The Lord's Prayer and Petition

Integrated Study Guide

By Bryan Hollon

April 5, 2025

 This session is part of the multi-post Study Guide titled "Learning to Pray with C.S. Lewis." You may find it helpful to refer to the introduction and session oneto understand the nature of the project as a whole. There will be 10 sessions in all.

"The servant is not greater, and must not be more high-minded, than the master. Whatever the theoretical difficulties are, we must continue to make requests of God." - C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm

Primary Readings:

·        Letters to Malcolm, Letters 5, 7, 11

·        "Work & Prayer" from God in the Dock

·        C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 12: "Faith"

Theological Context: The Progression of Petition

In Letters 5, 7, and 11, Lewis confronts what might be called petition's "scandalous particularity"—the biblical encouragement to make petitions despite God’s omniscience - in other words, asking God for things knowing that God knows what we need before we ask. Rather than dismissing petition as spiritually immature, Lewis insists it remains central to authentic Christian prayer, and he anchors his defense in Christ's own example in Gethsemane. Lewis articulates a vision of petitionary prayer that evolves from passive submission to active participation in God’s own purposes and work, reflecting the Trinitarian pattern of the indwelling Spirit enabling us to fulfill the Father's will through participation in the Son's perfect obedience.

Key Concepts

1. The Validity and Necessity of Petitionary Prayer

In Letter 7, Lewis challenges the notion that mature Christianity might transcend petitionary prayer in favor of pure adoration and submission. Against this seemingly "high-minded" spirituality, Lewis offers a surprisingly earthy response: "Remember the psalm: 'Lord, I am not high minded'" (Letter 7). This appeal to Psalm 131 gives us insight into Lewis's theological intuition that Christian maturity never transcends childlike dependence - it requires it.

As I’ve already mentioned, Lewis grounds his defense of petition in Christ's example and teaching: "The New Testament contains embarrassing promises about prayer... It is maintained primarily on the dominical authority of Our Lord Himself" (Letter 7). This incarnational approach reflects Lewis's distinctive contribution to a theology of prayer—his integration of materiality and spirituality.

In the assigned reading from Mere Christianity, Lewis offers further insight about the perseverance required in petitionary prayer: "Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods." This distinction addresses petition's greatest challenge—maintaining confidence amid divine silence or apparent refusal. Lewis warns that we will never attain eternal life "as long as [we] are trying to get it as a reward." Likewise, we cannot approach petition from a utilitarian perspective; rather it is fundamentally grounded in relationship. We ask because we our deepest needs can be fulfilled only in relation to the God who created and knows us.

2. Personal "Festoonings" of the Lord's Prayer

In Letter 5, Lewis shares his personal interpretations (or "festoonings") of the Lord's Prayer, demonstrating how abstract theology becomes personal practice. For "Thy kingdom come," Lewis contemplates three levels of meaning: God's reign appearing in nature's beauty, in the lives of good people, and ultimately in heaven. This multi-layered interpretation connects present experience with ultimate hope.

His interpretation of "Thy will be done" reveals evolving understanding:

"For there isn't always—or we don't always have reason to suspect that there is—some great affliction looming in the near future, but there are always duties to be done... 'Thy will be done—by me—now' brings one back to brass tacks" (Letter 5).

This demonstrates prayer's transformative dimension—moving us from passive recipients to active agents in divine work.

Most striking is Lewis's insight about submitting to unexpected blessings:

"I am beginning to feel that we need a preliminary act of submission not only towards possible future afflictions but also towards possible future blessings... It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good" (Letter 5).

This observation challenges our tendency to dictate not only what God should do but how and when He should do it.

3. Prayer as Participation in Divine Causality

In "Work & Prayer," Lewis offers perhaps his most philosophically penetrating analysis of petition through comparison with physical causation. He addresses the determinist objection by noting that its logical extension would invalidate all human action:

"Why wash your hands? If God intends them to be clean, they'll come clean without your washing them."

The essay's central insight is that prayer represents a form of causality analogous to but distinct from physical work:

"The two methods by which we are allowed to produce events may be called work and prayer. Both are alike in this respect—that in both we try to produce a state of affairs which God has not (or at any rate not yet) seen fit to provide 'on His own.'"

