Like the nineteenth century Russian pilgrim in Way of A Pilgrim, I, too, have been intrigued with St. Paul’s instruction to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 4:17). And thanks to that pilgrim, I’ve been saying the Jesus prayer now for a couple of years as a way to do just that.
Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner.
Until recently I omitted the sinner part. After all, being brought up Protestant, sinner was hardly a part of our vocabulary, much less our theology. But lately, due in part to reading The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality, I am now including it, having surrendered to the idea and belief that I indeed am a sinner.
What follows are quotes attributed to Father Maximos, an Anthonite monk and friend of the author Kyriacos C. Markides. I’ve repeated a few from a previous blog and included many more, which I will also add in the ‘Books’ section.
It (the Jesus Prayer) is the practical way of mobilizing the mechanism of the heart to open up to Grace….embedded in the name of Jesus is the very power of God. By invoking, therefore, the sacred name repeatedly we invite the Grace of God to take possession of hour hearts and mind, protecting us from harmful effects.
{The Prayer} opens the road for Grace to visit the heart. And when that happens, then the heart works by itself independently of whatever else you do. It enters into an ongoing relationship with God.
When you practice the Jesus Prayer systematically, it is as if you move about within a polluted city wearing an oxygen mask over your face. Nothing can touch you.”
When the spirit of the Jesus Prayer takes over the heart, only then do people get healed within the depths of their being. The flame of God has now been ignited in the heart.
Do the Prayer and God will take care of the rest. He will lead you to Him through the Prayer.
The first thing you need to do is to be convinced of the power of the prayer, that it is real and that it can affect not only you personally, but also those for whom you pray.
All sense of isolation, of being unloved, of being disliked, of being envied, disappears with the power of ceaseless prayer.
Through the Prayer you begin to commune with the living Christ, who is at the very depths of your being…The name of Christ itself has power. It brings tranquility to the soul.
When we get into the habit of continuous prayer, we can then get involved with several other activities simultaneously….Prayer goes on ceaselessly in the heart.
With the habitual recitation of the Jesus Prayer, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart and gets activated there. It is beyond works and meanings.
It is metanoia (repentance) that will bring humility and it is humility that will pave the way for the acquisition of spiritual gifts, by necessity. That’s how the Holy Spirit works.
Only humility has the power to attract God’s Grace to the human soul…Humility renders the person immune to anger and incapable of making anyone else angry.
Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner.
Until recently I omitted the sinner part. After all, being brought up Protestant, sinner was hardly a part of our vocabulary, much less our theology. But lately, due in part to reading The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality, I am now including it, having surrendered to the idea and belief that I indeed am a sinner.
What follows are quotes attributed to Father Maximos, an Anthonite monk and friend of the author Kyriacos C. Markides. I’ve repeated a few from a previous blog and included many more, which I will also add in the ‘Books’ section.
It (the Jesus Prayer) is the practical way of mobilizing the mechanism of the heart to open up to Grace….embedded in the name of Jesus is the very power of God. By invoking, therefore, the sacred name repeatedly we invite the Grace of God to take possession of hour hearts and mind, protecting us from harmful effects.
{The Prayer} opens the road for Grace to visit the heart. And when that happens, then the heart works by itself independently of whatever else you do. It enters into an ongoing relationship with God.
When you practice the Jesus Prayer systematically, it is as if you move about within a polluted city wearing an oxygen mask over your face. Nothing can touch you.”
When the spirit of the Jesus Prayer takes over the heart, only then do people get healed within the depths of their being. The flame of God has now been ignited in the heart.
Do the Prayer and God will take care of the rest. He will lead you to Him through the Prayer.
The first thing you need to do is to be convinced of the power of the prayer, that it is real and that it can affect not only you personally, but also those for whom you pray.
All sense of isolation, of being unloved, of being disliked, of being envied, disappears with the power of ceaseless prayer.
Through the Prayer you begin to commune with the living Christ, who is at the very depths of your being…The name of Christ itself has power. It brings tranquility to the soul.
When we get into the habit of continuous prayer, we can then get involved with several other activities simultaneously….Prayer goes on ceaselessly in the heart.
With the habitual recitation of the Jesus Prayer, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart and gets activated there. It is beyond works and meanings.
It is metanoia (repentance) that will bring humility and it is humility that will pave the way for the acquisition of spiritual gifts, by necessity. That’s how the Holy Spirit works.
Only humility has the power to attract God’s Grace to the human soul…Humility renders the person immune to anger and incapable of making anyone else angry.
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