The Jesus Prayer has been the anchor of my inner life since high school. That’s back when I was a young Episcopalian, learning about somethingthing called the “Anglican Rosary,” which substitutes Jesus Prayers for the Ave Maria.
When I entered the Roman Catholic Church, I decided (needlessly, of course) to abandon the Prayer in favor of the Catholic Rosary—Aves and all. In time, however, the Prayer called me back to itself. Then it led me to the Melkite Church.
Once again, the Jesus Prayer is my bedrock. It has worked miracles in my life, both within and without my self. It has brought me closer to God than I ever thought possible. And if I could just use this Substack to help one other soul find the Jesus Prayer, I would consider these last few years well-spent.
So, dear reader, allow me to make some introductions.
Be warned: this by no means the best practical or theological introduction you’ll find. (I’ll list a few of those at the end.) But they’re questions that I’ve spent the better part of ten years trying to answer. Hopefully it might be of some help to some of you.
1. What is the Jesus Prayer?
There are two common forms:
(A) “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”
(B) “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Form A is more traditional, because it’s the more literal translation of the common Greek and Russian usage.
Form B is more popular in the English-speaking world because of the symmetry: there are two clauses in each “half” of the prayer, which makes it easier to incorporate rhythmic breathing. More on that in a moment.
The Jesus Prayer contains the four essential elements of prayer. It’s an act of worship (“Lord Jesus Christ”), a confession of faith (“Son of God”), a plea for His beneficence (“Have mercy on me”), and an act of penance (“A sinner”).
At first it might seem like penance ought to come before plea. But the funky order has deep significance. In Luke 15, the man doesn’t even wait for his prodigal son to apologize before rushing down the road to greet him with a kiss; likewise, God doesn’t wait for us to repent before pouring out His goodness upon us. In fact, repentence is itself a fruit of His love. This is hugely important to Eastern theology. Confession doesn’t restore us to a “state of grace”; confession is evidence of grace. God is always rushing down the road to greet us, His prodigal children, with a kiss.
2. Who can pray the Jesus Prayer?
Anyone. Some foolish people (like me) believe that “Western Christians”—Roman Catholics, Protestants, etc.—shouldn’t pray the Jesus Prayer. At best, this stems from a fear that it won’t fit into the general “rhythm” of their spiritual life. At worst, they simply turn up thier noses at anything perceived as Eastern.
Yet it’s worth remembering that the Prayer was refined in no small part by St. John Cassian, a Western Father. True: over time, the Rosary came to occupy the same spiritual niche in the Western Church and sort of crowded out the Jesus Prayer. But the latter belongs as much to the Western tradition as the former.
3. How do you pray the Jesus Prayer?
Some people use the Jesus Prayer as an “arrow prayer”: a short appeal to Heaven in times of suffering or trial. Let’s say that someone cuts you off in traffic. You want to pull ahead of them, cut them off, and then break-check them. Instead, you say, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” God takes away your wrath, and you go on with your day. That’s an arrow prayer.
And that’s a great way to use the Jesus Prayer. In fact, it was developed by the Desert Fathers largely for that purpose: as a prayer that works for any occasion. It’s like the Swiss army knife of the spiritual life.
But it’s also a form of meditation called “prayer of the heart.” The goal is to repeat the Jesus Prayer so often, and so devoutly, that it becomes second nature, thus fulfilling St. Paul’s command to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17).
If we truly want to pray without ceasing—if we wish to make the Jesus Prayer a prayer of the heart—we must set aside time each day for its practice. Most folks use a prayer rope to count the number of prayers they say in one sitting (traditionally with one’s left hand). Others prefer to use a timer: they find this removes the temptation to rush through their prayers.
To be sure, it’s better to say the Jesus Prayer with great compunction just once than to say it a thousand times with a wandering mind. Still, I prefer to use a prayer rope. Yes, my mind wanders. But when I use a timer, I find myself trying to guess how much time has passed, and when my phone is going to start barking at me. Plus, the tacticle experience—counting knots—also helps to keep you grounded in the prayer. So, to each his own.
