PRAY WITHOUT CEASING - LEARNING THE WISDOM THAT LEADS TO SALVATION
Asked to write on the subject ‘Pray without ceasing’ I assumed it is a biblical instruction. I discovered it is. The traditional Douay-Rheims translation uses these three exact words, in 1 Thessalonians 5, 17. So, what for me is it to ‘Pray without ceasing’?
Sure, I must be open to prayers at various times, occasions, and for intentions, but I know there is something else – crucial – that I keep alive within myself a heart that leans toward God. Praying without ceasing is taking constant care of my friendship with God.
Such friendship is a gift from God to those who are listening. As such relationships grow, bloom, and bear fruit, devotees so favoured develop into steadfast people, grateful children of God, true disciples of Christ, and reliable influencers for good. To all who are listening, the call to such devotion comes in God’s time.
We can help ourselves by having wise guides, as did young Samuel in the prophet Eli. One night, someone is calling young Samuel by name and finally Eli realises who it is. He tells Samuel to go back to bed and if the voice calls again, answer: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
Next morning Eli hears from Samuel that God has a warning for Eli’s family. The full story is in Chapter 3 of First Book of Samuel. The point here is this: What a perfect one-liner for prospective friends of God! To repeat with heart: Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
The book of Psalms has many great one-liners to ponder at prayer: Teach me the secrets of wisdom. Or I am your servant; give me understanding. Hidden prayer pearls await one also in the Gospels. For instance, Phillip asks, Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.
Easy at times, but not always! Saint Therese of Lisieux: “Sometimes when I am in such a state of spiritual dryness that not a single good thought occurs to me, I say very slowly the ‘Our Father’ or the ‘Hail Mary’, and these prayers take me out of myself, and wonderfully refresh me.”
Let me conclude: To pray without ceasing is to pray that we will hear with certitude Jesus calling us to be friends of God, and even more, Jesus empowering us to invite others to pray without ceasing.