")
Rating:
Summary: an intimate exploration of the nature and process of prayer
Review: The format of this book is in short letters to a friend on prayer. We are presented with only Lewis' side of the conversation, but his references to his friend's response or counterpoints is clear. I loved this book because it encourages us to pray, not to provide God with a grocery list of our problems or desires, but to draw into communion with God...and through that 'conversation' we learn about God and ourselves. Like other of Lewis' books (Mere Christianity)this book is short in length but long in wisdom. Also like Mere Christianity, you'll want to keep it in your library and read it again.
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