Analytical Table of Contents: Kreeft: Prayer for Beginners

SUMMARY

[Under Consideration]

ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

C.1 Necessity: Why Praying Is More Important Than Eating

Prayer is essential to the spiritual life of the person.  A human being is made of body and soul.  Just as food nourishes and feeds the body, prayer nourishes and feeds the soul.  How is the soul fed in prayer?  Prayer feeds the soul because prayer puts the person in the presence of the Living God who alone is the source of the life of the soul.  The life of the soul is directly related to the process of purification and sanctification.  This is to say that one vital way in which we become holy is through prayer.  It is not enough to study prayer, or the faith for that matter.  It is only useful to study prayer if one practices prayer.

C.2 Motives: Ten Compelling Reasons to Pray

The Ten Reasons to pray are these:

1^st Only prayer can save the world.

2^nd We must pray because God commands it.

3^rd God wants us to receive truth for our mind, goodness for our will, and beauty for our heart.

4^th God's honor deserves and demands our prayer.

5^th We will die one day and so we do not have an infinite amount of time.

6^th Prayer is delightful.

7^th We know God through prayer.

8^th Prayer is a prerequisite of teaching and preaching.

9^th Prayer is the only way to make spiritual progress.

10^th Without prayer we cannot attain the meaning of life, the end purpose of our existence.

C.3 Methods: Why We Need None

The meaning of life is to grow in holiness and become a saint.  As we grow to be saints, we must grow in our love of God. With the right disposition, to pray is an act of love.  Prayer, in its simplicity, is talking with and being in the presence of God who loved us first.  Methods of prayer are not essential to talking with our beloved.  Yes, God wants to be and is our True Love.

C.4 Words: Vocal Prayer as Conversation with God

C.5 Steps: Stop, Look, and Listen

C.6 Thoughts: Where the Action Is

C.7 Faith: The One Prerequisite for Prayer

C.8 Themes: What Should I Say When I Pray

C.9 "Jesus": The Shortest, Simplest, and Most Powerful Prayer in the World

C.10 Work: Praying Always

C.11 Distractions: Mental Obstacles to Prayer

C.12 Sins: Moral Obstacles to Prayer

C.13 Simplicity: Prayer as Saint-Making

C.14 Renunciation: The Necessity of the Negative

C.15 Sufferings: How to Transform Bitterness Into Sweetness

C.16 Patience: Forgiving Ourselves for Failure

C.17 Grace: What Everything Is

C.18 Perseverance: The Realistic Fanaticism

Comments

[Ann Voskamp]

Oh, I would have loved to have read more of your series...
Just finding you now...
Thank you for your posts on prayer...

All's grace,
Ann