How to "pray without ceasing" by using trigger phrases

autumn clouds late October sunny afternoon 2021

Paul writes (1 Thessalonians 5:17) to pray without ceasing. Clearly the image of forming a prayer and giving one's attention to one's Creator has a wide range of forms it can take; not just knee bent and head bowed. Rather, he describes a constant awareness of gratitude and knowing God's abiding presence in good times and bad, and all the other times, too, that are not particularly good or bad. Some write that the instinct to pray in this wide-meaning (heart of gratitude; mind of loving) should be like breathing; automatic and hardly requiring effort; the basis for sustaining life. But the question is what that might look like; who in one's daily round of activity demonstrates this example? In other words, what might be some ways to put the "pray without ceasing" into practice?

One clue comes from the realm of parenting classes 20 years ago. For times when a child challenges the parent with a complaint or refusal, the teacher suggested the phrase, "That may be so.... but [parent puts forth the opposing position]." In other words, reaching for that simple phrase allows the parent to acknowledge the child's position, and then to step around and past the obstacle in order to go forward. Likewise in the case of "praying without ceasing" there may be some simple linguistic phrases that make it possible to overcome the rut of everyday, consumer thinking and compartmentalization of "God's day is Sunday, not the other days." Here are a few examples that each reader can improve upon, take as food for thought, or adapt for purposes fitted to personal circumstances.

<>"Thank you, LORD" is a good one if something unexpected, not planned, distracting, irritating or frustrating intervenes in one's train of thought or best of intentions. Take a negative (steered off track) and regard it as a source of stopping and looking around; a chance to count one's blessing so far and then to get back on track again. St. Paul thanks God for the thorn in his side (or whatever the physical complaint is that he refers to).

<>"Beautiful!" is the reverse of the one above. Instead of acknowledging a distraction or detour from one's intended purpose, use a positive break in the train of events as an opportunity to pause long enough to acknowledge the delight or surge of joy. Not every bit of wonder or beauty needs to be photographed to share on social media. Sometimes the sparkle on the river, the flicker of starlight, or the raucous sound of a bluejay is there as a gift; a kind of private blessing for your pleasure to be truly thankful for.

<>"Walk with me, God" is a natural reaction for moments of anxiety, fear, or perceived danger for self or others.

<>"Help me, Jesus" is closely related to the previous, but instead of asking for company the need is more direct; a cry for outside intervention or guidance.

In general, the idea behind a compact set of well-worn phrases is that you can reach for them automatically, almost as easily as breathing or taking a cool drink of water. Whether it is a "God wink" during your day, a small or big crisis looming or one that you are in the midst of, or just a small annoyance, by drawing on formulaic phrases such as these examples, the door is open to engaging with God in a no-nonsense, unadorned, honest and personal way. In other words, something as human as language now becomes an everyday way to spend time with God without ceasing.

Wiser wordsmiths will be able to make short, easy to use phrases even more practical and powerful than these examples, but these words illustrate the point: short expressions (maybe even non-verbal expressions work, too), repeatedly used, and spoken or mentally used with no fanfare or performance anxiety. Like the earlier case of parenting class and deft use of "that may be so, but..." here in the case of "pray without ceasing" the deft use of a short prompt can make the relationship flow more smoothly; communication can resume in a healthy, wholesome, holy way.

Beware... elders, chief priests, teachers of the Law

In the weekly Bible study it was Mark 8:27 that started the discussion and train of thoughts with reflections by the handful of men on Zoom and in-person. For some reason the part about Jesus predicting his suffering and death by the hands (or mouths) of elders, chief priests, and teachers of the Laws [Pharisees] stood out. Stopping to consider the status or foundation of authority in each class of person categorized here, 'elders' take authority by genealogy entitlement, 'chief priests' by title held, and 'teachers of the Law' by virtue of intellectual merit. As the passage continues, Jesus communicates that none of these automatically confer righteousness or holiness. While it is possible such a ranked person can be pleasing to God, it is not a given; in fact, the baggage of perceived self-image can be a burden that gets in the way of such a person being able to see or hear God's will.

Stepping back a little further, this pattern continues in which Jesus is showing and telling that the relationship of This World (consumerism of the 21st century, too) to God's Kingdom is topsy-turvy; paradoxical; upside-down: the last shall come first, you much lose your life to gain it, the vinyard workers paid equally no matter how long they spent in the fields, and so on. Perhaps the "sound byte" verson of Jesus' teaching begins with "God is Love" (but so much can be unpacked from that compact statement) and then could be summed up as "things are not how they look." So be thoughtful to discern if you truly are hearing God's voice or some other source. Be vigilant ('trust but verify' as President Reagan told Premier Gorbachev) when someone claims to speak God's teaching or will. In the end, Jesus does not want the "mountain-top experience" that he has with Peter, James, and John. Rather, it is going down to the valley where the Gospel work is to be done. In other words, The World is not a place to shy from, filled with distraction and other forms of temptation; nor is it to be embraced blindly. It is imperfect, but since Christianity is an "embodied" (lived in time and space, requiring physical effort and friction and obstacles to overcome) form of religious practice, it is precisely in "The World" where one's spiritual muscles can exercise and the place where growth is possible.

As the passage is put in BibleGateway.com in the translation by Hawai'ian Pidgin English, here, those with ears to hear and eyes to see should beware of "the older leaders" (elders), "the main priest guys" (chief priests), and "the teaching guys who teach God's Rules" (teachers of the Law). That is a lesson to all who seek after God's presence in the world past, present, and future.