4. How do you incorporate “rhythmic breathing”?
Most folks, when they pray the Jesus Prayer, will synch their prayers with their breathing, and vice-versa. This is sometimes called the psychosomatic method, because it incorporates both body and mind. This, too, is important to Eastern theology, which stresses the goodness of all Creation, and especially the human body. If you spend time in an Eastern church, you’ll notice that, in both private and public worship, there’s an effort to pray with the whole body, not just the head and the mouth.
Anyway. The usual psychosomatic method is to pray “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God” while breathing in, and “Have mercy on me, a sinner” while breathing out.
If you listen to some of the most popular videos about the Jesus Prayer on YouTube, you might hear people—wise, holy people!—say that the psychosomatic method should ony be practiced under the close direction of your spiritual father. They say it’s dangerous to incorporate rhytmic breathing on your own. I’ve asked several priests about these potential “dangers.” Not one of them had the faintest idea what I was talking about.
The one pitfall I can think of is this: much of what passes for psychosomatic prayer is really a kind of self-hypnosis. If you’ve ever witnessed Sufi meditation (dhikr circles, whirling dervishes, etc.), it’s easy to see where their “spiritual experiences” come from: hyperventilation with a side of vertigo. Such false ecstacies distract us from the true purpose of the Jesus Prayer, which is uniting ourselves to the Divine Trinity and enter into the Divine Nature.
By the bye, Mother Natalia suggests breaking the Jesus prayer into four parts over two breaths, like this:
First, breathe in, “Lord Jesus Christ.”
Second, breathe out, “Son of God.”
Third, breathe in, “Have mercy on me.”
Fourth, breathe out, “A sinner.”
This (she says) allows us to slow down our breathing even further and dwell on each part of the prayer. I tried her method for about a year but ended up going back to the old one-breath method. In my opinion, the two-breath makes the prayer too slow—too rhythmic, too unlike natural speech. Also, by dwelling so long on each word, I feel like I’m addressing myself instead of Christ. The Prayer becomes a mindfulness technique rather than a… well, a prayer.
But Mother is obviously much holier than I am! So if that method works for her, it might very well work for you, too.
And remember: you don’t have to use the psychosomatic method at all. In fact, if you’re brand-new to the Prayer, it might be better not to. For more on this, see point #7.
5. When should you pray the Jesus Prayer?
Ideally, all the time. If you can’t manage that (i.e., if you’re not a schemamonk), you should just pray the Prayer whenever it comes to mind.
Once again, the important thing is that you set aside time every day to devote yourself completely to the Jesus Prayer. The earlier, the better: as Lewis said, “No one in his senses would reserve his chief prayers for bedtime—obviously the worst possible hour for any action which needs concentration.” This goes doubly for the Jesus Prayer, precisely because it’s so soothing.
So, maybe start by praying fifty knots with your first cup of coffee. Then, after a few months, make it a hundred. Do that for a few more months, and then pray fifty more knots around noon. Three hundred a day—one hundred in the morning, a hundred at noon, and a hundred in the evening—is a solid goal. (Some of you will balk at this, but in Russia many Old-Believer peasants pray nine hundred a day!)
6. Where should you pray the Jesus Prayer?
Ideally, everywhere. Short of that…
The ideal place is a quiet, dimly-lit room—somewhere with no distractions. Some people say we should say the Prayer with our eyes closed. I like to pray with an icon of Christ or the Holy Family. If you’ve got access to nature, it’s also great to pray while walking outdoors, as long as you won’t be too distracted by other people, road noise, etc.
I’m sure you’ve all heard a Roman Catholic priest say, “If your daily commute is more than ten minutes, you’ve got time for a daily Rosary.” No offense to these good fathers, but I can’t stand this idea that prayer is something we can “get out of the way” when we’re in the car—especially when it’s a meditative prayer like the Rosary.
