A new Facebook friend recently posted a question on my wall. She said she was enjoying praying the Jesus Prayer, but found an objection creeping up in the back of her mind: Isn’t this the kind of thing Jesus told us not to do?
One of the really fun things about writing a book is hearing from people who have read it. Especially if they liked it. Maybe only if they liked it. Anyway, since my book (Kneeling with Giants: Learning to Pray with History’s Best Teachers) is about finding ways to pray that really fit our needs, it is fantastic to hear when somebody is enjoying a centuries-old way of praying that is brand new to them. But what if Scripture seems to present an obstacle?
Here’s the verse in full:
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:7)
Here’s the Jesus Prayer:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”
If the Jesus Prayer is new to you here’s what you need to know. This is a classic approach to prayer from the Orthodox tradition. You pray these phrases, these ten words, over and over, along with your breath. When you really go for it it is a way to do what the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians to do:
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
So, is this what Jesus warned us against? It is a frequent response to the use of the Jesus prayer, at least among Protestants, and especially among those with a strong Bible training.
However, I do not think the Jesus Prayer fits Jesus’ description at all. Two reasons:
First, Matthew 6:7 tells people not to not “heap up empty phrases” or avoid “meaningless repetition” or “babbling” depending on your translation. Look closely and you find the words of the Jesus Prayer are not “empty phrases,” and certainly not “meaningless.” The words are a combination of biblical names for our Lord and prayers from key scenes in the Gospels.
- Repetition? Yes.
- Meaningless? No.
- Babbling? Not if you mean what you are asking.
And we really should mean what we are asking, since the God’s mercy given in Christ is the very heart of the Gospel.
So why the repetition? Two reasons again:
First, because we always need God’s mercy. I’ve heard Protestants object to praying the Jesus Prayer saying,
“But I already received God’s mercy!”
Yes, when you are forgiven and start the journey of faith it is all mercy. But then you still need mercy every single day. Every time God answers our prayer it is yet another example of mercy — an undeserved gift, given just because we need it and God loves us. As the old hymn, and the one central joyful passage of Lamentations tell us, God’s mercies are new every single morning.
Second, because praying the Jesus Prayer shapes us in a good way. Every time we say the Jesus Prayer it puts our hearts and minds back in the right place before Jesus: He is our Lord, the Christ or Messiah, the Son of God. We are his humble servants. We bring nothing to him but our need, and we ask him for help.
If in prayer we return again and again to this place of true worship, we begin to live from that place of humble love — and our lives once again revolve around the God to whom our lives belong in the first place.
Have you ever tried praying the Jesus Prayer? What was it like?
If not, what holds you back?
Myra Schouten says
I have been using the Jesus prayer, sometimes because we are asked to pray for so many people, i place their name in place of me. There are so many needs where we minister that when we are asked to pray, it is not always easy to find out what they want us to pray for so if i ask for mercy to them, i am hoping that God will meet their needs.
Gary Neal Hansen says
Myra, that is a great way to use the Jesus Prayer. In fact, one of the Orthodox writers in the Philokalia recommends doing it just this way. It is a variation on the line of the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done!” We ask God to have mercy on the person and leave the details to him.
smhoney says
Gary – I am reading Kneeling with Giants. I love it. My original thought was to practice each style a minimum of two weeks before reading the next chapter. I’m waiting for my breviary to arrive, and have used the Anglican daily office for many years as well as using a Psaltry for the last two years – whining include Lauds, midday , vespers @ compline. I’ll back to chapter one. Chapt 2 on Luther I have done on & off for years -not even knowing it was Luther’s to begin with. How I smiled when I read that. Then I came to the Jesus prayer. My 1st thought could be a ditto of the posted question. I thought you explained it well in the book and have expanded your explanation here. I’ve now been using the Jesus prayer for 4 days @ various times of day – minimum of 4 times laid out like my Psaltry. Here is what I’ve discovered so far: 1. Love it in the morning for the *exact* reason you quoted. God’s mercies a new every morning and I need them to be. 2. I find using this format is a bit like attending a Taize service. The first time you wonder at the repetition – then at least for me, I realized the repetition made the meaning & focus on The Lord increase not diminish. 3. Twice now praying it as my ending for compline I fell asleep. Though not my intent – I honestly can not think of better words on my lips, in my mind, or on my heart with which to end my day. Thank you again Gary for the introduction to those 10 precious words.
Gary Neal Hansen says
Smhoney, thanks for sharing your experiences here! Hearing that you are enjoying my book and finding it helpful is a great joy.
I agree about these being great words to have in your mind and heart as you drift off to sleep.
I’m curious: The only kind of Psaltry I know of is a musical instrument, but you sound like you are talking about a book. Tell me more about it… and I’d love to know what version of the Breviary you are getting!
smhoney says
Gary I use either the Anglican prayer book or the Paraclete Psalter. (Published 2010). With it and the schedule 4x daily I read all 150 Psalms every 30 days. Very helpful to prayers, emotions and knowing God’s faithfulness to His people.
The books I ordered to further dig into & learn to pray office are: The Divine Office (Ed Quigley). The Franciscan Office Book (revised – Richard Bugyi-Sutter and Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours. Finding as I look forward to exploring that my trepidation grows as is my anticipation of trying a new form. Only hoping the complexity of calendar doesn’t toss me in the waves. Is the one you would especially recommend for beginners?
Gary Neal Hansen says
Okay, psaltry must have been a typo for psalter. Sorry!
I usually recommend an Anglican/Episcopalian Book of Common Prayer for people just starting out. Sounds like you are well down the road on that.
I’ve used a number of Breviaries to access Roman Catholic versions of the Office. I have not been as drawn to the current Roman Catholic office (published under the name “Christian Prayer”) as much as I am to either the “Monstic Diurnal” or my old Breviary with English and Latin on facing pages. There are others as well– you sort of have to look closely at the one you get your hands on and see how it is organized. Hopefully the chapter in my book lays out the basic principles well enough to find your way!
Claudia says
I’ve found even though I’m repeating the Jesus Prayer as a breath prayer, when I’m doing so it’s turning my attention back to God’s presence with me throughout the day. Sort of a momentary St Teresa of Avila prayer at the same time.
Gary Neal Hansen says
Claudia, so great to hear from you here on my blog! When the stats said this post was seen in New Zealand I wondered…
Interesting to see/sense the connections between different approaches to prayer, isn’t it? Both the Jesus Prayer and Teresa’s “recollection” have a lovely way of gathering our attention back to God.
And for any of you reading this, check out Claudia’s blog — this post is about her group’s time exploring the approaches to prayer in my book. Wonderful stuff!
http://adulcia.blogspot.com/2013/02/bookends-of-day.html