BIBLE STUDY-16

Peace Methodist Church

BIBLE STUDY-16

 

Jesus Prayer

 

◎ Matthew 6:7

“When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do,

for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

 

◎ Luke 18:38

A blind man cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

 

◎ 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray without ceasing.

 

◎ Jesus Prayer(or The Prayer of the Heart)

The Jesus Prayer’s origin is most likely the Egyptian desert, which was settled by the monastic Desert Fathers in the fifth century.(Wikipedia) Between the fifth and the eighth centuries a method of prayer emerged which has proved deeply influential in the Christian East: the remembrance or invocation of the name of Jesus.(Kallistos Ware)

 

◎ A monologic prayer

This method of prayer has been known as ‘monologic prayer’ that is prayer of single word or phrase: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

 

◎ Jesus Prayer’s characteristics

The name of ‘Jesus’ means ‘YHWH is the salvation.’ ‘Jesus Prayer’ can concentrates the soul, purifies the mind, and maintains the remembrance of God.

 

◎ Jesus Prayer’s manner

‘Jesus Prayer’ demands a quite special effort, a whole spiritual discipline. This prayer is to be constantly repeated. This kind of prayer is comparable to our breathing. It is to be said over and over again with every breath.

 

◎ Jesus Prayer’s benefits

When we pray in this manner, this prayer may lead us to a vision of God. ‘Jesus Prayer’ can fuel our soul and transform it into a divine image, the union with God, that is deification.