This understanding of prayer as participation in divine causality rather than as an exception to it counters both magical thinking about prayer's efficacy and mechanical skepticism about its objective reality. Quoting Pascal, Lewis suggests God "instituted prayer in order to allow His creatures the dignity of causality."

4. Biblical Paradoxes in Prayer

In Letter 11, Lewis confronts the tension between Jesus's seemingly unconditional promise in Mark 11:24 ("Whatever you ask for... you will receive") and the reality of unanswered prayer, including Jesus's own prayer in Gethsemane. Rather than attempting to resolve this tension through reductive explanations, Lewis acknowledges its difficulty:

"How is this astonishing promise to be reconciled with the observed facts?... I have found no book that helps me with them all" (Letter 11).

Lewis honors apparent contradictions in scripture and experience as indicative of deeper truth rather than as problems to be eliminated. This reflects the biblical pattern in which both human responsibility and divine sovereignty are affirmed without systematic resolution of their apparent tension. Lewis recognizes that prayer involves genuine paradoxes that cannot be easily resolved but must be faithfully embraced.

Questions for Reflection

1.      Lewis shares his personal "festoonings" of the Lord's Prayer in Letter 5, noting that they are his private interpretations rather than authoritative explanations. How might developing your own thoughtful engagement with this prayer enrich your prayer life? What personal meanings have you discovered in the Lord's Prayer?

2.     Consider Lewis's suggestion that we need to submit to possible future blessings as well as afflictions. Have you experienced times when you "almost sulkily, reject[ed] the good that God offers... because, at that moment, we expected some other good"? How might awareness of this tendency transform your approach to God's provision?

3.     Lewis describes prayer as a form of causality analogous to but distinct from physical work. How might this understanding challenge both magical thinking about prayer's efficacy and mechanical skepticism about its objective reality? What implications does this have for how you approach petitionary prayer?

4.     In "Work & Prayer," Lewis writes that "the very act of asking is what God has ordained as a means by which our prayers are fulfilled." How might this understanding of prayer as participation in divine causality rather than exception to it transform your approach to petition? What implications does this have for how you understand apparently unanswered prayer?

5.     Lewis strongly defends petitionary prayer against both philosophical objections and religious over-spiritualization. How might his defense address contemporary skepticism about prayer's effectiveness? How does it challenge approaches to spirituality that minimize asking God for specific things?

6.     In Letter 11, Lewis confronts the tension between Jesus's seemingly unconditional promises about prayer and the reality of unanswered petitions. How have you navigated this apparent contradiction in your own prayer life? How might embracing this paradox rather than resolving it enrich your understanding of prayer?

7.      Lewis suggests that the highest faith in prayer might belong primarily to "the prophet's, the apostle's, the missionary's, the healer's prayer." How might this perspective transform expectations about prayer without diminishing its importance? How might it challenge contemporary emphasis on individual spiritual technique?

Practical Exercise: Praying the Lord's Prayer with Personal "Festoonings" (2-3 days)

Taking inspiration from Lewis's approach in Letter 5, spend time with the Lord's Prayer over several days, developing your own thoughtful "festoonings" or personal interpretations:

1.      Select a phrase from the Lord's Prayer each day (e.g., "Thy kingdom come," "Give us this day our daily bread").

2.     Pray the phrase slowly, allowing its meanings to unfold in your mind.

3.     Consider multiple levels of meaning, as Lewis does with "Thy kingdom come" (in nature, in human lives, and in heaven).

4.     Connect the phrase to your current circumstances, exploring how it might apply to specific situations you face.

5.     Practice prayer as participation, recognizing that in praying these words you are not merely expressing desire but participating in divine causality—joining your voice to Christ's perfect prayer and allowing the Spirit to pray through you.

6.     Journal your reflections, noting how these personal interpretations enrich your understanding of the prayer and how they might reflect your participation in the unfolding of God's purposes.

After this period, reflect on how this practice has affected your engagement with this familiar prayer. Has it helped you move beyond rote recitation to more thoughtful participation? Have you discovered meanings you hadn't previously considered? How has it deepened your understanding of prayer as participation in divine reality rather than mere expression of human desire?

The Rev. Dr. Bryan Hollon is president of Trinity Anglican Seminary in Ambridge, PA.