Narnia and C.S. Lewis’ Trilemma
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St. Paul gives us an astounding command in his first letter to the Thessalonians, he exhorts Christians to “pray constantly”, or as other translations have it, to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17).
While we might be tempted to dismiss St. Paul’s command as hyperbole, insisting this is an impossible request and quite unrealistic, we would do well to seriously consider how we might follow this biblical command. After all, prayer should not be seen as a forced chore or imposed restriction from above, rather, prayer should be seen as an invitation into conversation with God. Prayer is not for His good but for our good.
The prolific spiritual writer and priest, Father Henri Nouwen, provides a helpful guide on how to better understand prayer so we might follow the command of St. Paul and strive for unceasing prayer in our lives.
Amid our loud and busy and distracting lives, we might think of prayer as being found only in those moments of rest and respite, where we can get away from the clamor of the world. While it is of course important and necessary to set aside time for prayer during our day, our conversation with the Lord should not be limited to a few minutes in the morning and before bed.
Prayer, Father Nouwen explains, should not be seen as thinking about God in contrast to the millions of other things in our lives; “Rather, it means to think and live in the presence of God.” Our days should not be seen as being divided: the sacred and the profane, time with God and time without Him. We must integrate prayer into all aspects of our daily life, inviting the Lord to be a part of each moment.
To accomplish this, to obey the words of Scripture and pray without ceasing, Father Nouwen suggests that we direct all our thoughts toward the Lord. Human beings are thinking beings; our minds are constantly active, jumping from one thought to another. Father Nouwen suggests that “This unceasing thinking that lies at the core of our humanity needs to be converted slowly but persistently into unceasing prayer.” Instead of spending our days in a mental monologue, thinking all our thoughts on our own, the Lord invites us into a constant dialogue with Him – allowing all our thoughts, our feelings, and our desires to be placed before Him. Father Nouwen explains, “To pray unceasingly is to lead all our thoughts out of their fearful isolation into a fearless conversation with God.”
Seeing unceasing prayer as the refocusing of our interior thoughts to the Lord, as Father Nouwen describes it, is precisely what the Church invites us to. The Catechism defines prayer as “the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God” (CCC 2559).
Oftentimes, we can be tempted to think we should only bring certain requests before God. We might falsely believe the Lord does not care about the smaller items in our lives and that we should only bring our larger troubles and supplications before him. We might even be afraid to bring the dark and scary and heartbreaking aspects of our lives to him, preferring to show our best self during prayer time. The opposite is true. We should hide nothing from the Lord, for in fact He knows everything (1 Jn 3:20). Jesus invites us to bring everything to Him in prayer. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).
If we see St. Paul’s invitation to unceasing prayer as requiring a rejection of all our secular duties in life it would seem impossible, except perhaps for cloistered nuns and hermits. If, however, we follow Father Nouwen in seeing unceasing prayer as the laying of all our thoughts at the feet of Christ, it suddenly becomes possible. In fact, it seems desirable.
There is no reason to spend our entire days entrenched in our thoughts and feelings all alone and without aid. By inviting us to the interior dialogue with the Lord, Father Nouwen shows us a way to deepen and revolutionize our spiritual lives. We will spend the rest of our lives, day in and day out, thinking and talking to ourselves – why not direct these thoughts to the Lord? Let every thought, desire, feeling, image, and worry that passes through your mind travel straight to the heart of God.
Hunter Leonard is a passionate Catholic with an intense love for learning about and sharing the Faith. He holds an M.A. in Theology from the Augustine Institute and a B.A. in Creative Writing from California State University at Northridge. Hunter's essays, articles, and poems have been featured at Busted Halo, St. Austin Review, Crisis Magazine, and Voyage Comics. He is a staff columnist at Catholic Stand and works at Flocknote to help parishes and dioceses build a more connected Church.
Hunter is also the author of the brand new children's book, When God Speaks, published by OSV Kids. You can find all of Hunter's books and articles at www.sacredvision.org.
