title: Prayer For Beginners
author:  Peter Kreeft 
description: This accessible, brief primer on prayer asserts that any Christian can, and is in fact commanded to, pray to God unceasingly. Kreeft, a Boston College philosophy professor who has written more than 25 books on religion, attempts to teach "Prayer for Dummies" and "Prayer for Marthas" (i.e., those who are so busy attending to daily life that they feel they have no time to pray). Kreeft encourages beginners to commence with vocal prayer, regarding silent, contemplative prayer as a more advanced skill. Beginners must learn to "stop, look, and listen," with special emphasis on listening. (Since prayer is a form of conversation, and since we must attend carefully to the wisest person in any conversation, Kreeft asserts that "we ought to be listening most of the time" when speaking with God.) Prayers can begin with a RAPT structure: Repentance, Adoration, Petition and Thanksgiving. Another powerful novice prayer, says Kreeft, is the "Jesus prayer"; simply invoking Jesus' name is in itself a creative, prayerful act. Kreeft offers advice on handling distractions ("Get right back on the horse every time you fall off," he counsels straying minds) and on the more thorny issue of avoiding prayer because of unconfessed sin. Kreeft's approach is basically nondenominational, though references to the catechism and to perfecting prayer in Purgatory suggest that Catholics may find the book more helpful than other readers. (Mar.) <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: PRAYER FOR BEGINNERS
  
  PETER KREEFT
  
   **Prayer for**  
   **Beginners**
  
  IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO
  
  Cover design by Roxanne Mei Lum
  
  © 2000 Ignatius Press, San Francisco  
  All rights reserved  
  ISBN 0-89870-775-7  
  Library of Congress catalogue number 99-75404  
  Printed in the United States of America
  
  This book is dedicated  
  to the person who taught me to pray,  
  or rather _is_ teaching me  
  (with astonishing patience),  
  Jesus Christ.
  
   **CONTENTS**
  
  _Introduction: How This Book Is Different_
  
  _1\. Necessity: Why Praying Is More Important than Eating_
  
  _2\. Motives: Ten Compelling Reasons to Pray_
  
  _3\. Methods: Why We Need None_
  
  _4\. Words: Vocal Prayer as Conversation with God_
  
  _5\. Steps: Stop, Look, and Listen_
  
  _6\. Thoughts: Where the Action Is_
  
  _7\. Faith: The One Prerequisite for Prayer_
  
  _8\. Themes: What Should I Say When I Pray?_
  
  _9\. “Jesus”: The Shortest, Simplest, and Most Powerful Prayer in the World_
  
  _10\. Work: Praying Always_
  
  _11\. Distractions: Mental Obstac