Pray without ceasing…?

by Travis Hines

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1Thessalonians 5:16-19)

 “You are loved: Abide. Invite. Welcome.” This phrase expresses the grace the Lord is giving to Immanuel Anglican in Woodbridge, VA for 2023. This is to be a year for Immanuel to grow in our awareness of being loved by God, and in our practice of loving each other. This will happen as we abide with Jesus. As we abide with Jesus, and see him for who he truly is, and understand how he sees us, and understand his purposes in this world, we will want to invite others to come and see Jesus as well, and then we’ll welcome them when they come.

Prayer is one of the primary ways we abide in Christ, and so it’s no surprise that the apostle Paul would encourage us to “pray without ceasing.” This may seem impossible, even with the increased focus on prayer that Lent provides. I recently read “How I talk to God,” however, a poem that provides a helpful perspective on moment-to-moment conversation with Jesus.

Commenting on this poem, Malcolm Guite writes:

“There is no special, ‘sacred’ location or church language in this series of haiku-vignettes, and yet in every one of them the ordinary or everyday is open to the sacred, and vice-versa, in every one, as the concluding verse suggests, ‘infinite connects with finite’. …

What this poem offers is a glimpse of how the very interruptions and mental preoccupations that sometimes clutter our days are themselves prayer if we will let them be, if we experience them in and with God.”

I offer the poem to you here as an invitation to re-discover the “interruptions and mental preoccupations” of your days as opportunities to abide with Christ. 

How I talk to God
Kelly Belmonte
 
Coffee in one hand
leaning in to share, listen:
How I talk to God.
 
“Momma, you’re special.”
Three-year-old touches my cheek.
How God talks to me.
 
While driving I make
lists: done, do, hope, love, hate, try.
How I talk to God.
 
Above the highway
hawk: high, alone, free, focused.
How God talks to me.
 
Rash, impetuous
chatter, followed by silence:
How I talk to God.
 
First, second, third, fourth
chance to hear, then another:
How God talks to me.
 
Fetal position
under flannel sheets, weeping
How I talk to God.
 
Moonlight on pillow
tending to my open wounds
How God talks to me.
 
Pulling from my heap
of words, the ones that mean yes:
How I talk to God.
 
Infinite connects
with finite, without words:

How God talks to me.

This poem comes from the book: The Word in the Wilderness: A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter  edited by Malcolm Guite. This poem and many others are also available online here.

Your Pastor in Christ,

Travis+

The Rev. Travis Hines is the Rector at Immanuel Anglican Church in Manassas, VA.