{"id":6713,"date":"2019-01-05T10:25:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-05T18:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/?p=6713"},"modified":"2019-01-05T10:27:15","modified_gmt":"2019-01-05T18:27:15","slug":"pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/","title":{"rendered":"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

As we end the Christmas season today, let’s reflect on the blessed privilege of being able to cast all our cares upon our Lord.<\/p>\n

This ninth chapter in the new book, How To Pray<\/em> by C. S. Lewis, is comprised of 4 out of the 5 paragraphs from number 27 of The Screwtape Letters<\/em>. It begins with distractions in prayer, proceeds to mention a false idea of spirituality (as if God didn\u2019t really mean for us to pray for our bread), and then ends with stuff we\u2019ve already seen in our review of the book.\u00a0 These are: a) answers to prayer as proofs of prayer\u2019s effectiveness, and b) God\u2019s timelessness as a way of understanding the relationship between our prayers, free-will, love, etc.<\/p>\n

Having already read about a) and b) above, the top value of the chapter is the first paragraph, dealing with distractions in prayer. Believers, eager for their prayers to flow undistractedly in fellowship with God, are very grieved by thoughts which distract them from this communion. Solutions to such distracting thoughts is a common subject in the literature on Christain prayer.<\/p>\n

Lewis\u2019s answer, via reversing Screwtape\u2019s advice to Wormwood, is simply to admit the problem when it occurs and bring it to the Lord, just like you would bring any other problem in life. We are to live in the present in an honest fashion with the God who knows everything about us better than we do. Honest dealing with whatever our present problem may be is the quickest way to enjoying God\u2019s answer to that problem.<\/p>\n

Following Lewis here will result in a deliverance from fretting about distractions. What would normally be painful distractions will become opportunities for fellowship with our Father, who sees us in secret and upbraids us not, but faithfully bears us on our way to glory.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, if God listens to prayer about our mental distractions, he is surely much more ready to hear prayer for the greater afflictions of this life.\u00a0 Having opened the door to heaven so widely and permanently in His Son, let us be anxious for nothing, but in everything, let us cast our cares upon him, who cares for us.<\/p>\n

Have a blessed Epiphany!<\/p>\n

Image from Pixabay. Reference: C. S. Lewis, How To Pray: Reflections and Essays,<\/em> (New York, HarperOne, 2018), ISBN-13: 978-0062847133.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013
\nPlease note that the content and viewpoints of Rev. Beckmann are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n

\"\"The Rev. David Beckmann has for many years been involved in both the Church and education. He helped to start a Christian school in South Carolina, tutored homeschoolers, and has been adjunct faculty for both Covenant College and the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. He founded the C.S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga in 2005. He has spoken extensively on C.S Lewis, and was the Director of the C.S Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns from 2014-2015. He is currently a Regional Representative for the C.S. Lewis Foundation in Chattanooga.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we end the Christmas season today, let’s reflect on the blessed privilege of being able to cast all our cares upon our Lord. This ninth chapter in the new book, How To Pray by C. S. Lewis, is comprised of 4 out of the 5 paragraphs from number 27 of The Screwtape Letters. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotional"],"yoast_head":"\nPray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis - Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis - Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As we end the Christmas season today, let’s reflect on the blessed privilege of being able to cast all our cares upon our Lord. This ninth chapter in the new book, How To Pray by C. S. Lewis, is comprised of 4 out of the 5 paragraphs from number 27 of The Screwtape Letters. It […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-05T18:25:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-05T18:27:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Beckmann\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Beckmann\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/\",\"name\":\"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis - Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-05T18:25:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-05T18:27:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e17559da3e8142bc71b344b6748763\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis\",\"description\":\"A Blog of the C.S. Lewis Foundation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e17559da3e8142bc71b344b6748763\",\"name\":\"David Beckmann\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/author\/david-beckmann\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis - Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis - Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis","og_description":"As we end the Christmas season today, let’s reflect on the blessed privilege of being able to cast all our cares upon our Lord. This ninth chapter in the new book, How To Pray by C. S. Lewis, is comprised of 4 out of the 5 paragraphs from number 27 of The Screwtape Letters. It […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/","og_site_name":"Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis","article_published_time":"2019-01-05T18:25:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-01-05T18:27:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280-300x200.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"David Beckmann","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Beckmann","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/","name":"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis - Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-05T18:25:10+00:00","dateModified":"2019-01-05T18:27:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e17559da3e8142bc71b344b6748763"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pray-2558490_1280.jpg","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/pray-about-present-problems-ch-9-of-how-to-pray-by-cs-lewis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pray About Present Problems: ch. 9 of How To Pray by CS Lewis"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/","name":"Living the Legacy of C.S. Lewis","description":"A Blog of the C.S. Lewis Foundation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e17559da3e8142bc71b344b6748763","name":"David Beckmann","url":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/author\/david-beckmann\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6713"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6721,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6713\/revisions\/6721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cslewis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}