Spiritual Practices

growing your faith through daily practice

Throughout Lent I'm working to encourage folks to not 'give something up' but rather to "take something on" - a new practice, new discipline, new openness to God's presence in our world. So each week I'll post a spiritual discipline on the blog (it's also in our weekly bulletin at church) for you to try out if you like. Tell me how and if it works for you!

The Jesus Prayer

This is one of the most famous prayers in the history of Christianity. You will find a version of it in the Gospel of Luke in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (18: 13 ) . Jesus praised the tax collector for humbling himself in prayer, saying, "God, be mer­ciful to me, a sinner!" Christians later expanded the prayer to "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." In the Gospel of Mark, blind Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus, "Son of David, have mercy on me" (Mark 10:47). Orthodox Christians in the Middle Ages popularized this prayer, believing that the name of Jesus was a source of power and grace leading to a state of inner silence known as hesychia. In short, this prayer-though sometimes spoken-led them to a place of deep contemplation or centering prayer.

Today many people find the Jesus Prayer to be the ultimate "prayer of the heart." Some repeat it silently as they take long walks. Others use it to lead them into contemplation. Some popular versions include "Jesus, have mercy on me"; "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me"; and the simple "Christ, have mercy." As the Reverend Damel Wolpert points out in Creating a Life with God, "The exact wording, so long as it contains the name of Jesus, is irrelevant."

Intention

To experience the power in repeatedly praying the name of Jesus.

The Exercise

· Decide how long you want to spend in this prayer.

· Choose a variation of the Jesus Prayer that suits you best:

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

"Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me."

"Jesus, have mercy."

"Christ, have mercy."

· You may find a comfortable seated position, or you may choose to walk around while engaged in this prayer.

· Breathe naturally and repeat the Jesus Prayer silently for the length of time you have chosen.

· When distractions crop up, return to the prayer.

· When your time is up, reflect on your experience of the Jesus Prayer. Describe your experience. (You may want to write in a journal on this.) How did you notice the presence of God or Christ in this prayer? What is the value of repeating this prayer over and over silently? Did you notice any inner movements within your spirit as you prayed this prayer?

· End with a short prayer of gratitude.

The moment we start to notice our breath, we invariably begin to control it. The goal in any breathing meditation is to inhale and exhale naturally, without trying to control our body's nat­ural pace. The point of taking five deliberate breaths is to con­sciously slow down. Once you move on to the phrases, let your body set the pace for the breath.

Tips for the Practice

It’s natural for people who first pray the Jesus Prayer to feel that they “aren’t doing it right.” Silent, repetitive prayers like the Jesus Prayer and centering prayer are not goal oriented. Distractions are perfectly normal. If you return to your phrase consistently, you are doing it right. There’s not much more to it than that.

Think of this less as a discipline you have to conquer and more as a way of opening yourself to God’s wide mercy and love. The repetition soothers our soul and relaxes our bodies to be more receptive to God.

Taken from 50 Ways to Pray: Practices from Many Traditions and Time by Teresa A. Blythe pages 38-40. If you liked this entry buy the book for 49 more prayer practices!