This is a repeat.

On Thu, 15 Nov 2001 00:20:15 -0500, “Midian” <> wrote:

>what’s the Jesus prayer?

An Eastern Orthodox prayer discipline that seeks to keep the Christian praying ‘at all times’ as St Paul requested us too. The prayer is quite simple, but deeply spiritual and can be linked to ones breathing.

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Prayed quietly under ones breath it can be literally recited continually whilst involved in the other activities of the day. Ones who have learnt to be at peace with this prayer to Christ eventually are able to continue to pray it, even whilst in conversation with others and also whilst asleep. Also, when one awakes during the night you can discover yourself praying it without realising you were, same with awaking in the morning.

The words are all ‘biblical’ and Christian and are meant to keep one humble in dealing with the events that surround us. The intention is that one will not lose his/her peace when remembering they are a sinner before Christ. Orthodox monks and nuns are given this prayer as a strict discipline from their spiritual fathers, to whom they report back on the effects etc.

This is the ‘Orthodox prayer’ which we pray instead of the Rosary (although many orthodox do pray the rosary as well) and it is often amalgamated with the Lord’s prayer and other intercessions. I myself am not accomplished in this meditative prayer to the extent that I should be as a priest (letting the side down somewhat). I did set myself a discipline of prayer one morning last week and found that an hour and a half of prayer passed in what seemed next to no time (4.15am -5.45am), I amalgamated the Jesus prayer, the Lord’s prayer, Psalm 51 and some other prayers with a prayer rope and walked around this property in the pre-dawn light. I wish I had the discipline to do it more often.

Peace and grace.

Fr James.