Practical Christian Mysticism

“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thes. 5:16-18

When Paul wrote the words “Pray without ceasing”, he opened up a Pandora’s box of misunderstanding for the overzealous and obsessive-compulsive types that endures to this very day. Indeed this passage seems to fall into two opposite pendulum swings of interpretation. On the one-hand, there are a few who actually attempt some sort of incessant repetition throughout their day, and then the greater majority who just chalk it up to hyperbole and just give up all together. The truth is that prayer without cessation is truly blessed discipline that enriches our lives, and is surprisingly not so difficult to carry out.

Christian mysticism has long revolved around the concept of “contemplative prayer”. Contemplative prayer, though it has a wide range of methods and definitions, I would personally define it as the act of listening to God. In memorized prayer, liturgical prayer, and most other forms of prayer, we are often speaking to God (or worse, AT God). Contemplative prayer is intentionally making an effort to prepare and calm one’s self to listen and receive. I also like to think of contemplative prayer as our way of fulfilling the oft-forgot command to “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10/11)

Along with contemplative prayer is yet another concept of prayer, to “walk with God”. This concept was introduced with the person of Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24) who was so close to God he was simply taken up to be with God. The idea of walking with God has fascinated me ever since my youth as such a powerful picture of how far our relationship with God can go. When Paul said to “Pray without ceasing” I believe that this is closer to what he had in mind.

To walk with God, at it’s most basic, is turning prayer, both the traditional and contemplative forms, into an unending awareness of God’s presence and continuing conversation with Him. If we truly master unceasing prayer, we live with a constant assurance of God’s presence in our daily lives. Our connection with God becomes like a friend, or more accurately a father, who is always present and available… as if we were walking with God through life’s journey.

The methods of practicing this unceasing prayer are nothing beyond the most basic advise already given in Scripture. We should do our daily work as if for God, and pay attention to what our work shows us about our own character and maturity. We should view our interactions with others as opportunities to grow our love and humility.  We should see every moment of our lives as a constant relationship with the Creator who formed the world around us.

So how is praying unceasingly different from just living as Christians? No more different than fuel is different from a car. By living with an intentional effort to be aware of God’s constant presence in our lives, and taking frequent opportunities during the day to listen to what God is trying to teach us, we turn the secular to sacred and bring wonder to the mundane. This is not meant as a replacement to traditional, liturgical, or contemplative prayer, but simply as a complement.  To live a life where we are always in a state of prayer of some kind it to walk with God.  I would consider this the essence of practical mysticism.