Lesson One in Prayer, by Peter Kreeft

By Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., Integrated Catholic Life, Dec. 15, 2020

Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and also at the King’s College (Empire State Building), in New York City. He is a regular contributor to several Christian publications and is in wide demand as a speaker at conferences.

In this timeless post from the archives, Dr. Peter Kreeft offers sure advice on developing your prayer life.

Let’s get very, very basic and very, very practical about prayer. The single most important piece of advice I know about prayer is also the simplest: Just do it!

How to do it is less important than just doing it. Less-than-perfect prayer is infinitely better than no prayer; more perfect prayer is only finitely better than less perfect prayer.

Nancy Reagan was criticized for her simple anti-drug slogan: “Just say no.” But there was wisdom there: the wisdom that the heart of any successful program to stop anything must be the simple will to say no. (“Just say no” doesn’t mean that nothing else was needed, but that without that simple decision nothing else would work. “Just say no” may not be sufficient but it is necessary.)  …