Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord

português inglês alemão francês espanhol italiano neerlandês polaco russo 

Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord

source

The Jesus Prayer 6/1/2017 0 Comments ​In the Jesus prayer there is fulfillment of the most sublime desire a Christian can yearn for, that of being in perpetual abiding in the presence of God; a state recommended often in the Holy Bible. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1) "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This prayer appeared first among the Egyptian desert fathers. However, the addition by some non Egyptian external elements of some complicated rituals caused Christians to regard this prayer as specific to monks and consecrates.  ​What is the essence of this prayer? Why do we call it the perpetual prayer? What is the secret of its power? How is it to be practiced? Why does Satan hate it more than any other prayer? What are its expected fruits? How can it be protected? Answers to these questions are the subject of this article.  The Essence of the Jesus Prayer  ​In its essence, this prayer is a response to God's calling to live with him in a continuous fellowship of love. St. Theophan the Recluse says, "Continuous, uninterrupted prayer is the continuity of man's solemn presence before God. It is also an internally hidden, perpetual glow caused by constant alertness in throwing wood (prayer words) onto that inflamed furnace (the Holy Spirit) so that it does not die out." The Fathers have succeeded in achieving this state through saying and repeating short prayers expressing their desire to offer thanksgiving, supplications or repentance to God. They have found a lot of spiritual satisfaction that pushed them to practice this prayer incessantly. The amount of spiritual depth in this prayer is inexpressible in words because it is a hidden personal experience arrived at by connecting with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Reality of Perceptual Prayer  ​God's command to pray always is not impossible "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1), because, when God commands He assists. For example, when a charitable person asks a poor man standing at his doorsteps to enter his house to eat; all it takes the poor man is to step in the house in order to win the prepared dinner. It is the same with God. When He asks us to pray continuously, it is because He wants to bestow His grace upon us as much as we can receive. How can we receive except through perpetual praying. All we have to do is take the first step and call in the name of Jesus. Perpetual praying in the literal sense of the word is not practical. For, throughout the day we perform various duties such as work, study, talk and sleep. All these activities render perpetual praying rather impossible whether vocally or mutely. How can this situation be compromised with God's desire? The early fathers claim that whoever protects his mind with the remembrance of Jesus Christ's name during his free time, all his works will come forth anointed with the spirit of prayer. St. Basil the Great expressed that when he talked about the disciples saying that they thought of God while doing all their works in total reliance upon Him. Consequently such a spiritual life became their perpetual prayer life.  ​If God's command to "pray without ceasing" does include sleeping time, how can it be practically achievable? It is scientifically proven that activities carried out during waking hours are retrievable during sleep in the form of dreams, pictures and shadows. Hence, throughout the day, whoever occupies his mind with prayer and fellowship with Jesus Christ, will have his night turned into prayers and extended fellowship with Jesus Christ. St. Ephraim says, "a person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells will pray incessantly and fervently; because the Holy Spirit will pray within him all the time while sleeping or awake, eating or drinking, busy or free. Even when in deep sleep, [the aroma of his prayers is breathed out every second]."  ​The saints have found a route to perpetual prayers specifically through Jesus prayer because from one side it befits all spiritual levels and from the other side using short utterances allow for easy, continuous uninterrupted praying. Such concentration relieves the mind alleviating the burden of shifting from words to thoughts to meditations as is the case with other forms of prayers.  The Secret in the Power of the Jesus Prayer  The power of this prayer is the love of God. After having offered His only begotten Son for us, it would not please God to see us regress once again into Satan's bosom. So, He prepared for us a means by which we can enjoy His company perpetually. This easy means is enjoyable to the soul to walk through its alleys and it befits a beginner as well as an advanced, a learned as well as an unlearned. This is because God's love is for all. Father Isaac says to St. John Casian [Jesus Christ prayed for us saying " that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:21) and "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26). When God's perfect love touches our hearts with the effectiveness of this prayer which Jesus Christ had prayed for us and which was answered right away, then God Himself becomes all our love, desire, aspiration and longing, every thought we think, every word we say, and every breath we take. Then we become in a secret Union with the Father and the Son through this pure love that overshadows the heart and mind. This love and union are the aim of our life that we aspire for and which precedes the joy of the heavenly life. When we recognize this love within us, our life becomes one continuous prayer].  How to Practice the Jesus Prayer  Jesus prayer has no particular rituals. Because it is a continuous prayer, it can be exercised in any place at any time. It is not restricted to special people because God's call of love is for everyone. Therefore, there is no special bodily posture to be taken while praying the Jesus prayer. It is permissible while sitting or standing, or walking. Father John Kroonstad said, [If you are a scholar, student, officer, researcher or worker, remember that the first and most important thing you should learn in life is to know Christ's salvation, the holy Trinity, daily fellowship through prayers, services in church and repeating the name of Jesus in your heart because it is the power of God for salvation]. With regard to the words used in praying, the early fathers prefer not to hop from one sentence to the other in order to avoid confusing the mind. According to St. Macarius, the Jesus' prayer started out as a one word prayer, mainly repeating the name of Jesus only. Later on it developed to full expressions the most famous of which are "My Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me" and "My Lord Jesus help me". So, it is suggested that one start with one statement and repeat it quietly making a short stop between one repetition and the other. One may choose to articulate the prayer or pray internally in silence according to the direction of the Holy Spirit. For, giving the Holy Spirit the liberty to guide us will prepare us to be taken to the depth of hidden prayers that exist behind the words. As for beginners, they have to assign special times for practicing the Jesus prayer till they become used to it and taste its sweetness. Then they will be able to practice it freely driven to it at convenient and even inconvenient times.   How to Overcome Obstacles against the Jesus Prayer  If Satan does not bear to see us pray part of the time, how much more would the evil powers be upset seeing us praying all the time? They would definitely snare powerfully at us. However this should not frighten us at all, because in praying all the time we would be obeying God's order which automatically holds power in its folds. Therefore, let us enter into this holy covenant fortified and strengthened by the Holy Spirit because the season of planting is short, that of reaping is close and the fruit of the Jesus prayer is delicious.  * Adapted from HGBY monthly clergical letters - 5/2016 0 Comments Leave a Reply.