The Jesus Prayer repeats one sentence — 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner' — until it becomes continual.
Tagged: Meditation Prayer Remembrance
How It Is Practiced
The one praying sits or stands before the icons, often with a prayer rope of wool knots in hand, and repeats the sentence slowly, coordinating it with the breath — the first half on the inhale, the second on the exhale. Attention is gently returned to the words whenever the mind wanders. Hesychast teaching joins the prayer to stillness of body and vigilance of heart, and beginners are urged to learn it under a spiritual father's direction.
Purpose and Meaning
The prayer's purpose is unceasing prayer in the sense of St. Paul's command to pray without ceasing: the name of Jesus held in the heart until prayer continues beneath thought itself. Its single petition is mercy, and its theology is that the repetition is not mechanical — each return of attention is itself an act of repentance and love.
References
- Jesus Prayer — Wikipedia Free / open access
Related Practices
- The Prayer Rule — A prayer rule is a fixed daily pattern of prayers, readings, and prostrations kept under a spiritual father's guidance.
- Japa — Repetition of the Name — Japa is the murmured or mental repetition of a mantra or a name of God, counted on a mālā of 108 beads, until the Name fills the mind.
- Dhikr — The Remembrance of God — Dhikr is the repeated invocation of God's names and phrases — Subḥān Allāh, Alḥamdu lillāh, Allāhu akbar — counted on beads until remembrance becomes a state.
Related Across the Site
- Dhikr — The Remembrance of God Devotion — Dhikr is the repeated invocation of God's names and phrases — Subḥān Allāh, Alḥamdu lillāh, Allāhu akbar — counted on beads until remembrance becomes a state.
- Japa — Repetition of the Name Devotion — Japa is the murmured or mental repetition of a mantra or a name of God, counted on a mālā of 108 beads, until the Name fills the mind.
- Nām Simran — Meditation on the Name Devotion — The repetition of the divine Name — Vāhigurū — in meditation and through the day: the central interior practice of the Sikh path.
- Recitation of the Ṇamokāra Mantra Devotion — Jainism's supreme prayer bows to no god: it salutes the five supreme ones — the conquerors, the liberated, the teachers, the preceptors, and all monks.
- Vandana and Taking Refuge Devotion — Buddhist devotion opens with homage: bowing before the shrine and going for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.
- Dhikr Prayer or Creed — The remembrance of God through repeated short formulas of glory, praise, and greatness.
- Jesus Prayer Prayer or Creed — A short, repeated invocation of Jesus asking for mercy, central to the Orthodox hesychast tradition.
- Prayers of the Rosary Prayer or Creed — The set of prayers prayed on the beads of the Rosary, including the Fatima Prayer and the Hail Holy Queen.