Letters to Malcom: Chiefly on Prayer.
Reflections on the Intimate Dialogue between Man and God.
Letter I.
Lewis suggest they write about prayer, specifically private prayer, not corporate prayer. He claims to not have much to say about liturgy, but proceeds to spend the entire letter writing about it. This quote sums up his position: “…my whole liturgiological position really boils down to an entreaty for permanence and uniformity. I can make do with almost any kind of service whatever, if only it will stay put.” And, “Tis mad idolatry that makes the service greater then God.”
Letter II.
Lewis argues for the usefulness of prewritten prayers, at least for himself. “It takes all sores to make … a church. … Heaven will display far more variety than Hell.”
Lewis prefers to pray without words, but is not capable of doing it routinely. He makes the mistake that" Pascal calls the 'Error of Stoicism': thinking we can do always what we can do sometimes.”
Two reasons for using prewritten prayers.
- It keeps him in touch with “sound doctrine.”
- It reminds him of “what things I ought to ask."