Praying on the Subway? Christian Author Shows How It's Done (VIDEO)

Rick Hamlin Tells How to 'Incorporate Interruptions'

By Gina E. Ryder , Christian Post Contributor

November 7, 2011|10:12 pm

The New York City subway seems like the last place to go to pray, but one faith-based author morphed his hectic morning commute into his favorite meditation time.

Rick Hamlin, author of Finding God on the A train: A Journey into Prayer, is a Manhattan resident who spends his daily commutes in prayer.

In a blog post for The Huffington Post, Hamlin wrote, "The train rattling down the track is my call to worship."

Hamlin, who is also the executive editor of Guideposts magazine, finds the “rocking” of the train relaxing.

He writes, "When you do something regularly in the same place, all those external stimuli trigger a response. My desk makes me want to work, my bed makes me sleepy, my train makes me want to pray."

And according to his research, Hamlin is not alone. On the perpetual lookout for spiritual subway happenings, he’s noticed other train riders with Bibles, prayer books, and devotional pamphlets.

"We're all working on our spiritual journal on the ride downtown," wrote Hamlin for HuffPo.

In a video for Guideposts.org that explains Hamlin’s prayerful commute, he says, "Whenever you are closing your eyes and trying to mediate, there are interruptions."

But what does Hamlin recommend doing to manage inevitable disruptions and uphold the quality one’s prayerful travels?

In his video, the Christian author recommends making the interruptions part of the prayer. He said he learned to do that as a young boy when his father prayed before dinner and the phone always rang for his sister. He recalls his father working the words, "Dear God, thank you for my daughter's popularity" into his conversation with God.

On Amazon customer review of Hamlin's book said, "I, too, try to find God in the little spaces of time I find myself in during my daily commute to the city."

Finding God on the A Train was published in March 1997. It is a story of a how, as a young man struggling to find his path in life, he was put on the road to God by a caring minister and slowly learned how to speak to God, in quiet meditation, in church or even on the subway.