The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer, simple but profound. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, a sinner." That's it. That's the prayer. The saints regard this as one of the most significant prayers in the Christian life. It's the prayer we do to clear our mind and put our thoughts back on God. We can say this with a prayer rope, in our head, or in our closet in deep prayer.

Saints such as Paisios describe this prayer: "Say the prayer 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me' with your tongue and with the nous without ceasing. When the tongue becomes tired let the nous begin. And again, when the nous is burdened, the tongue. Just do not stop. Make many prostrations; keep vigil at night as much as you can… So then, when praying occupies his nous he imagines nothing, but pays attention only to the words of the prayer."

The 'nous' described here is our mind and heart. He says to do this until you imagine nothing. The reason why is to help us in temptation; anytime you have sinful thoughts you say the Jesus Prayer to get your mind off of anything in the world that's distracting.

Saint Sophronios also says: "Stay with the prayer, keep struggling, and you will pass the day without sin. Everything else will be given from God Himself." He connects this prayer with being able to pass the day without sin. This is the power of the Jesus Prayer.