The Prayer of the Heart or “The Jesus Prayer”
It is harder to pray inconsistently than consistently just as it is harder to play a good game of tennis when we practice it only once in a while. Do we really think we can experience integration of the heart, mind and spirit with an erratic prayer life? Do we really believe we can, like Moses, “speak face to face” with God as someone would a friend by our unpredictable prayers? No, we develop intimacy by regular association. We develop ease as well. Why ease? Because we are forming fixed habits of righteousness. In time these “holy habits” will do their work of integration so that praying becomes the easy thing, the natural thing, the spontaneous thing – the hard thing will be to refrain from prayer. Richard Foster, Prayer.
Since the time of the early church, Christians have earnestly sought to commune with God. Many have given their whole lives to the task of understanding, and deepening their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And many have understood that this world often provides more distraction than help when someone is trying to focus their lives, thoughts, and will, upon God.
One of the resulting lines of thought that came early in Christianity was the notion that, in some way, Christians must be able to fulfill Paul’s command to, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess5:17; Rom 12:12; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2; Phil 4:6).
As time progressed, the most common breath prayer was what we call The Jesus Prayer.
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Origin of the Heart Prayer in Early Christianity
Tradition teaches that Philemon was the first to write down The Jesus Prayer. The prayer that became known in the Orthodox Church as the continuous prayer of the heart. This, however, is a tradition that can not be substantiated but we do know that the prayer was being taught by the Church Fathers and Desert Monks by the 4th century. Historically, the earliest Fathers to teach breath prayer (the prayer of the heart) were St. Hesychius (d. 380), and St. Chrysostom (347-407).
St. Hesychius Do not allow negligence to overtake you but destroy your enemies with the name of Jesus. Let His sweet name be joined to your breath and then you will know the value of silence. If you wish to cover distracting thoughts and to guard your heart, let the Jesus Prayer be attuned to your breathing and in a few days you will see your desire accomplished.
St. Chrysostom I entreat you, brother, never to stop reciting this prayer.
Everyone should say the Prayer no matter what he is doing; whether he eats, drinks, sits, serves, or travels, he should not cease reciting the Prayer, and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will descend into the depths of the heart, will subdue the pernicious serpent, and will regenerate and save the soul.
Abide in unceasing calling of the name Lord Jesus so that the heart can absorb the Lord and the Lord the heart and the two become one.
And, also, do not separate your heart from God but always guard in it the memory of our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord is rooted in the depths of the heart and you do not think of anything else, so that Christ will be exalted in you.
Biblical Roots of the Jesus Prayer
Mark 10:47
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Luke 18:13
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' ”
Matt 15:22
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."
Matt 17:15
"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often
falls into the fire or into the water.”
Matt 20:30
Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by,
they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not
give up.
1 Thess 5:17
Pray continually.
Heb 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips
that confess his name.
The Theology of the Traditional Jesus Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ: We call on Jesus as our personal Lord and acknowledge him as the Christ, the chosen one sent by God.
Son of God: We acknowledge him as the Son of God, the second person in the trinity, both divine and human, the God-man, who came to save the world from their sins.
Have Mercy on me: We seek his grace and mercy for our lives because we know that we can not be whole or complete without it. We acknowledge that we need his mercy because we are weak, and we take comfort in knowing that if we ask we will receive it.
A Sinner: We admit that we are unable to save ourselves, and that our faults and sins cause us to stand condemned unless we have the grace of God. Thus we end the prayer with the need to reach out to the one who can save us and thus the end of the prayer leads us back to the beginning.
Protestant Concerns about Repetitive Prayers
Protestants often reject such forms of prayer based on Jesus’ ban on vain repetition, however, Jesus was not banning repetitive prayer – he prayed such a prayer in the Garden, and taught his disciple to repeat themselves in prayer. What Jesus was speaking against was an issue of pride that was frequent in his day. As Richard Foster explains:
Jesus was dealing with a specific practice in his day in which the Pharisees would make a public display of their piety by reciting their prayers in the marketplace. It was a repetition that was not only vain but also filled with vanity. But unceasing prayer is hidden prayer, the prayer of the closet. No one knows that we are engaged in it…except perhaps by noticing that we are happier and more fulfilled. (Foster, Prayer, 128)
Many Protestants now practice the Jesus Prayer and find that it is a great benefit in helping them focus their prayers, and even their daily schedule on Christ.
Tips for praying the Jesus Prayer:
Sit or stand in a quiet place.
Collect yourself.
With the help of your imagination find the place of the heart and stay there with attention.
Lead the mind from the head into the heart and say, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner" quietly with the lips or mentally, whichever is more convenient; say the prayer slowly and reverently. Say it in rhythm with your breath.
As much as possible guard the attention of your mind and do not allow your thoughts to stray.
Be patient and peaceful.
Be moderate in food, drink, and sleep.
Learn to love silence.
Read the Scriptures and the writings of the Church Fathers about prayer.
Don’t bite off too much at first. Try 10 to 15 minutes a day, before your regular devotions
|
