On Praying Without Ceasing

Discover participant from Knoxville finds quiet.

Our biweekly staff meeting at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood has become a sort of Sabbath for me, especially during this summer.  It’s a time where we gather together, pray, study, encourage, and plan.  Even when it's somewhat stressful, it still allows me space to rest and pay more attention to God's work in my life.

This week was no exception, and it would appear that God was priming me for an upcoming lesson.  We had read a short story by Wendell Berry called “Pray Without Ceasing,” from his book Fidelity.  Without too much lead-in, this passage that fleshes out the title occurs several days after Thad up and shoots his best friend, Ben, in a moment of rage-filled despair, and directly before a scene of such awesome forgiveness, it actually causes me to tremble:

     "Well, Jackie," she said, lifting and canting her nose to bring her spectacles to bear upon him, "poor Ben has met his time."

     "Yes, mam," Jack said. "One of them things."

     "When your time comes you must go, by the hand of man or the stroke of God."

     "Yes, mam," Jack said. He was standing with his hands behind him, leaning back against the doorjamb.

     "It'll come by surprise," she said.  "It's a time appointed, but we'll not be notified.'

     Jack said he knew it.  He did know it.

     "So we must always be ready," she said. "Pray without ceasing."

     "Yes, mam."

     "Well, God bless Ben Feltner. He was a good man. God rest his soul."

     Jack stepped ahead of her to help her out the door and down the porch steps.

     "Why, thank you, Jackie," she said as she set foot at last on the walk.

    He stood and watched her going away, walking, it seemed to him, a tottering edge between eternity and time.

Not a typical Tuesday in the Sanctuary.

Two days later, during our closing reflection and worship with Christ Covenant Presbyterian from Knoxville, Tennessee, one of our participants, we’ll call her Adrienne, echoed this notion of “praying without ceasing.”  Adrienne marveled that it was possible to “pray about everything.  When we came upon someone living homelessly on the streets,” she said, “we prayed.  When we were deciding what we could do for and with a person, we prayed.   Before, and after, we said goodbye, we prayed.  When we arrived at our agency work-site for the day, we prayed that God might use us well.  Before dinner, we prayed for the hands that prepared the meal.”  Adrienne had only experienced “god” on Sundays, and it would appear that for the first time in her life, she felt God with every step she took last week.  The awestuck wonder in her face as she reflected upon this was as bright as any Gospel message I’ve ever heard.

New friends from Cincinnati at Union Rescue Mission

In the story, had Thad “prayed without ceasing,” maybe he would have felt a critical pause before pulling the trigger on his best friend.  In my life, were I to sincerely be praying without ceasing, I may not have said that very hurtful thing, may not have acted so selfishly, yet again.  Because what strikes me about this idea, is not that we should hide away in a solitary chamber and silently pray forever, out of the context of one another.  Considering, though, that prayer is essentially a dialogue that recognizes the real presence of God, what if we allowed prayer to be the foundation of our thought-lives, even as we go about our daily businesses?  Can we build an increased awareness of the presence of God?  Can we see the face of God all around us, all the time?  Can we feel God's calming hand upon our shoulder before we honk at the, let's face it, idiot who cut us off on the 101?   Of course we will falter and fail at this, but imagine, if you will, what Adrienne’s realization could imply in our everyday lives.  Can we imagine God’s presence when a homeless individual asks us directly for help?  Can we imagine God’s loving arms around us when we lose someone dear?  Can we imagine God’s watch when someone says, “if you just sign here, it’ll all be taken care of.  There’s no morality in business, just good and bad business.”  Can we imagine God’s joyful laughter when we break bread with former enemies and give breath to reconciliation and redemption, like Homeboy Industries does every single day?

I don’t know if I can do that all the time.  In fact, I know that on my own, I’ll probably forget to even try.  But I know how much richer and satisfying life becomes when I remember that God is near, loving me always, without ceasing, ever.

Dweller Kyle, Former Dweller Will, & Discern-er Edzel

Peace, Matthew

For more pictures of Christ Covenant Presbyterian from Knoxville, Tennessee and Northminster Presbyterian from Cincinnati, Ohio in action last week in LA, click here!