The Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer has become an important devotion for many of us at Saint Augustine's. There is a very substantial developing literature about this very important practice and there are a number of articles about it in the tract rack in the Guild Hall. This note is a brief introduction.
Our organist, Jan Bailey has composed a setting for singing the Jesus Prayer.
The Jesus Prayer: A Touch of Peace in the Heart
Acquire the spirit of peace, and thousands will be saved around you.
Saint Serafim of Sarov
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” His first words to the gathered disciples on the evening of the first Easter were, "Peace be with you.” Sunday after Sunday we turn to each other and say, “The peace of the Lord be with you.”
Many of us have found that peace is elusive in the busyness and in the noisiness which surround us. We have found the search for it frustrating. And yet that peace has been found by people as different as a Russian peasant-pilgrim in the 1850’s, and a General Seminary professor in New York City in the 1990’s. We too can find that peace.
I spent the entire summer continuously repeating the Jesus prayer. I was very much at peace.
The Way of the Pilgrim, ca. 1850.
Like counting to ten, silently saying a few Jesus Prayers can stave off angry outbursts or premature indiscreet utterances. Just a touch of peace in the heart can work wonders.
Margaret Guenther, 1998.
The pilgrim and the professor, and millions of others, have found peace in the same simplest of prayers, the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. So can each of us.
The Jesus Prayer is a prayer for pilgrims who need to travel lightly. It is a prayer for all those whose hands are already busy juggling all the demands thrown at them; for all those whose free moments are measured in minutes, not hours or days.
By repeating the Jesus Prayer the mind is stilled and the heart beat and the breath slow down, and you become more present to the place you are in. It's really an anchorage in time.
+Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
Murmuring like a brook, the prayer becomes the background music of every other thought and deed in life. It beats in the heart through long years, accompanying the believer at every moment.
Frederica Mathewes-Green
The Holy Name of Jesus
Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.
John 14:13-14
The Jesus Prayer calls upon Jesus’ name. In Scripture when we say the name of God we put ourselves in His presence. When we say the name of Jesus, which means “God Saves,” we sum up the whole Gospel. Saint Paul wrote,
God has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
Philippians 2.9-10
Have Mercy
What do we ask as we pray the Jesus Prayer? “Have mercy” is used in nine places in the Gospels, seven times by people speaking to Jesus, and twice by Jesus in parables. It is notable that each time “have mercy” is used by people speaking to Jesus, it is a request for healing for themselves or for their children.
The Greek word eleos is translated as “mercy” in English. Its root is the Greek word elaion which means “olive tree” and “olive oil.” Olive oil was used to heal injuries and wounds. It is mentioned in the story of the good Samaritan for just that reason. The Hebrew word translated as “mercy” is hese’d is also translated “steadfast love.”
When we say the Jesus Prayer, we are speaking to Jesus like the blind men, the lepers, and the parents of sick children, and asking Him, in His loving kindness, to heal us to soothe us, to comfort us with the salve of His steadfast love.
Pray without Ceasing
The Way of the Pilgrim is the best known book about the Jesus Prayer. It describes the journey of a poor Russian who seeks the meaning of Saint Paul’s injunction to “Pray Constantly” or to “Pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5.17)
It was this text, more than any other, which forced itself upon my mind, and I began to think how it was possible to pray without ceasing, since a man has to concern himself with other things also in order to make a living.
The Way of the Pilgrim
He sets out to find the answer and in his search he is taught about the Jesus Prayer.
The Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer is short and very simple:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Its use is equally short and simple.
…repeat the prayer constantly and continually, whatever one is doing, without employing any particular bodily posture or breathing techniques. [Another use of] the Jesus Prayer is to have it always ready for moments of temptation.
Father Thomas Hopko
My own preference is to sit in a chair with my back straight, my feet flat on the floor and hands resting in my lap. The prayer also lends itself to walking, to repetitive manual labor—scrubbing floors or sawing wood—and lying in bed.
Margaret Guenther
It is said until it becomes part of ourselves.
I hope by imprinting it on my subconscious it will be with me for the rest of my life, especially at the end, when other words will perhaps be lost to me.
Margaret Guenther
It is there even when consciousness grows dim and memories fade away. The prayer beats inside until the last moment when the weary heart is stilled, and the believer steps through the veil to see the one he has loved so long, face to face.
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Saying the Jesus Prayer
We may use a variety of techniques when saying the Jesus Prayer, but focus on the words. This much more important than anything else. Do not try to picture or visualize the words of the prayer, but attend to what the words mean. The Jesus Prayer is a prayer! It is a prayer to Jesus, a conversation with Jesus. Be mindful of what you are saying to Him.
Other practices are suggested. Find a quiet place, sit comfortably, say the prayer in rhythm with one’s breathing. Breath in on the first part of the prayer, exhale on the second. Begin by saying it for five minutes a day and then ten, twenty and so on.
Pray it when you are you are waiting, when you are bored,
when you are tempted, when you are angry,
when you are anxious, when you are lonely,
when you are sad, when you are falling asleep.
Forms of the Jesus Prayer
The wording of the Jesus Prayer is flexible. The classic form is often adapted to fit the needs of those praying. We need to find a form that fits. Instead of “me,” we can pray for “us” or for a particular person by name. Instead of “a sinner,” we can say “your child.” It may be as brief as “Jesus, mercy,” or even simply “Jesus.”
Other forms may include these:
- Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.
- Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.
- Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.
- Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.
- Lord Jesus, have mercy.
Find a form that is comfortable and stick with it. That is important. Saint Gregory of Sinai taught, “Trees which are repeatedly transplanted do not grow roots.” Let the Jesus Prayer take root in you.
The more rain falls on the earth, the softer it makes it; similarly, Christ's holy name gladdens the earth of our heart the more we call upon it.
Saint Hesychois