I’d have to say that this really was a prayer walk. Thinking/praying for her, her family and friends. In fact, sometimes it feels that life is just one big prayer, and certainly we can experience it as such. Pray without ceasing; think prayerful without ceasing; live prayerfully without ceasing. It takes practice, but, believe me, it’s easy and worthwhile. I say the Jesus Prayer, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me. When you find your mind is chattering trivia (How many times to I have to go over the evening’s menu?), give it a try.
This morning, instead of strolling on the beach, I walked up to the lighthouse, giving tribute as I went to a friend who had recently died. You see, we used to talk about this particular spot that she loved.
I’d have to say that this really was a prayer walk. Thinking/praying for her, her family and friends. In fact, sometimes it feels that life is just one big prayer, and certainly we can experience it as such. Pray without ceasing; think prayerful without ceasing; live prayerfully without ceasing. It takes practice, but, believe me, it’s easy and worthwhile. I say the Jesus Prayer, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me. When you find your mind is chattering trivia (How many times to I have to go over the evening’s menu?), give it a try.
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The idea of praying without ceasing has always intrigued me. Two years ago when I began aprayerdiary, I wrote about the Jesus Prayer, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner. The prayer comes from the Eastern Orthodox tradition and particularly from Startets, the spiritual guides of Russia. “Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17) were the very words that compelled the Staret to set out on his journey in “A Way of the Pilgrim”. I have been saying the Jesus Prayer for over three years. It’s very simple to do; just say the phrase over and over again (I leave out the a sinner part). I started by reciting it out loud, but soon I noticed that I was thinking it, and that was just fine. It has become my meditation mantra, which I say while watching the sunrise here at the cottage, walking the beach, doing the dishes, driving in the car, going to sleep, you name it. Nowadays I often ‘say’ the prayer without even thinking about; it must be in my unconscious, or should I say, in my heart? The following is from The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality, by Kyriacos C. Markides. The quotes are attributed to Father Maximos, an Anthonte monk and friend of Markides. “It (the Jesus Prayer) is the practical way of mobilizing the mechanism of the heart to open up to Grace….embedded in the name of Jesus is the very power of God. By invoking, therefore, the sacred name repeatedly we invite the Grace of God to take possession of hour hearts and mind, protecting us from harmful effects. “{The Prayer}opens the road for Grace to visit the heart. And when that happens, then the heart works by itself independently of whatever else you do. It enters into an ongoing relationship with God" (p.56). Here’s today stream of consciousness about prayer. Do you ever think that if you don’t pray for someone pretty much all the time, that person won’t make it-- that all will be lost for them, that you make all the difference, that…. (you fill it in)? It’s another example of the ‘savior complex’ that I mentioned yesterday. Actually, it’s one of my major, on-going themes. On a rational level my prayer isn’t going to make or break any deal. But on the spiritual plane, well, I believe it does. When I say that prayer matters, million questions burst forth, unanswerable but worth asking. Maybe it’s all in the questions. But it’s also in the St. Paul telling us to pray without ceasing. For sure I have to keep praying, however often, whatever I say or do. I pray because I feel God is calling me to do so. What does that mean? I have no idea that I can articulate, except to admit that I’m just going on faith. Faith makes little rational sense to me but it compels me walk with God and try to live though a God lens. And what does that mean? The conversation never ends. Nothing makes sense; everything make sense. I’m very grateful that I will be returning for my fourth winter at the cottage by the sea. I heard from the owner the other day, and he and I agreed that we are ready for another win-win season. On my cottagebythesea.net blog, which is for people who are looking for silence, solitude and simplicity and who sometimes like to be alone, I write about my general experiences there. I DO NOT talk specifically about faith and prayer; that’s what this blog is about. So here I am, two months before I start spending week days at the cottage and weekends at home, musing on what my prayer life will be like this year. I envision myself watching the sky and water from before sunrise to after sunset. That won’t be new, but the amount of time I spend just sitting in the mystery will be longer and more frequent than previous years. Saint Chapelle On this trip to Paris with my daughter and grandchildren I have very little time to blog, much less to pray. Maybe you’ve seen some of the pictures on my cottagebythesea blog. Of course praying can be done while walking the streets, but I have to be careful to watch for the little green man on the traffic light that tells me it’s safe (more or less) to cross. So admittedly, I’m distracted from my prayer. That’s why when we do sit down in one of the extraordinary gardens, or when we visit a church, I am apt to remember to pray and to actually do so. I’m learning one again that distractions, which include an active life, can take away from intentional prayer, which I seem called to do. Nevertheless, the trip is worth every minute. In fact the entire trip is a prayer. On the beach today, a clear, cold winter’s day, minus snow and wind. For a while, just God and me. I cherish the solitude and simplicity of the moment, after feeling crowded here at the cottage. Crowded? Not by visitors but by the people that I’m praying for. If I had made up God’s call to intercessory prayer, I’d immediately have found something else to do with my time. But here it is and it can get mighty overwhelming at times--overwhelming because it goes on and on and on. For most of the time it’s ‘praying without ceasing.’ More and more I’m accepting this call to prayer. The good news is that I have this cottage-by-the-sea where I can empty myself of the busyness of daily life, and, with the help of God, of judgments that get in the way of prayer. The bad news is that this isn’t easy. The physical, emotional and spiritual energy one puts out in prayer is something I never thought of, but it’s there, part of the call, so I’m discovering. For sure, intercessory prayer isn’t just about giving God a list of names that God already knows. When I get overwhelmed, I have my model. Jesus continually went off to pray, for others, and to be with God. He had his beach and I have mine. The quote I posted today by Simone Weil about kneeling and praying, has me thinking about all the ways I might pray: kneeling, sitting, lying down, walking, dancing…. Then there are all the places: at home, in church, on the beach, in the mountains…. And I don’t want to forget I can pray while on the subway, in the car, at the supermarket. Seems that Jesus mainly prayed out of doors, but of course he was living in a warm climate and at a time when a great deal of living was done outside. No excuse not to “pray without ceasing”.
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