Method of Continual Prayer

Written by St. John Cassian, 360-433 (and only shared by Colleen @ InadequateDisciple who found it in The New Jerusalem Bible: Saints Devotional Edition (compiled by Bert Ghezzi)

"Pray constantly."  1 Thessalonians 5:17

IN ORDER TO KEEP God always in mind you should frequently pray this verse:

"Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." (see Ps 70:1).

With good reason this text has been selected from all of Scripture as a method of continual prayer. It encompasses all the emotions that human beings can experience. We can effectively apply it to any circumstance and use it to resist every temptation. Since the verse appeals to God against all danger, it expresses our humble dependence on him, our anxieties and fears, our admission of our own weakness, and our confidence in answered prayer. And it conveys the assurance of God's present and ever ready help. A person constantly calling on his protector can be sure that he is near . . .  

So we will find this verse useful in all circumstances, whether adverse or prosperous and happy because it confesses our absolute dependence on God: When I am tempted to gluttony, desiring to eat much more than I need, I must immediately pray, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." When a headache or drowsiness interferes with my spiritual reading, I must say, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." When I cannot fall asleep at night, I must sigh and pray, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue."

When I am struggling against a sexual temptation and a pleasant feeling draws me to say yes to it, I must cry out, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." When anger or envy threatens to disturb my peacefulness and embitter me, I must force myself to pray, groaning "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." When conceit and pride flatter me with the thought that I am more spiritual than other people, I must repent with all my heart and say, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue."

When memories of conversations or of business interrupt my prayer, or when dryness keeps me earthbound and blocks all spiritual thoughts, I can get free from this state of mind only by pleading, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." When the Holy Spirit strengthens my soul, fills me with unspeakable joy and enlightens my mind with new insights, in order to continue enjoying these graces I must pray, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." When diabolical horrors terrify me at night, and I fear that I cannot be saved, I must take refuge in this verse, crying out with all my strength, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue." And when the Lord's consolation has restored me and cheered me by his coming to my aid, and I feel as though countless thousands of angels are supporting me, in order to continue to be encouraged in my spiritual battles, I must exclaim, "Come to my help, O God. Lord, hurry to my rescue."

So we must continuously pray this verse both in adversity that we may be delivered, and in prosperity that we may be preserved and not puffed up. Always turn this verse over in your mind. Repeat it when you are working, performing some duty or going on a journey. Meditate on it when you are going to bed, or eating, or taking care of personal needs. This thought may be a saving formula for you, not only protecting you from all the devil's attacks, but also purifying you from your faults and sins, and leading you to ... that ineffable glow of prayer, which so few experience. Fall asleep while reflecting on this verse, and when you wake up let it be the first thing to come into your mind. So let it precede all your waking thoughts, and when you get out of bed let it send you down on your knees, then let it send you off to all your work and business, and let it follow you all day long.

St. John Cassian's feast day isn't celebrated this year as it falls on February 29th.  Still this is such an awesome passage from Conferences of John Cassian, 10, (NPNF Series 2, Vol. 11). 

From The New Jerusalem Bible: Saints Devotional Edition (compiled by Bert Ghezzi) "St. John Cassian was born about 360 in Romania, and died at Marseilles, France, around 433.  Around 380, John Cassian became a monk at Bethlehem.  After 385 he wandered the Egyptian desert, where he absorbed the teachings of the desert fathers.  Later he founded two monasteries in Marseilles, France, one for men and another for women.  To instruct his monks and nuns, Cassian wrote two significant books, the Institutes and the Conferences, which presented eastern monasticism's wisdom and pattern of life in the western church.  Through their influence Cassian shaped the practice of monasticism in the West through the middle ages and even into the present."