Pray Without Ceasing

Pray Without Ceasing
by Durrell Watkins

Can we really pray all the time? We pray continuously when we let our lives be prayer. When praying with our words, a useful formula is to acknowledge the Power of Life (God/Goddess/Higher Power/Spirit, etc.), realize that we are not separate from this Power (it is within us, around us, flowing through us, expressing as us), trust this power to lead us to our highest good (we express trust by affirming our progress), give thanks (an attitude of gratitude is a magnet for miracles), and finally release the prayer to the activity of divine right action ("let go and let God").

The affirmative prayer then might simply say, "Dear God, my heart is your home; your heart is my home. You are expressing in and as my life, and you are All Good; therefore, I confidently affirm the blessings of happiness, hope, and harmony and I am grateful that these blessings are even now being made manifest in my experience. I now relax and allow life to unfold in joyous, wonderful ways. Amen."

But did you know we can live that prayer as well as say it? And living it is praying it! We can at any moment quiet our minds, notice our breath, and feel an instant, inner calm (acknowledging the divine presence and our unity with It). Then as we perform any task (paying bills, watching television, answering an email, washing clothes, walking the dog, etc.), we can do so mindfully and joyfully, affirming with our attitude and action that in that moment all is well. Experiencing such a moment of well-being, we can be glad and grateful, and naturally enough, we will find ourselves more relaxed (letting go).

The spoken prayer is a model for how to live prayer. Whenever we are aware of Life, remember It is expressing as us, believe in our potential, feel thankful, and allow ourselves to "let go," we are praying. The more we practice "living prayer," the better we get at it, and we will find that we are actually praying continuously.

{Reprinted from Healing Rays: A Progressive, Positive, Practical Weekly Reflection, January 27th, 2009}