For no one is going to turn away from sin and start behaving righteously unless he thinks about what he is doing. Not until he has been straightened out by practicing godly behavior will he actually possess the reward of faith: the crown of righteousness that Paul possessed, having fought the good fight. That crown is laid up not just for Paul but for all who are like him in this respect. This sort of meditation and exercise in godliness should be familiar to us, as it was to the saints of old. It should be especially so in the season when the divine word calls upon us to keep the feast. For what, after all, is the feast but continual worship of God, recognition of godliness and unceasing prayer all done from the heart in full agreement with each other? St. Paul, wanting us to be so inclined, urges us, “Always rejoice, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all things.”
Fo paye and psalmody, howeve, as also, indeed, fo some othe duties, evey hou is suitable, that, while ou hands ae busy at thei tasks, we may paise God sometimes with the tongue (when this is possible, o, athe, when it is conducive to edification); o, if not, with the heat…. Thus we acquie a ecollected spiit—when in evey action we beg fom God the success of ou labos and satisfy ou debt of gatitude to him who gave us the powe to do the wok, and when, as has been said, we keep befoe ou minds the aim of pleasing him. If this is not the case, how can thee be consistency in the wods of the apostle bidding us to “pay without ceasing,” with those othe wods, “we woked night and day.” The Long Rules q..
Then, because he [David] had been delivered from great danger, he sent up this prayer of thanksgiving to God who had rescued him. “I will bless the Lord at all times.” Having escaped death, as if he were setting up norms for his life, he molded his soul to an exact manner of living, so that he ceased at no time from praise but referred the beginning of affairs, great and small, to God. “I will not think,” he says, “that anything was done through my diligence nor happened through spontaneous chance, but, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times,’ not only in prosperity of life, but also in precarious times.” The apostle, learning from this, says, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks.”
For prayer and psalmody, however, as also, indeed, for some other duties, every hour is suitable, that, while our hands are busy at their tasks, we may praise God sometimes with the tongue (when this is possible, or, rather, when it is conducive to edification); or, if not, with the heart.… Thus we acquire a recollected spirit—when in every action we beg from God the success of our labors and satisfy our debt of gratitude to him who gave us the power to do the work, and when, as has been said, we keep before our minds the aim of pleasing him. If this is not the case, how can there be consistency in the words of the apostle bidding us to “pray without ceasing,” with those other words, “we worked night and day.”
This is said with respect to the temptations that bring in affliction. Hear ye, as many as have fallen into poverty, or into distressing circumstances. For from these joy is engendered. For when we possess such a soul that we take revenge on no one, but do good to all, whence, tell me, will the sting of grief be able to enter into us? For he who so rejoices in suffering evil, as to requite even with benefits him that has done him evil, whence can he afterwards suffer grief? And how, you say, is this possible? It is possible, if we will. Then also he shows the way.
And who observed and noticed the cause of his [i.e., the psalmist’s] groaning? “All my desire is before You.” For it is not before men, who cannot see the heart, but is before You that all my desire is open! Let your desire be before him, and “the Father, who sees in secret, shall reward you.” For it is your heart’s desire that is your prayer. If your desire continues uninterrupted, your prayer continues also. For it was not without meaning, when the apostle said, “Pray without ceasing.” Are we to be “without ceasing” in bending the knee and prostrating the body and lifting up our hands, such that he says, “without ceasing”? If that is what “without ceasing” means, then I do not believe it is possible. There is another kind of inward prayer without ceasing, which is the desire of the heart.
When the mind is freed from lust, established in tranquility and does not waver in its intention toward the one supreme good, the monk will fulfill the precept of St. Paul, “Pray without ceasing,” and “In every place lifting up holy hands without wrath and controversy.” By purity of heart the mind is drawn away from earthly feelings and is reformed in the likeness of an angelic spirit. Then, whatever thought the mind receives, whatever it considers, whatever it does, will be a prayer of true purity and sincerity.
A brother asked one of the hermits, ‘If I happen to over-sleep, and am late for the hour of prayer, I am ashamed that others will hear me praying so late, and so I become reluctant to keep the rule of prayer.’ He said, ‘If ever you oversleep in the morning, get up when you wake, shut the door and the windows, and say your psalms. For it is written, “The day is thine and the night is thine” (Ps. 74:16). God is glorified whatever time it is.’
The brothers told this story: We once visited some hermits, and after the usual prayer we exchanged greetings and sat down. After we had talked with them, we got ready to go, and asked once again for prayers to be said. But one of the hermits said to us, ‘What, haven’t you prayed already?’ We said: ‘Yes, abba, when we came in, we prayed, and since then we have been talking.’ He said, ‘I may be wrong, brothers; but one of you, while he was sitting and talking with you, offered a hundred and three prayers.’ With these words he prayed, and sent us away.
“Sing with jubilation to God, all the earth.” The prophet was troubled for the faithful people in case they believe they are to serve the Lord with gloomy anxiety, so he began at once with jubilation, for ministering to the Lord with happiness of mind constitutes the perfect devotion of the just man. As Paul warns us, “Always rejoice: pray without ceasing: in all things give thanks.”
Why did Paul say, “Pray and do not grow weary”? As long as he is a servant, he indeed prays; but once born of the Spirit in the world of prayer, he is a son of God, and he has authority over riches, being an heir; thus he does not merely ask.
[AD 220] Tertullian on 1 Thessalonians 5:16