…our prayers for others flow more easily than those we offer on our own behalf…I detect two much less attractive reasons for the ease of my own intercessory prayers…I often pray… for others when I should be doing things for them. It’s so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see him. And the other is like unto it. Suppose I pray that you may be given grace to withstand your besetting sin (short list of candidates for this post will be forwarded on demand). Well, all the work has to be done by God and you. If I pray against my own besetting sin there will be work for me. One sometimes fights shy of admitting an act to be a sin for this very reason.
… C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), Letters to Malcolm [1964]
Well, his first reason makes me laugh. So true.
And the second, it’s a little more serious. But it still makes me laugh.
I appreciate the irony.
Karin
Related Posts- Making our lives a prayer Norris Burkes had another thought provoking column this week. Andi Bowsher, author of Praying the Pattern ...says , "Paul [when he said to pray without ceasing] was suggesting making life into prayer rather than making prayer into a life."...I can spend all week praying for fresh inspiration and still get......
- Thinking about prayer This is probably the easiest and simplest way I've found to remember some of the various types of prayer and what they actually mean: In our praying, we should speak to God about Himself--that is praise; or about His gifts--that is thanksgiving; or about other people--that is intercession; or about......
- Miscellaneous quotes on prayer A little bit will do it. Prayer is not an intelligence briefing for God. F. Dale Bruner, professor emeritus of religion at Whitmore College, an authority on the Gospel of Mark. It is man's attitude of openness -- looking, listening, and waiting -- which prepares him to receive whatever God......
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