Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

By: C. S. Lewis

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 3 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

In the form of warm, relaxed letters to a close friend, C. S. Lewis meditates on many puzzling questions concerning the intimate dialogue between man and God. He considers practical and metaphysical aspects of prayer, such as when we pray and where. He questions why we seek to inform God in our prayers if he is omniscient, whether there is an ideal form of prayer, and which of our many selves we show to God while praying. The concluding letter contains provocative thoughts about “liberal Christians,” the soul, and resurrection.

Clive Staples Lewis (1898 - 1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. His major contributions in literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. He wrote more than 30 books, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include the Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.

©1963 1964 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Limited; renewed 1992, 1991 by Arthur Owen Barfield (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“If wit, and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites…Mr. Lewis will be among the angels.” ( The New Yorker)

“A beautifully executed and deeply moving little book.” ( Saturday Review)

Great C.S. Lewis Book

This is a great insight into Lewis' brilliant mind! I love the random comments about dinner plans.

A great book on prayer

This is a great book for beginners and experienced people who pray. It takes you into the experience of praying.

Nice to hear with British accent

What made the experience of listening to Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer the most enjoyable?

Letters to Malcolm is my favorite C.S. Lewis book. I enjoyed hearing it read to me. This was the last book Lewis prepared for publishing. To my mind, it is his most personal. I looked among his friends to find Malcolm only to learn that he is a composite of friends Lewis had.

I thought the reader spoke a bit fast and often without much inflection. Still, I will listen to it again.

Makes me want to start writing letters

This is a second reading of Letters to Malcolm.

As I was reading it, I confirmed that Letters to Malcolm is probably my favorite of Lewis’ books. I am not sure many others think so, several reviews on Goodreads think it is one of his weaker popular books. But like Paul’s II Timothy, there are hints of real humanness here that give me great joy.

Letters to Malcolm is a fictionalized set of letters that Lewis writes as if to a close friend. It was Lewis’ last book to be published while he was alive, about 6 months before his death. And while it is fiction, it feels like real letters. There are side notes and personal details. You can feel his age and some loss of freedom because of his health. (I was convinced these were real when I read them the first time.)

At the same time this is not a book that is completely easy to read. There is only one side of the letters. Malcolm’s letters are not included so we only know the response through Lewis’ side. Some of the letters are light and simple, some are pretty dense and dealing with heavy problems.

It is always surprising how relevant and distant Lewis can be at the same time. The early section about potential changes to the Anglican Liturgy and hymns could with a few word changes be written today. The section on spontaneous and written and wordless prayers is very helpful to think about. It is not only insightful, but wise. Lewis wants to make sure that choices that one makes, are not binding (or restrictive) for others. And Lewis wants to make sure Malcolm understands that not only are different people going to have different mixes of prayers, but throughout our life, it is likely that we will desire and need different types of prayer.

Lewis also has an exemplary section on intercessory prayer. They discuss it through a couple letters and then Lewis’ fictional friend’s son George becomes sick and is undergoing tests for some serious health concern. George’s sickness refocuses the discussion on intercessory prayer to the very practical and away from the theoretical (as any real discussion of intercessory prayer needs to do.)

The discussion of George leads to a poignant section on comfort of friends. Lewis talks about his loss of his wife Joy and how difficult it is to give and receive comfort.

This is a book that I am pretty sure I am going to come back and read a third time. There is too much wisdom to absorb all at once.

a beautiful prayer resource

if you would like to go deeper in your prayer life this book is very helpful.

Unexpected!

I've heard about this book before, but it didn't prepare me for what I learned. It addressed a lot of questions/thoughts that I've had in the past.

The personalization.

C.S. Lewis authenticity and Godly wisdom. Also, the importance of having respectful discord with Believers.

Salve on the soul

Who doesn’t love Lewis? Such a honest look at prayer: unanswered questions coupled with comfort and reassurance in Christ and the salvation he has won for us in spite of the hardships of this life.

Enlightening

I like Lewis' style and prose. These are deep and insightful. Well worth a listen.

Olsson review

C.S. Lewis does a good job of explaining aspects of prayer and questions on it during his writings to Malcolm. There are times where he can get philosophical and off the topic of prayer, but then he’ll hit you with a sentence or line that will hit straight to your heart and resound. The performance was well, and I liked that an Englishman narrators it since we know Lewis was as well.