In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which is the textbook of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy says, “We must ‘pray without ceasing’ ” (p. 15). She is quoting Saint Paul from his letter to the Thessalonians. Paul was giving the members of the young church some rules for life. He says, in part: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:16–18). 

Paul was helping the early Christians to follow more closely the teachings of Jesus and to live lives devoted to Spirit rather than material existence. Mrs. Eddy enlarges on this in her writings to followers of Christ’s teachings, saying, “Cherish humility, ‘watch,’ and ‘pray without ceasing,’ or you will miss the way of Truth and Love” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 356). 

I have long wished to live a life more spiritual and to follow “the way of Truth and Love”—both of which are synonyms for God—but for a long time I found this instruction to “pray without ceasing” somewhat daunting. I knew that not all prayer requires one to go down on bended knee or even always to physically withdraw to a quiet place for contemplation—although this is often a very helpful thing to do. But in the busyness that seemed to be my life, I wasn’t sure how I could follow this direction. Another passage from Miscellaneous Writings gave me a clearer understanding of what was being asked of me: “Pray without ceasing. Watch diligently; never desert the post of spiritual observation and self-examination.… Forget not for a moment, that God is All-in-all—therefore, that in reality there is but one cause and effect” (pp. 154–155).

Watching diligently to make sure I was keeping a spiritual perspective was something I thought I could improve on, and I considered how I might best do this. I was talking to my sister one day, and she mentioned that she had read an article by a Christian Science practitioner who was pondering the very same topic of practicing spiritual diligence. The practitioner decided that she was going to be more vigilant in her thinking about the little things in life—to ask whether she was seeing things from a spiritual perspective. She began by keeping her focus on one spiritual idea—the idea that there are no accidents in God, because God, good, is the only cause and the only effect (see Science and Health, p. 424). She said she claimed this at every opportunity. Even if she dropped her hairbrush, she would claim that there were no accidents because God, Principle, was in total control of every action and activity.

I loved this idea and decided that I would immediately begin my own practice of it—I felt that this would be the start of my “pray[ing] without ceasing.” I turned to God in prayer and asked, What truth should I practice? Straightaway the thought came that I, too, should work on the concept of no accidents, and that I should also work with this statement: “Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements.” This explanation continues: “The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science.” This is part of the answer to the question “What is man?” in Science and Health (p. 475). I had read it many times before, but I had not applied it consistently to myself.

When I “pray without ceasing,” how can I not also “rejoice evermore”?

Immediately, I began applying these spiritual truths to my daily living—even in the smallest of things. If I bumped my elbow, I would affirm that man is not accident-prone because he is not material but is the image and likeness of God, Spirit. If I spilled my drink, I would mentally claim that there are no accidents because God governs every action; there is no happenstance. If I felt less than happy with my appearance, I would claim that I am not made up of material elements but am the expression of Soul, always beautiful and full of grace. I found a multitude of ways to affirm God’s control and to learn more about my spirituality. And as Paul taught, I did this with rejoicing. I found the process inspiring and freeing. I was becoming more and more aware of God’s presence in my life and was feeling less and less constrained by the claims of matter.

Then one night, after I had been doing this for about three weeks, we had a friend over for dinner. Partway through dinner, my teenage son wanted to show our visitor something. He left the table to run to his room. But in his hurry, he didn’t turn the hall light on, and it was quite dark. Unknown to him, our large black dog was asleep in the hallway, and my son fell over him in the darkness. Between them, they managed to knock a huge potted plant off its stand. This pot was particularly heavy—about as heavy as I could lift—and it fell from chest height and landed edge down across my son’s bare foot. As I rushed to help him, I could see that his foot appeared to be injured, and might even be broken. He was in pain and not able to get up. 

Here my practice of praying without ceasing clicked in: I was already “prayed up.” I felt no fear; I didn’t need to put my prayers into specific words; I just knew without a doubt that there were no accidents and that man “is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements”—because man is spiritual. I didn’t even have to think those words; I just knew and felt the truth of these spiritual facts. These ideas brought peace, and in the short time it took for me to reach my son, he got up without help and continued to his room to retrieve the object to show the visitor. The pain was gone, and there was no limp and no sign of anything amiss. No more was said about the incident that night. 

At the time, my son was working as a furniture removalist during his school holidays, and the next day he was scheduled for a full day’s heavy work. He went off to work as usual and worked the whole day. About three days later I broached the subject of the potted plant and the foot with my son. He said, “Oh, that only hurt for about thirty seconds, and it was fine. I haven’t thought any more about it.”

I learned a lesson that day about the importance of praying without ceasing! Over time, with God’s guidance, I have been led to give my attention to other ideas, other metaphysical truths, and to apply them to my daily life. Each new idea has led me to a deeper understanding of spiritual reality and away from a focus on materiality, and has made me much more aware of the presence of God. His allness is tangible. Now I can better understand the second part of one of the statements from Miscellaneous Writings mentioned earlier: “Forget not for a moment, that God is All-in-all—therefore, that in reality there is but one cause and effect.”

This heightened understanding of God as All-in-all has led me to another enriching kind of praying without ceasing: gratitude. Every glimpse of good is an expression of God in action; “… no good is, but the good God bestows,” Science and Health explains (p. 275). All the good in my life is tangible evidence of God loving me. When my husband helps me so willingly, this is God’s love reflected by my husband. When I look out into my peaceful garden, the beauty of the plants, flowers, and birds all point to the great beauty of Soul, God. When I relax at the end of the day, the peace I feel gives me a glimpse of God’s comforting love. As Science and Health explains: “Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens,—all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light” (p. 240). 

God is infinite, and He has an infinite number of ways of showing His love. Any expression of beauty or peace—of kindness or tenderness—is cause to be grateful. So when I “pray without ceasing,” how can I not also, as Paul counsels us, “rejoice evermore”?