Chapter 56

The Rule of Praying Without Ceasing

When, where, how long to stand in prayer and what prayers to use—each person can determine according to their circumstances—increasing, decreasing, moving the time and place—all directed toward the goal that inner prayer be performed as it should be. Regarding inner prayer, there is one rule: pray without ceasing.

What does “pray without ceasing” mean? To be continually in a state of prayer. A prayerful state is thought of God and feeling toward God—together. Thought of God is the thought of His omnipresence, that He is everywhere, sees all things, and upholds all things. Feeling toward God is fear of God, love of God, zealous desire to please Him alone in all things, with the same desire to avoid all that displeases Him, and, chiefly, the surrender of oneself to His holy will without hesitation and the acceptance of all that happens as coming directly from His hand. Feeling toward God can take place in all our works, occupations, and circumstances, if it is not sought for anew, but is already established in the heart.

Thought can be drawn away by various subjects; but even there it is possible to gain the habit of not departing from God, to occupy oneself in all things in the light of remembrance of God. It is these two—thought and feeling toward God—that you must care for above all. When they are present, there is prayer, even without spoken prayer words.

Morning prayer is ordained precisely to establish these two things in consciousness and heart… And then go forth to your work and labor with them. If you set these in your soul in the morning, you will have prayed as you should, even if you do not read all the prayers…

Let’s say you settled yourself in the morning and went out to work. From the first step, impressions from tasks, things, and people will begin, pulling your soul away from God… What should you do? You must renew your thought and feeling by an inner turning of mind and heart toward God. And to make this easier, you should become accustomed to some short little prayer and repeat it as often as you can. Any short little prayer serves this purpose…

In case you cannot read all the prayers in the morning or evening, choose from the prayers the more substantive ones… and read them… but above all, take more care to establish in your mind and heart the thought of God with fitting feeling. (11, 20–22)