Prayer. It’s a basic necessity of life. Whatever form it comes in, whatever words or images we use, we need to not just pray, but make our entire lives a prayer. Continuing the thread from earlier, to pray is part of the 4-step formula (read, pray, reflect, and act) for engaging in Advent and for deepening one’s spiritual life in general.

In the first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes,

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thes 5:16-19)

What I love about this is Paul’s instance on ALWAYS — always, without ceasing, all circumstances! He leaves no room for mistake. Prayer is to be part of our lives through and through. But how? How can we pray always when we have a hard enough time fitting in a quiet moment or a visit to a sacred space?

Being a visual person, I always imaged that what Paul meant was that we go about our daily routine but off to the side we maintain a constant litany of prayers, prayer requests, and the such, much like a news ticker just keeps on going just at the bottom of our TV screens while the “real” drama unfolds above.

As compelling as this image is to me (admit it, you’ve got a news ticker going through your imagination right now!), I’m not sure that this is what Paul meant when he said to pray without ceasing. There are many ways to interpret what Paul meant … and for each one of us, we must live these words in a way unique to ourselves and God’s calling to us. Here’s a bit of how Saint Augustine of Hippo reads these words:

For not without a meaning did the Apostle say, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess. v. 17) Are we to be “without ceasing” bending the knee, prostrating the body, or lifting up our hands, that he says, “Pray without ceasing”? Or if it is in this sense that we say that we “pray,” this, I believe, we cannot do “without ceasing.” There is another inward kind of prayer without ceasing, which is the desire of the heart. Whatever else you are doing, if you do but long for that Sabbath, you do not cease to pray. If you would never cease to pray, never cease to long after it. The continuance of thy longing is the continuance of thy prayer. You will be ceasing to speak, if you cease to long for it. (Commentary on Psalm 37)

Saint Augustine uses the images of desire and of longing to describe what praying without ceasing means. It reminds me of Thomas Merton’s prayer in which he says even the desire to please God is pleasing to God.

What image comes to mind for you when you think about praying without ceasing? Do you have any particular customs for prayer specific to the season of Advent?

* * *

Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

Last night I talked with a group of young adult Catholics about prayer — ways to pray in the midst of daily life with all of the activities, pressures, and responsibilities that any given day might hold. We talked about how prayer is not about those moments that we set aside to be with God, but it is a habit of being with God, that is, making one’s whole life a prayer. How do we do this, especially when life can get kind of hectic?

What are some practical ways that you try to cultivate this sense of making your life a prayer? How do you practice Saint Paul’s invitation to “pray without ceasing”?

Question from Hayden …

Hi Sister Julie! First of all, I admire you so much! Nuns fascinate me so much. What an amazing spirit you have to lead a life totally for Christ. I am a Christian (Episcopal; raised Episcopal, Methodist, and went to a Church of Christ College), and desire to be closer to God every day! I do have a great relationship with Him, but sometimes think I have trouble hearing what He is telling me. Any advice? I want to learn how to really listen with an open heart and mind. I think it was fate that I even stumbled upon your blog! You are amazing!

Hayden, I’m so glad you came by for visit. Your question is an important one, one that many people including myself have wrestled with. Even Saint Teresa of Avila — a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic tradition because of her teachings on prayer — struggled with prayer and listening to God.

The first thing I want to say is that your very desire to be closer to God is itself a clear indication that God is working within you, drawing you close. As Thomas Merton, the great spiritual writer and Cistercian monk, wrote in a prayer, “I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have this desire in all that I am doing.” He continued, saying, “And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it.” For me, that is one of the key things to listening to God and responding to God’s call — tapping into that God-inspired desire within yourself to please God, to respond to God in love, to reverence and stand in awe of God.

One of the best ways to do this is to spend time with God as much as you can. Practice Saint Paul’s injunction that we “pray without ceasing“. That means to have a spirit of prayer in all that you do, as you go about your daily life. It also means taking time just to be with God, alone and without distraction. This can be tough to do, and it is also a very intimate and vulnerable thing to do. But just as we would in a relationship with a loved one, we grow into these moments, we’re able to behold a sunset together without words or to gaze into one another’s eyes with great love. These experiences with God nurture us and help us be more in tuned with what God’s desire is for us, what God’s voice “sounds” or “feels” like.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches that there are some other specific ways to get in tune with God’s call to you and to help you better listen to and respond to God. The overall term for this is “discernment”. Ignatius developed a simple method by which you can review each day in a way that will help you grow in self-understanding and free you to follow God’s will. This practice is called the Daily Examen.

Those are just a few of my thoughts as I pray with you, Hayden, and all of us who long to draw close to God.

What ideas or thoughts does this inspire in you? What helps you to listen to God’s call to you?