Father, glorify your name! But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Like most teens, he wanted his jollies up front.
For my half of the ride, I sometimes chose silence, because I like silence. I really didn't do it to cause him pain. He, however, did sometimes have a restless and difficult time of it. Later he did tell me that he enjoyed our quiet evening rides together. Outer silence calms the senses. By contrast, sensory overload and excitement can be addictive. Inner silence can usually be achieved only by substituting one thought for another.
Hence, the Jesus Prayer overrides our usual compulsive stream of consciousness about our own anxieties. Beginning with this form of prayer, then we might be led to deeper inner stillness, prayer without words. The caution here is that prayer without words is not heaviness, semi-sleep dullness. Rather, wordless prayer is alive, vigorous God-awareness.
A seventeen year old said she learned recently that, "Silence is my friend. Contemplation has been described as clear awareness without words. Contemplation is a "seeing clearly. We deny to affirm. Wordless contemplation is not an absence, but a presence, a God-awareness.
The aim is to bring us into a direct meeting with a personal God, on God's terms. Inner silence, inner stillness, called hesychia, is experienced by wordless sitting, imageless contemplation. When consciousness strays, a phrase like "Lord Jesus" can be used to bring the mind back, and then the person sits quietly in the presence of the Lord. The desire of wordless sitting awareness is to open oneself to God, to listen to God. Some teachers suggest that if we are able, we spend a half hour of wordless sitting, begun by asking God to teach us to pray, or a Bible quote.
Usually this is best done in the morning, upon rising or before noon. If the person is able, a block of the some quiet time is also recommended for the evening. Hopefully, all this is worked out with the direction of a spiritual guide. Both the Jesus Prayer and contemplation make us single-centered, concentrating upon the here and now , focused, one-pointed.
The point is God. Every prayer changes the entire universe. Our every prayer, each prayer, actually changes history, the way God created the world, and all else. God is outside time. God is not "waiting up there" for our prayer, and then He acts. All has already occurred in God. Saint Therese, a Roman Catholic saint, had difficulty knowing that God heard her prayers for others. As a youth, she decided to put God "to the test" once and for all. Perhaps only a saint can "test" God. She prayed fervently for the salvation of a callused serial killer of women, Henri Pranzini.
Pranzini was caught, found guilty and sentenced to the guillotine. During this time, Therese prayed that he be saved, and that she be given a sign that a conversion took place. Pranzini became more arrogant. Therese persisted. On the execution day, Pranzini walked up the steps, put his head onto the block, still jeering. Then, unexpectedly, he lifted up, grabbed the crucifix hanging from the side of the nearby priest, and Pranzini kissed the feet of Christ three times. Pranzini publicly repented.
He then put his head back down onto the block, and the guillotine fell. Therese claimed that her prayers were answered. She claimed that her intercessory prayers saved a hardened criminal. Is this really the way intercessory prayer works? In a word, yes. The answer to that rests somewhere in God's mysterious ways. What we do know, for certain, is that every prayer for someone else is heard, and in God's goodness, answered, for the other person's good.
Every single prayer for another helps that other person, and helps us. The lives of the saints are replete with examples. St Monica, mother of St Augustine, prayed day and night for her son when he was living a wild life. It rose in popularity in the s. Hesychasm uses contemplative prayer, especially with the repetition of the Jesus Prayer in meditation to experience union with God.
The Jesus Prayer, according to numerous Church Fathers, is "essential" to our spiritual growth. The Jesus Prayer proclaims our faith and humbles us by asking for mercy for our sinfulness. Keep in mind, Hesychasm is neither beneficial or Biblical. It is not quite the same as Eastern practices, but more along the lines of Buddhism. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Rather, God loves and honors those who are humble in heart and pray because they truly want to talk to God. The ultimate goal is unity with God—a pure connection with God. Examples of a well-intended prayer life are found in John , Philippians , Psalms , and James In a study by George Stavos , P. It was also shown to decrease levels of hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, and anxiety.
In The Fathers of the Church it is indicated that the Jesus Prayer does have tremendous impact on the soul of the person. Barsanuphius the Great 6th cent. We begin with vocal prayer and do not force the move to mental prayer. This will happen naturally when you are ready. Jesus Prayer in Practice In praying the Jesus Prayer, our holy Fathers tell us, we say it over and over hundreds of times as part of our daily prayer rule.
It is best to add the Jesus Prayer to your morning prayers as this is when the mind is the quietest. Begin by saying the Jesus Prayer verbally focusing on each word. Repeat the Jesus Prayer continually for 15 minutes at first and then expand to 30 minutes.
You will experience the challenge of dealing with your thoughts, the tendency for you mind to wander.
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