Prayer without ceasing

and Robert Cardinal Sarah, 'God or Nothing' and a walk in the water

Someone asked me to write about the Jesus Prayer and this gives me an opportunity to bring myself back to the purpose of this blog, which is to write about good and encouraging things in the midst of a bleak, burdensome and often depressing world.

To begin with, I am far from being a master of this prayer or of the interior prayer that I am going to write about. I feel like I’m holding onto it like a lifeline, reminding my soul to breathe, bringing myself back to the goodness of God and of his creation, disciplining my heart not to lose itself in the anxiety of the present and of the future, working at the very basics of holiness: not losing my temper with the children, practicing kindness and patience, rejoicing in the Lord’s goodness and not allowing myself to slip into dark moods.

Perhaps the best thing that I can say of myself is that, at points, I am making an effort. It may be a very poor effort but it is at least that. I have heard that Fulton Sheen used to say about being distracted in times of prayer that he would console himself by saying to the Lord that he is like a loyal dog sitting at the feet of his master. Being like a loyal dog present to his master is better than not being present at all.

Anyway, the Jesus Prayer. I have learnt about this through personal experience and through reading The Way of a Pilgrim. If you would like to know more, I recommend that book, which is a delightful read and a rich and deep spiritual classic.

It begins with the exhortation of the Apostle Paul, ‘Pray without ceasing’ in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. That could mean (as I used to think) that one should pray frequently. But others have seen in these words an exhortation to consistent and constant mental prayer. An ability to pray even in the midst of daily activities, even, in a very advanced stage, the ability to pray in one’s sleep.

You’ll have to read The Way to get a much deeper perspective on that type of “automatic” prayer but suffice to say here that it includes repeating the Jesus Prayer so many times that it becomes infused with the literal beating of the human heart and goes on without the effort of the conscious will.

I haven’t been able to reach to such a thing but I have a way of using the Jesus Prayer that helps me.

Firstly, the Jesus Prayer itself is simply the sentence, “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner’. One can adapt this prayer by leaving out certain parts of it or by emphasising certain words. For example, when I want to pray more generally and not only for myself, I often just say, “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of God, have mercy” so that I can apply it any situation that may be on my mind.

Secondly, I have a little prayer rope with 33 knots like the one below. I carry this in my pocket everywhere and I sleep with it around my wrist. This rope acts as a reminder that I am committed to a life of prayer even in the midst of daily activities. In the night it is a reminder of the words of Psalm 63:5-6: ‘My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night’.

During the night, I usually just wear the prayer rope but when I am using it during the day I adopt the practice of holding it in my left hand and counting the knots between the thumb and forefinger every time I say the prayer. This simply provides a way of measuring the amount of times one has said the prayer.

If I were to try and put into words what the prayer does, I would say that it opens up the soul to the presence of God and particularly beseeches God for his mercy and help in the midst of my weakness and sinfulness. It is a constant reminder of my need for God’s forgiveness and his help. It is a petition that the Lord, through Jesus Christ, would awaken my soul to his goodness and love. It is, ultimately, a cry of desolation and need from the finite and fading to the infinite and eternal. It is a plea to God that I not allow earthly pursuits and concerns to shroud my vision of him and of his purposes for me.

I find the prayer most helpful when I am walking either from place to place. I have recently started walking intentionally during free periods of time and saying the prayer. I find this to be such a helpful and refreshing exercise, particularly during the beautiful weather we’ve been having recently.

I intersperse the Jesus Prayer with the recitation of the Psalms or other passages of Scripture that I’ve memorised. So, typically, I will do a full round of the Jesus Prayer and then recite a Psalm, pausing between the verses to elaborate in prayer on what has been said and then I’ll repeat that process.

I’ll have to write another post on how I memorise Scripture but suffice to say here that it’s always for the purpose of interior prayer, so that I can recall it to mind at any time and pray with the Scriptures.

I would highly recommend this practice, which doesn’t have to be intense or overwhelming. Starting with Psalm 23 is a good place. My practice would include meditating upon, and praying through, the individual verses. For the first verse, for example, thinking about the imagery of The Lord as my shepherd, my guide, my protector. Calling to mind his faithfulness in guiding me during difficult periods of my life, bringing me out of foolishness and sin, recalling me time and time again to faithfulness in him. When saying, “I shall not want”, recognising that the Lord’s presence is the most precious thing that I possess, and thanking him for this, praying that I would know his presence more and that my sense of need would be satiated by him, that I would not envy the possessions of others or covet that which I do not have, thanking him that he has given me everything that I need (including not only material resources but also time - which is a big thing for me) to fulfil his will for me in this life, and so on. And just going on like that until the Psalm is finally finished.

One final thing: the purpose of all of this is partly to replace the futile and often sinful thoughts that occur to me (and I’m sure all of us) in the normal course of things, to ‘take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5). I think that most people deal with anxious or difficult thoughts by distracting themselves with TV, the internet, media, drink, drugs etc. But, between being overwhelmed by our thoughts or deadening them with distraction, there is the option of taking them captive and making them obedient to the things of God.

I have to be honest and say that this aspect of it is really hard. I frequently decide to listen to a podcast about football or current events rather than engage in interior prayer. It is much easier. When we engage in interior prayer, we are entering a spiritual battle for the mind. Satan wants to control our thoughts through demonic and worldly influence. When we discipline our minds through prayer and the recitation of Scripture, we are opposing his influence and, therefore, it is only normal that it would feel difficult. But, if we want to run the race, then we have to do the training.

Anyway, I can write more about any of that if anyone is interested. But that is a little bit about what I do.