The Worship Quote of the Week for (06/19/2007):

Screwtape on Prayer How does one learn to pray? Certainly, we can learn from the Psalms, from the Lord's model prayer (Matthew 6 and Luke 11), and from a host of other prayers and instructional passages in the Bible. It may seem odd to you, but I confess that I have learned a great deal about the Christian life and the discipline of prayer by listening to the fictitious voice of Uncle Screwtape in THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. In the same way that a photographic negative shows black as white, white and black, dark gray as light gray, and light gray as dark gray—so, Lewis's brilliant book teaches biblical truth by having us hear from a master devil (Uncle Screwtape) as he coaches a young tempter (his nephew Wormwood) in how best to lead the young Christian astray. Today's WORSHIP QUOTE is from a deceiver and a liar. [CAUTION: Read with care and understanding. This is the voice of a devil. His "Enemy" is Jesus. His patient is a young Christian man.] SCREWTAPE ON PRAYER The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. . . . Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself, we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so. The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him towards themselves. Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce FEELINGS there by the action of their own wills. When they meant to ask Him for charity, let them, instead, start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves and not notice that this is what they are doing. When they meant to pray for courage, let them really be trying to feel brave. When they say they are praying for forgiveness, let them be trying to feel forgiven. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling. —C. S. Lewis. (1898-1963) THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, Revised Edition. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1961, pp. 19, 20-21. ISBN 0-02-086740-9. Highly recommended. [There are so many valuable things one can learn from this diabolical study in spiritual "negatives." It has been a huge blessing in my life. In the preface, Lewis says, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight" (p. 3).] Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.wqotw.org www.sbts.edu/icw =========================== WORSHIP QUOTE OF THE WEEK: To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view a complete index of worship quotes, please visit http://www.wqotw.org ===========================