The Jesus Prayer, also sometimes referred to as the Prayer of the Heart or even the Hesychastic Prayer, is a way of praying unceasingly in which we recite the words, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
This prayer type has roots in the spiritual Desert Fathers or monks of the fifth century and has made its way into the Eastern Orthodox tradition and into our present day. The Way of the Pilgrim, written by an anonymous Russian peasant, and The Way of the Heart, written by the Dutch Catholic priest Henri Nouwen, are recent writings that have promoted the Jesus Prayer in Protestant traditions and other settings.
The profound insight of the Jesus Prayer is that it helps us descend with the mind into the heart. The Jesus Prayer is not an intellectual process or murmuring of words but rather a humble posture of our heart that helps us come to our ever-present, all-seeing Father openly, honestly, and deliberately to declare our dependence on Him. It opens the eyes of our souls to the truth of ourselves in God, unmasks illusions about our own strength, and leads to a true relationship with the merciful God.
The profundity of the Jesus Prayer is that it is so simple.
Start to repeat the words, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,” as you breathe in and then say, “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” as you breathe out. Repeat this in a small audible voice until you feel ready to repeat it inwardly. Sometimes, you can just pray as the tax collector did in Luke 18 with the simple words, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” How you breathe in and out is not the point, and this may change over time, depending on your habits. The point is to say this enough during the day that it becomes automatic, inward, and everlasting.
We can pray this while falling asleep, sitting alone, working in a busy environment, driving a car, in times of sorrow, while planning a vacation, or sitting at a restaurant. Because the Jesus Prayer is a plea for mercy, it fosters a spirit of repentance and humility and an everlasting, unceasing prayer connection with our Lord Jesus Christ.