Likewise, you can spend half an hour every evening saying the Jesus Prayer while you’re stuck in traffic driving home from work. And that’s great! But if you want the Prayer to become a “prayer of the heart,” you still have to spend quality time with the Jesus Prayer.
That’s asking a lot, especially for the mother of small children. The good news is, this is the perfect prayer for busy souls, becase it can be said with a good deal of compunction while doing ordinary household tasks.
Again, think of the Prayer as a conversation with the Lord (because that’s what it is). You can’t give your full attention to another person while driving—or, if you do, you’re not giving your full attention to the road! But you can easily talk to someone while darning a sock or washing dishes. St. Paisios of Mount Athos recalled his mother saying the Jesus Prayer while kneeding bread dough.
Think of the task itself as a timer: “I’ll pray the Jesus Prayer for as long as it takes to mop the floor.” Just be sure you’re not also playing music or watching television. Make sure the task itself isn’t too distracting, either. You might find it hard to on a conversation with Jesus—even in your own heart—while running a vacuum cleaner.
By the way, this works for men too. To again quote St. Paisios:
I remember a certain worker—John was his name, there on Mount Athos—who worked very hard; he did the work of two men. I had advised him to say the Jesus Prayer while he worked. Gradually, he became accustomed to it. He came to see me once and told me that he felt great joy when he said the Jesus Prayer. “A second dawn is breaking,” I told him. After some time I learned that he had been killed by two drunks. Oh, I was so saddened! Some days later, a monk was looking for a tool but couldn’t find it because John had put it away somewhere. That night John appeared in the monk’s dream and told him where he put the tool.
“You see,” the saint explained, “John had attained such a spiritual state that he was able to help others from the life hereafter.” Not too shabby.
7. What should we think about when we pray the Jesus Prayer?
That’s a good question, and it took me years to find the answer. Some Western Christians are tempted to treat the Prayer like a Rosary. They want to picture scenes from Christ’s life, or at least Christ Himself. But I think Kallistos Ware (of blessed memory) put it nicely. “The Jesus Prayer is not a form of imaginative meditation,” he warned. Rather,
While turning aside from images, we are to concentrate our full attention upon, or rather within, the words. The Jesus prayer is not just a hypnotic incantation but a meaningful phrase, an invocation addressed to another Person. Its object is not relaxation but alertness, not waking slumber but living prayer. And so the Jesus Prayer is not to be said mechanically but with inward purpose; yet at the same time the words should be pronounced without tension, violence, or undue emphasis.
Concentrate your full attention upon, or rather within, the words. That’s the best advice I’ve ever heard on the Jesus Prayer. And, really, you might find it better not to use the psychosomatic method—at least at first. The breathing may distract you. That’s okay. It’s not about the breathing. It’s about being fully present to Christ. It’s about recognizing His presence with (and within!) us.
8. Is this hesychasm?
Yes, this is a very basic form of hesychasm. It gets way more involved, though. The Way of the Pilgrim suggests timing each word of the Jesus Prayer with a heartbeat. Some saints talk about praying with your head bowed, in order to create a “cycle of breath” from navel to mouth. They suggest closing your eyes focusing the attention of your mind’s eye upon your heart, because Christ dwells in our hearts (Eph. 3:17) and the kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:20). By using this method, they say, one is able to begin the process of theosis here on earth—to divinize the mind’s eye, and so perceive the Uncreated Light of Mount Tabor.
This form of hesychasm is discussed extensively in the Philokalia, especially volume four of the Faber and Faber edition. I don’t even like to talk about this stuff, it’s so far beyond my understanding.
When it comes to this “deep hesychasm,” however, you should definitely talk to your spiritual father. It’s far more likely that you’ll become distracted from the essential purpose of the Jesus Prayer… which is why, more likely than not, he’ll advise you to stick to the simpler methods. You’re also making yourself vulnerable to prelest: spiritual delusion caused by demons. My advice would be only to undertake this kind of hesychasm once you’ve mastered the ordinary psychosomatic method. Also, let your spiritual father make that call.
