What Does it Mean to Pray Without Ceasing? How to Prayer Part 3

LET us not be content to pray morning and  evening,
but let us live in prayer all day long. Let this prayer,
this life of love, which means death to self, spread out
from our season of prayer, as from a center, over all
that we have to do. All should become prayer,
that is, a loving consciousness of God's
presence, whether it be social interaction or business.
Such a course as this will ensure you a profound
peace. 
       Francois de la Mothe Fenelon. 

How are we to fulfill our Lord's injunction,
"that men ought always to pray, and not to  faint?"
Bv the heart's prayer, which consists
in a constant habitual love of God, trusting
Him, submitting in all things to His will; and
by giving a never failing heed to His voice, as
heard within the conscience. 
        Jean Nicolas Grou.   


It is good that a man quietly wait
for the salvation of the Lord.
— Lam. iii. 26. 


In to Thy silent place of prayer 
The anxious, wandering mind recall —
Dwell 'mid Thy own creation there. 
Restoring, claiming, hallowing all.
Then the calm spirit, won from sin, 
Thy perfect sacrifice shall be,
And all the ransomed powers therein 
Shall go forth, glorifying Thee. 
         Anna L. Waring. 

TAKE time to be separate from all friends
and all duties, all cares and all joys;
time  to be still and quiet before God.
Take  time not only to secure stillness from man and
the world, but from self and its energy.
Let the  Word and prayer be very precious;
but remember, even these may hinder the quiet waiting.

The activity of the mind in studying the Word,
or giving expression to its thoughts in prayer,
the activities of the heart, with its desires and
hopes and fears, may so engage us that we do
not come to the still waiting on the All-Glorious
One.

Though at first it may appear difficult
to know how thus quietly to wait, with the
activities of mind and heart for a time subdued,
every effort after it will be rewarded ; we shall
find that it grows upon us, and the little season
c' silent worship will bring a peace and a rest
that give a blessing not only in prayer, but all the
day.
       Andrew Murray 
 
 
The fact is that most of us cannot pray. We are lost in thinking and imagining. We are lost in our distractions. Perhaps you have noticed this yourself. 

It is hard to pray when you are ill with a fever, for example. You are lost in delirium and cannot focus properly. Many times when I am at Starbucks or at the library to go online I see someone who comes in to study. He or she pulls out a textbook or notebook and begins to study, but after about 5 minutes, s/he inevitably reaches for the mobile device and begins scrolling for text messages or emails. It is for this reason that I recommend beginning with the Christian meditation available here. Most of us are lost in a semi stupor or trance state. 

We don't know that we are but the evidence of it is that everything pulls on your attention, you have difficulty focusing on things and even more importantly, you are lost in thinking. daydreaming, and the thought stream much of the time. I was recently teaching a safe driving course, and we were talking about distracted driving. I said that eating while we drive, talking on the hands free cell phone while we drive, listening to the radio or a CD and so on are all distractions.  

 I then mentioned that daydreaming is also a distraction. One student arrogantly proclaimed that he never daydreams while he drives. He scoffed and said that no one daydreams while they drive. I marvelled at his blindness and lack of awareness. 

Thinking about what we just did, or what we plan to do, or about what someone said to us, even if only for less than a minute (though most of us daydream for much linger stretches) When lost in thought, we are not fully there. All of this is to say that when the soul is immersed in the thought stream (or lost in emotional thinking) it is in a state where it cannot pray. 

But the person who learns to meditate properly is restored to objectivity, (to "truth" in the words from the quote). Mentally standing back from thought, the person can observe thought instead of being lost in it. 

The spirit of the world speaks to us with notions, words and thoughts from its lower abode in the lower mind or in the imagination. From down there it talks to you and gives you wrong ideals. Even when it says factual truths, or sometimes it even quotes Bible verses, it is not sincere. It misleads you, and when you pray from this lower sort of thinking, it is words in vain.It is for this reason that people can even be afraid to pray. They sense something false about the prayer or fear that something will make them pray something harmful. 

 Therefore, it must recommend again, and strongly, that you first clear the mind and learn to mentally stand back for objectivity. When you are no longer lost in thought, you soul stand humble and awaits direction. When the soul is free from the contamination of the lower type of thinking, it is also free from the spirit of the lower mind.

 In the Garden of Eden, the serpent was on the outside, but when the first humans sinned, the spirit got inside and it has been in disobedient people ever since. it is in all the educators, politicians and advertisers who promise you power, glory greatness and happiness through education and material possessions. 

It is in all the foolish females and the love songs that sing the praises of naughtiness and carnal delights. So learning to pray is, as Mr. Torrey properly points out, a matter of asking, of sincerity, and of praying in truth. The souls which is not immersed in thinking and feeling, and mentally stands back from the thought stream is subject to God. 

