Jesus prayer
I've been working my way through a woeful backlog of Christian Century magazines and came across a brief about ex-Archibishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' prayer practices that hit me like a ton of bricks. (Well, not literally, which is good, because I was running on a treadmill at the time and this would have resulted in Significant Bodily Harm. And the more I think about it, a ton of bricks would do damage even if one was stationary. But definitely metaphorically.) Each morning, Williams spends time praying the "Jesus prayer": "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner."
This moves me. In much the same way as the Lord's Prayer, these eleven words are both request and assurance. We ask, but in the asking we affirm. Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner. I love the elements of Jesus' name. The prayer wouldn't have the same resonance without the Christ. Makes me wonder if our human tendency to use this name in vain stems from a deeper need, too seldom exercised, to call upon these words in sincerity of purpose.
I was moved to read more. This link to a page on the Orthodox Church of America Web site is really helpful, albeit irritatingly gendered: http://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/prayer-fasting-and-alms-giving/the-jesus-prayer. The same issue featured an except on prayer from Williams' newest book, Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer, and I'm inspired to track down a copy.
This moves me. In much the same way as the Lord's Prayer, these eleven words are both request and assurance. We ask, but in the asking we affirm. Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner. I love the elements of Jesus' name. The prayer wouldn't have the same resonance without the Christ. Makes me wonder if our human tendency to use this name in vain stems from a deeper need, too seldom exercised, to call upon these words in sincerity of purpose.
I was moved to read more. This link to a page on the Orthodox Church of America Web site is really helpful, albeit irritatingly gendered: http://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/prayer-fasting-and-alms-giving/the-jesus-prayer. The same issue featured an except on prayer from Williams' newest book, Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer, and I'm inspired to track down a copy.
I don't know that I've heard this prayer specifically, but I like it and am moved by the idea of practicing it daily. That's what I love about the liturgy, the Lord's Prayer and other such things. They're so full of deep truth that they're worth repeating daily or weekly.
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