Sculpting Group: Jesus Prayer Project Week Two

The Third Sculpting project: The Jesus Prayer Week 1

Repetition leads to habit, habit leads to second nature. St. Isihios

It was 18 below and 12:00 midnight when Evan drove me past the bank clock. Now I’m laying in the birthing room in the last phase of contractions. Breathe-in “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,” Breathe-out “have mercy on me a sinner.” Repeat. Repeat again. Two hours later Terese arrives. I don’t remember when I first learned the Jesus Prayer but this was my most memorable use.

 

 

Two week Sculpting project: The Jesus Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner.

This ancient prayer tradition from the Christian Orthodox Church came to my attention through the book The Way of a Pilgrim. On an autumn Sunday in the 1850’s a Russian peasant heard the reading of 1st Thessalonians 5:17 admonishing him to, “Pray without ceasing.” He took the verse to heart but felt very perplexed as to how to accomplish it. So he traveled around looking for someone who could help him understand the way to “Pray without ceasing”. He finally met an old monk who invited him to his cell and loaned him an ancient book of teachings from the Orthodox Fathers. The book gave instructions in the saying of the Jesus Prayer. The monk became a tutor in this prayer method and the Russian man spent the summer working in a local garden and learning the Jesus Prayer by heart. He repeated it up to 12,000 times a day, until the prayer filled his heart and dreams.

In our Sculpting project for the next two weeks we will work on training our heart to “Pray unceasingly.” Rather than 12,000 times a day I suggest a more modest goal of 5-10 minutes a day.

Two ways to sculpt with the Jesus Prayer:
1. In time set aside from activity:
Sit or walk for 5-10 minutes repeating the prayer silently or out loud. Using your breath is very helpful. Inhale: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” exhale: “have mercy on me a sinner.”
2. In the midst of activity:
A. Select an activity you do each day that does not require much attention. Examples: getting dressed, washing dishes, bathing, walking to a location.
B. Place a reminder note or your check off sheet in a location to remind you to use this time for the Jesus Prayer.
C. Say the Jesus prayer as you do this activity.

Variation: This prayer is very similar to the one used by Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-7. If it does not feel like the right prayer for you then select another prayer from Scripture or create your own.
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Key Verse: Pray without ceasing 1 Thess. 5:17

Summary:

The Project: 5-10 minutes a day repeat the Jesus prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
Communicate: Comment on this blog, talk to others, or post on face book. We need each other to successfully sculpt ourselves.

Three Things Challenge:
Over a year ago I began my list of 1000 things I love: Gifts from God. Would you like to join me in this challenge and create your own 1000 things list? Or you may wish to design your own challenge of 200 or 500 or 5000 things you love list. If you want to join in the challenge let me know so we can cheer each other on.