Katelyn Joyce- The Screwtape Letters

 Four years ago I picked up The Screwtape Letters for the first time. I was immediately fascinated by the satirical nature of the text. It allowed us to get inside the head of demons and understand how a theory as to how humans can be tempted and influenced by evil forces. It was this book that led me to take this class because I wanted a reason to dive into other C. S. Lewis books. Because of this, I recently reread the book and it hit me in a completely new manner. I was now able to relate to the man the demon was working on in a more personal manner. One quote greatly stood out to me.“The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. When the patient is an adult recently re-converted to the Enemy’s party, like your man, this is best done by encouraging him to remember, or to think he remembers, the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood.” In both this quote and many others, I was taken aback by Lewis’ ability to do what seemingly felt like reading my mind. I pondered this very concept he described a great deal freshman year of college. I lost the understanding of why I should pray. (Maybe I never had it in the first place.) It didn’t seem necessary because the prayers I grew up with just seemed like cute little rhymes like the traditional “God is great; God is good” prayer to recite before meals. Nothing about it seemed like it was doing any work. It wasn’t until much later that I was able to overcome this mindset through actively pursuing prayer, though it did not feel helpful at times. Seeing Lewis come up with quotes such as these that look directly into not only the personal, but the spiritual lives of myself, I can’t help but wonder how he received this wisdom. Was it from evaluating scriptural references, his personal life, or the personal lives of those he’s close to? It’s just fascinating to me how he can articulate an occurrence in my life in such a specific manner. He not only states it, but explains why it was a struggle and why it was beneficial to the enemy. Reflecting on this allowed me to better understand why I struggled in the manner I did and how to overcome it if it resurfaced in the future.