Praying Without Ceasing
My family has never outgrown read-aloud time. Even though most of my kids are grown (the youngest is in high school), we still read books together. We have recently finished a Chaucer-reading era and have now launched into C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia for old-time’s sake.
Reading the Chronicles again, with Aslan the Lion and adventures of the Kingdom of Narnia reminds me of C. S. “Jack” Lewis’ deep faith. He was a man of prayer.
Here is what his step-son, Douglas Gresham said about him:
“I don’t know what he prayed, but it was not uncommon for me to walk into a room and to find Jack praying. And I would say, ‘I’m so sorry, Jack,” and he would say, ‘Don’t worry, I was only praying’. I saw Jack sitting at a desk in prayer. I saw Jack walking in prayer. I could tell if Jack was praying if he was walking around the garden or walking up in the woods or sitting at his desk, but I can’t tell you how I could tell. It was just something I knew. He didn’t ostentatiously get down on his knees or put his hands together in front of his face and so forth.”
His assistant, Walter Hooper, said about Lewis, “I don’t think I ever came across a person who prayed so much. Often in the morning he would get up, go outside to look at the flowers, and stand right there praying…He could pray anywhere…In a train, on a bus, on a walk, or just standing outside. And he prayed on his knees, too, beside his bed.”
(quoted from: The Magic Never Ends- John Duncan)
Lewis prayed at in many times and many places. Perhaps for him that was “praying without ceasing”.
What would prayer without ceasing look like for you?
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