Editorial April 29, 2019 Issue

Unceasing prayer as a way of life

Barbara Vining

Sitting on my desk at home is a small figurine of a little boy in prayer. He’s kneeling, his hands folded in front of him, with his eyes looking upward.

To me this sweet figurine symbolizes the mental attitude that opens us up to God’s supreme wisdom and gentle ministrations. It’s an attitude that can be with us anywhere at any time, without our having to be on our knees. It’s a humble, listening-to-God consciousness that enables us to silently “pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17), as the Apostle Paul did throughout his ministry and recommended to all. It’s something we can nurture within ourselves day by day.

Every day when I walk to work, and other days when I’m walking around the city, I wait at stoplights before crossing streets. It’s easy to feel impatient during such waits, but one day recently I timed the length of the stoplight and found that it was only sixty seconds—just one minute. At the next stoplight, I used that minute to thoughtfully pray the Lord’s Prayer, given to us by Christ Jesus. I went through it slowly once, and when I started a second time with “Our Father, …” the light changed—and as I crossed the street I found myself joyfully seeing all the people around me as sons and daughters of “our Father.”

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Bible Lens—April 29–May 5, 2019