Praying "The Jesus Prayer"

As Christians advance in their prayer lives, the one passage of scripture that gives people the most pause is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 where Paul encourages us to "pray without ceasing."  There are many attempts to explain this passage as meaning something other than what it literally says.  Most of us cannot get past the idea that to pray without ceasing would mean to do nothing but pray.  There is an old prayer source, though, that says it is possible to pray without ceasing, even as you live your life (even as you sleep!).

This claim is made in an anonymous work from the Orthodox Church called The Way of a Pilgrim.  In this work, we are introduced to a very simple prayer known as "The Jesus Prayer."  The prayer, in its entirety, is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  This prayer is known as a "breath prayer," because it is meant to be mentally recited as one breathes.  In other words, as you inhale, you would recite, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God," and then as you exhale you would recite, "have mercy on me, a sinner."

According to The Way of the Pilgrim, if one continually recites this prayer as we go about our day, it becomes a part of us, a part of our breath, and thus we fulfill Paul's dictum that we pray without ceasing.  For some of us, though, the prayer as presented in this work is too stilted and formal.  In this case, you can make your own breath prayer that follows the Jesus prayer as a model.

• First, address Jesus.  You can call to Him any way that is comfortable to you.  If you don't connect with "Lord Jesus," replace it with another phrase.  Some other options are "Holy Teacher," "Loving Friend," or even simply "My Lord."
• Next, focus on an attribute of Jesus that means something to you personally.  Instead of the phrase "Son of God," you can use "Healer of the sick," "Redeemer of the world," or any other phrase you come up with.
• Now you turn to the seeking part of your prayer.  Many people today do not like to get caught up in our sinfulness, and while I think confession is important, it is also fine to seek other gifts from God.  Some phrases I have used are "give me peace," and "guide me on the path of wisdom."  Whatever you choose, come up with a brief phrase to bring it before God.
• Finally, combine all the parts into a breath prayer (such as "Loving Friend, Redeemer of the World, bring me peace").  Repeat the prayer over and over as you breath slowly and rhythmically.

Once you have made a breath prayer for yourself, you should try to use it as you go about your day.  It may not get you all the way to praying without ceasing, but you will find that you do pray more often--and any increased time spent in the presence of our Savior is time well spent.