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Sunday, September 23, 2007

Jesus Prayer (Prayer of the Heart)

For an all-day long immersion in the presence of God try the "Prayer of the Heart", also known as the "Jesus Prayer" that has been a mainstay in the Orthodox church since at least the 6th century. In it's classical form it goes "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner", that's all. You pray it as you breath in and out during the day, it becomes your breathing.

A useful website - among a large variety - with an introduction into this prayer form can be found here: http://www.svots.edu/Faculty/Albert-Rossi/Articles/Saying-the-Jesus-Prayer.html. In the business of the day, especially if you are doing repetitive tasks, this can be a powerful tool to keep yourself as close to Jesus as you can manage.

Just remember that there is nothing magic about using any of the prayer forms we are discussing. As little or as much as there is anything magic about organizing your day around a loved person here on earth and seeing how love starts to grow and real actions flow forth from there. Love is inventive. There are no sure-shot recipies. Be experimental, try other approaches if something doesn't work for you. But try something!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Need prayer can get know.