9. Should I cry during the Jesus Prayer?
Only if God wants you to.
Yes, it’s common to weep during the Prayer. Sometimes, the tears we shed are bitter: we’re weeping over our sins. More often, however, they are sweet: we’re so overwhelmed by God’s goodness that tears begin to stream down our faces.
However, we should neither seek nor expect tears when saying the Prayer. This is absolutely essential. One of the most common pitfalls in the spiritual life—and perhaps the most dangerous—is when we seek a kind of “high” from prayer. In other words, when we pray, we don’t seek God: we seek consolation.
This is dangerous, for two reasons. First of all, we can easily provoke that consolation within ourselves. (Remember the Sufis.) Secondly, the demons may send us consolation as a form of prelest.
Ultimately, however, the effect is the same: we become distracted from the true purpose of the Prayer, which to unite ourselves to Christ. We take something holy and pure, and turn it into a toy for spiritual self-pleasuring. Don’t do that.
10. Can I say the Jesus Prayer to calm myself down?
Yes. As long as you’re setting aside time to practice the Jesus Prayer with compunction every day, there’s nothing wrong with saying it when (for instance) you’re experiencing anxiety or having trouble sleeping.
However, if we don’t spend time to say the Prayer intentionally—if we only use it as a way of relaxing our nerves—it ceases to be a prayer at all and becomes a mantra, a “mindfulness technique.”
11. How do I choose a prayer rope?
Prayer ropes are also known as chotki in Russian and komboskini in Greek. That’s good to know when you’re on the Web trying to buy one. However, unless you’re Russian or Greek, please just call it a prayer rope. Please. As we said before, there’s no need to make the Jesus Prayer seem alien or exotic.
Now, prayer ropes come in two kinds: Greek and Russian. The Russian-style rope has tassles at the end of the cross, while the Greek-style does not. Supposedly the tassles are for drying one’s tears. My first prayer rope was a Russian-style but now I find them a little “extra.” In my experience they create the expectation of tears. For me, they’re an invitation to prelest.
Prayer ropes also come in a variety of sizes. Some have 33 knots; some have 100; some have 150; some have 300. A good bet is to buy one that has 100 knots and four beads (i.e., a bead between every 25 knots). This gives you the most flexibility when choosing how many prayers to say.
12. Where do I buy a prayer rope?
From a monastery. Seriously, don’t bother with any of the ones you find on Amazon or another online retailer. Order directly from the monks and nuns. First of all, it’s better to give money to our religious, who give so much to us by their prayers. Secondly, the prayer rope is going to be higher-quality 100% of the time. A good prayer rope will last decades, if not a lifetime. A bad prayer rope will last a couple of months, max.
The prayer rope I use comes from St. Paisius (Orthodox) Monastery in Safford, Arizona. My wife’s is from Christ the Bridegroom (Eastern Catholic) Monastery in Burton, Ohio. We could’t be happier.
13. Is it okay to wear a prayer rope?
Yes. Eastern Christians often wear their prayer rope wrapped around their left wrist as a reminder to “pray without ceasing.” It’s also a beautiful public witness to the Christian faith, like wearing a cross outside of one’s clothing. But while everyone in the West knows what a Cross is, hardly anyone knows what a prayer rope is. It’s a great conversation-starter.
Of course, the prayer rope shouldn’t become a mere accessory. As a rule, if you haven’t used your rope in the last 24 hours, you shouldn’t wear it.
14. Can you recommend any further reading?
Why, I’m glad you asked!
The Way of the Pilgrim by the Pilgrim
The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware
The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology by Igumen Chariton of Valamo (ed.)
Personal Prayer by Frs. Thomas Acklin and Boniface Hicks
For a very deep dive, I recommend a two-part lecture by Met. Kallistos which is available on Youtube.