Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
The Jesus Prayer
In a previous blog post, I mentioned this very simple prayer found in the book, The Way of a Pilgrim. This prayer is often called, The Jesus Prayer.
Origin
The prayer is thought to have originated with the desert Fathers and Mothers of the 5th Century. John Chrysostom mentioned a version of the prayer in a letter. The current version is attributed to Abba Philimon as found in the Philokalia, a collection of teachings from the Desert Fathers.
But enough of the history lesson. You want to know why I think you should try it for the next 5 days.
5 Reasons
Here are 5 reasons I think you should try this prayer for the next 5 days:
- 1The prayer is super easy to remember.
As a super easy prayer to remember, this means you can recall it very quickly throughout the day. I have found that because I remembered it and meditated upon it for several months, that it now seems to echo in my consciousness. It’s always there. Always present waiting for me to dwell upon God.
- 2The prayer is packed full of sound theology. A few simple questions from the prayer demonstrates this best:
•What does it mean to call Jesus Lord?
•What does it mean to say Jesus is the Christ?
•What does it mean to say Jesus is the Son of God?
•Why do I need mercy?
•What does it mean to say I am a sinner?
If you spend time answering these questions in your mind as you pray the prayer, the depth of theology becomes obvious.
- 3The prayer is confessional. The prayer is confessional in the following ways:
•It confesses the identity of Christ.
•It confesses the need for God’s mercy.
•It confesses sinfulness.
Just saying the prayer is a confession. - 4The prayer reflects the soul. For me, this is the meat and potatoes of the prayer.
It’s impossible to say the prayer without realizing the condition of my soul. I am always in desperate need of God’s mercy. I am so grateful for the mercy God has already given me. Yet, I still know I am a sinner.
Just at the thought of who Jesus is and what Jesus did, makes my soul expand, for lack of a better description. I have spent hours trying to describe how it makes my soul feel and I always come up empty. The Apostle Peter was right. It is indescribable.
- 5It is one of the first formal prayers of the church. While a formal prayer certainly isn’t required, there is something significant to one.
I think of the Lord’s Prayer. Formal but powerful.
The Jesus Prayer is perhaps the earliest formal prayer next to the Lord’s Prayer.
It has been prayed for centuries by countless number of Christians and people seeking God. It has also propelled them forward in their faith and relationship with God and his son Jesus.
Try It
Perhaps telling someone to “try” a prayer doesn’t seem right. So, let me just encourage you to pray the prayer for the next 5 days.
Why 5 days?
Why not?
One day doesn’t seem to be enough. The intent is to weave the prayer into your daily thoughts. It’ll take more than one day for that.
In The Way of the Pilgrim, the pilgrim was told to say it 12,000 times in a day. That’s quite a bit. A little much to ask…maybe.
But, if you pray the prayer a few times a day for 5 days, I think you’ll get the gist and the impact of the prayer. And, you’ll probably understand why the prayer has been prayed by many and suggested to others for centuries.
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[…] creed is super easy to remember. If you think the prayer I previously recommended you try for 5 days was easy, try just three simple words – Jesus is […]