The Power of Prayer

The Screwtape Letters

This flow traces the demons’ attempts to distort prayer and the risks that arise whenever the patient directs attention toward God.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The First Prayer Habit The First Prayer Habit from "The Screwtape Letters". A Beginner’s Practice Formality The patient remembers childhood prayers and may react against their repetitive form by seeking something entirely spontaneous.

The First Prayer Habit from "The Screwtape Letters". A Beginner’s Practice Formality The patient remembers childhood prayers and may react against their repetitive form by seeking something entirely spontaneous.

A Beginner’s Practice Formality The patient remembers childhood prayers and may react against their repetitive form by seeking something entirely spontaneous. That reaction can leave him trying to produce a devotional mood instead of praying attentively. Embodiment Screwtape warns that bodily posture and practice affect human life. Prayer is not reduced to an inward feeling separate from the person’s embodied habits.

Manufactured Feelings Manufactured Feelings from "The Screwtape Letters". Watching the Self Substitution The patient may measure prayer by whether he feels charitable, brave, or forgiven.

Manufactured Feelings from "The Screwtape Letters". Watching the Self Substitution The patient may measure prayer by whether he feels charitable, brave, or forgiven.

Watching the Self Substitution The patient may measure prayer by whether he feels charitable, brave, or forgiven. The act of asking God becomes an attempt to manufacture the desired emotion. Distraction This inward monitoring makes mood seem more important than the object of prayer. Fatigue and physical condition can then be mistaken for spiritual success or failure.

The Composite Image The Composite Image from "The Screwtape Letters". Image and Presence Limitation The patient’s picture of God may draw on art, memory, bodily feeling, or a location in the room.

The Composite Image from "The Screwtape Letters". Image and Presence Limitation The patient’s picture of God may draw on art, memory, bodily feeling, or a location in the room.

Image and Presence Limitation The patient’s picture of God may draw on art, memory, bodily feeling, or a location in the room. Such images are human constructions rather than the reality they point toward. Risk Screwtape wants him to perfect the image instead of directing himself beyond it. The prayer becomes more vulnerable when he confuses his representation with God.

Prayer in Dryness Prayer in Dryness from "The Screwtape Letters". Intention Without Sweetness Persistence The patient’s emotions lose their earlier warmth, but he can continue to intend what he believes God asks of him.

Prayer in Dryness from "The Screwtape Letters". Intention Without Sweetness Persistence The patient’s emotions lose their earlier warmth, but he can continue to intend what he believes God asks of him.

Intention Without Sweetness Persistence The patient’s emotions lose their earlier warmth, but he can continue to intend what he believes God asks of him. Such prayer does not depend on a rewarding feeling. Formation Screwtape recognizes that obedience in dryness may be especially valuable. The patient’s will grows through action when emotional support is absent.

A More Honest Attention A More Honest Attention from "The Screwtape Letters". Turning Outward Renewal The patient’s return from spiritual drift restores the possibility of sincere prayer.

A More Honest Attention from "The Screwtape Letters". Turning Outward Renewal The patient’s return from spiritual drift restores the possibility of sincere prayer.

Turning Outward Renewal The patient’s return from spiritual drift restores the possibility of sincere prayer. He becomes less invested in preserving a flattering picture of his own religious state. Direction The letters frame prayer as attention to God rather than self-observation. Its importance lies in the changed orientation it makes possible in ordinary conduct.

Soon after the patient becomes Christian

During the patient’s early efforts to pray

As the patient tries to imagine God in prayer

During the patient’s spiritual trough

After the patient’s repentance