And it is in this state that the soul is free to pray and free to pray sincerely. When immersed in the thought stream, you are subject to post hypnotic influence, as well as the powerful imaginings that pull on your awareness. Down there, lost in the Alic in Wonderland world of fantasy and unreality, you are subject to whatever or whoever drove you into the imagination, and to whatever controls your imagination. 

 Most of our thoughts come from outside, and that is why when we are thus entranced, we are suggestible. Have you ever wondered why you do dumb things, say dumb things or spend too much money on something. 

Later you could kick yourself "Why did I waste my money on that? you wonder. It is because you were subject to outside suggestions. But if you can regain the objective state (which you had when you were a little child, before you were upset by the world), then you will be free to pray. 

When you begin to meditate properly, you will discover that you will be able to concentrate for the first time. Before you were merely caught up in one thing or another. When your attention was captured by one thing and another you were distracted. 

When you fixated on one thing for a long time, you thought you were concentrating, but your attention had been captured. In the objective state, you will be able to pray. But you will discover most likely that you don't even know what to ask for. You will realize your lack, and wanting to ask the right thing, but not knowing what it is, you are honestly at a loss, yet unwilling to do what is wrong. this sincere humble state calls upon the compassion of the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will pray for you.You may also realize, in this objective state, your own insincerity--i.e. you realize that selfish and not even sincere. This is good. Why? 

Because you are realizing in God's Light the truth about yourself. Seeing this truth, you are humbled and you realize your won helplessness. But it is this realization that is a comfort, because you know that it is God who is making your realize a truth about yourself, even though it is negative. 

Realizing the truth without resenting it thus frees you of having to put on a show for God or pretend. You realize in His wordless Light that you are weak and don't know what to ask for, and it is comforting to the soul because it realizes that God knows you, and does not hate you for your wrong or your foolishness. 

You realize that in you prior state you did not know any better, and God forgives you for your errors. In this state, seeing that you honestly don't know what to do or to say, and yet being unwilling to do wrong, and sincerely he yearning to do what is right--God knows what you need even before you ask. that is why there is no need for wordy prayers. It basically frees you from having to do anything other than to meditate properly to come close to God. 

Going about your daily activities, you become more spontaneous, no longer feeling compelled or obligated to put on a show for God or anyone else. You have more time to enjoy the closeness to God and to ponder life and learn its meaning. Paul exhorts us to pray unceasingly, and I believe he is referring to the meditative life, where we become objective to thoughts and feelings, closer to the Light, and no longer immersed in daydreams, plans and schemes. 

I also believe this is the prized state of mind that Christian mystics such as Madame Guyon, St. John of the Cross or Saint Francis de Sales had found. They tried to tell us about it and put it in the coinage of the day. They used words like prayer or contemplation, but I believe they were referring to the objective state of awareness, mentally standing back from thought. 

I believe this aware state of mind (which you had as a little child before you were upset) is what Paul was referring to when he told us to pray without ceasing. The aware, meditative state of mind is close to God and subject to Him. The aware person is always attentive to the wordless guidance of conscience, which is the same as ever asking God what to do in a wordless way. 

The soul which is not immersed in the dream world of the imagination or in the excitements and distractions of the world, is able to stand back and effortless have a slight distance from people, things and thoughts. Thereby the person naturally is closer to God and looks to wordless inspiration for just in time guidance.  

 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Thessalonians 5:16-18

In a nutshell, ineffectual prayer is praying intellectually or emotionally, from the lower mind and with our consciousness caught up in worldly things and imaginations. 

This is the state we all live in most of the time. Occasionally we are awakened from our trance state (which becomes a comfort zone) with a wake up call like when we have a really close call or the morning after the night before, when we exclaim OMG. 

 Some wake up through a heart attack, the piercing words of another who tells you the truth, or through the suffering of say cancer treatment. But even in such cases, most people do not stay awake. they cannot bear the truth and quickly lose themselves in their treatment, in study, in medications, drugs, or get caught up with some group or organized religion. 

 Perhaps now you can see why it is only the sincere soul, who deep down in a wordless way, years for truth. and is willing to bear the truth out of a love of truth that can meditate, wake up and stay awake. If you can bear reading what I have been saying, perhaps you are one of the sincere souls destined to become a child of God who will benefit from the meditation. 

 If so, you are blessed. Try the free 5 minute meditation stress fix. Then you may wish to get the classic meditation, which includes two free books. The suggested donation is nominal ($10.00) and if you cannot afford that amount, just donate what you can. If you cannot afford anything, I will send you the link to get the material free of charge. 

Once you begin to meditate as we teach, you will be in a state of mind which is receptive to sound instruction, and you will be able to read and appreciate what I say and write, and when you re-read the beautiful words at the beginning of this article and which follow, you will appreciate them even more. 

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  John 4:23-24

 Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself make intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.   
Romans 8:26

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