Say The Jesus Prayer & Fear Nothing

“Say the Jesus Prayer, and fear nothing.” - Elder Ephraim of Arizona. The Jesus Prayer has been used since Christ walked the earth at the Incarnation and even long before that by David in the Psalms, I will prove this using the biblical basis of Holy Scripture, and attempt to expand on just how valuable this prayer is for what it means to be an Orthodox Christian. May Christ bless my words to be His, and for this to be an encouragement to rise forth spiritually this Paschal season; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“In this (prayer) the whole greatness is concealed, Paradise itself.” - St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia

What Is The Jesus Prayer?

Growing up from an essentially non-religious background and first getting into Christ’s call to Christianity, I could tell prayer was important but how do you do it? Let alone, how can anyone pray without ceasing as St. Paul mentions in 1 Thessalonians 5:17? That simple phrase “pray without ceasing” has its own verse dedicated to just those three words (1). It seemed impossible.

I could find no answer to this question within the Roman Catholic or Protestant traditions until I found Holy Orthodoxy. The Jesus Prayer is the answer. This is not to disparage anyone else, it is just a verifiable observation in my own experience, part of me writing this is to actually encourage Protestants, Roman Catholics, all Christians; to use this prayer as an invaluable weapon in our sojourning on this earth (Psalm 119:19) and to become like Christ (3). We have forgotten its power, its love, that everything is contained within it. It has been said by Christians since Christ was present in the flesh, and the Jesus Prayer brings Christ presently to us in our hearts.

It has variants but the two mainly used are “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” Or “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.” You will find both variations in the Holy Orthodox Tradition.

It begins with “what is in a name?” Jesus Christ is the Name above every name (4), the Name that the demons tremble at. Names are intimately connected to persons; when we say a name we are invoking the presence mystically of that person (5). When we say “Lord Jesus Christ,” we are bringing the God of the Universe, Who fashioned the heavens and the earth, presently to us, within us, around us. It declares His glory, that He is God, He is the Savior, He is Love Himself, He is everything. The beginning of this prayer is us reaching back out to God, Who is always reaching out to us. We are conforming ourselves to the truth that, “there is salvation in no one else, and there is no other Name under heaven that is given among mortals by which we should be saved!” (Acts 4:12).

When we say “have mercy on me, a sinner,” we are asking for God’s mercy to be upon us; everything from covering our weakness in love, healing our ailments, protection from the attacks of demons, reconciling us to our neighbor, giving us direction in life, and more. Hence why we can say everything is contained in this prayer, it covers everything our hearts cry out for known or unknown. Primarily of all we are asking for forgiveness in repentance seeing the weakness of our sinfulness without Him (6). This repentance is asked for in humility acknowledging our sin and missing the mark by saying “a sinner.” This is akin to St. Paul calling himself the chief or first of all sinners (7), and a reminder that Christ both starts and ends His ministry on earth with the same message “repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (8).

The Name of Christ dispels passions from our souls, it’s not always a comfortable experience, at least at first but in the cleansing, purification, and illumination we become whole. The sweetness of God is bitter to us when we don’t want to let go of our passions (sins), but it does heal us. It is transformative, just as all the people in the gospels called out to Jesus “have mercy on me” because they knew only through Him could they be transformed. Only through Him can we be saved. The Jesus Prayer is a call to communion with our Creator, the goal of all our lives.

The Jesus Prayer In Scripture

“Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” cries the blind man from Jericho in Mark 10:47. People tried to quiet him, spiritually symbolic of the world which wishes to silence us. “Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet. But Bartimaeus cried out even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48).

The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 might be the most powerful example in all of Scripture, she “cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demonized!” (9). Jesus initially does not answer her, but she persists, she keeps knocking and knocking on the door as Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:7, here is the example of what was taught by Jesus being shown in action. It’s of immense importance here to recognize Jesus hears her but does not answer. God always hears us, why He does not answer our requests immediately is because He knows best, trust Him, grow our faith.

St. John Chrysostom in his commentary on this passage says this woman did not become shameful and full of despair as most people would when being openly ignored by the Lord, but she became shameless in the positive sense of the word (10). She was willing to forgo all shame of the world and what others thought of her in love for her daughter. In this shameless she showed also the receptivity of the Gentiles so that all would be fulfilled as Jesus did come for the Jews first but for all of humanity also. These are not dichotomous statements, it is both/and.

Blessed Theophylact of Ohrid suggest the apostles were advocating for the woman for Christ to answer her in mercy, St. John Chrysostom suggests the same as well that they were “greatly troubled”at the woman’s affliction. This trouble is of my own speculation of both mercy in sharing her burden, but knowing the apostles did not understand things immediately were probably embarrassed she was following them and making a scene about the situation. The apostles were becoming influenced by the shame of the world yet this Canaanite woman refused the shame of the world for Christ. I personally believe this is partly why Jesus says to her “woman, great is your faith!” (11). Her faith was also tested in perseverance, she persisted to call on the Lord despite hearing no answer, the Jesus Prayer teaches us to do the same.

The ten lepers in Luke 17:13, “They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”The lepers were told to go show themselves to the priests, and were healed along the way. Sometimes too with our prayer to Christ, He answers with a direction but not a complete answer satisfactory to us; but once we are obedient to His direction, find things falling into place. Let us glorify Him with thanksgiving like the one Samaritan leper who returned (12).

Again we hear blind men in Matthew 9:27 say the Jesus Prayer, “As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!” Christ asks them“do you believe I am able to do this?” (13). Do we truly believe Christ will grant us our prayers? Many of these events in Scripture also preface with that these various people are already following after Jesus, the Jesus Prayer helps us to keep our attention focused on following Him as well.

Again, in Matthew 17:15, “Lord, have mercy on my son! He is epileptic and suffers terribly as he often falls into the fire and into the water.” Philippians 2:27, “Indeed, he was sick, almost to the point of death! But God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but also on me, so that I may not have sorrow upon sorrow.” Mark 5:19, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

I believe these are enough examples to suffice revealing the prevalence of the Jesus Prayer in the Holy Scriptures. Not even mentioning the plethora of Psalms that say Lord have mercy on me. This dispels any notion of it being a “man-made tradition,” on the contrary it is biblical and actually foundation for all other prayers. Everything starts with God, and our asking for His help, for without Him we can do nothing. All of these people could have petitioned God in infinite other ways, yet they chose “Lord have mercy on me.”

Advice & Warnings Of Practicing The Prayer

How can we apply the Jesus Prayer? The saints can help guide us. We are all called to be saints, maybe one day we might be found to be one or maybe you are one right now; but for many of us, especially myself, we are struggling to just live up to the name of calling ourselves Christians. We revere saints because they give us a modern example in our times for what it looks like to emulate Christ, to actually be Christ-bearers, Christians.

As laymen in the world, we have to remember that we are not monastics, especially beginners it is not appropriate for you to say this prayer 1,000+ times a day in a monastic rule. We don’t go to the gym and deadlift 500 pounds our first workout, we will hurt ourselves. As has been relayed to me by a spiritual father this applying of too hard a rule of saying the prayer can actually be dangerous for a few reasons, but the main reason being if we call on God for mercy while being completely distracted and actually not interested in that mercy, it is an offense. If seasoned Christians still struggle with stillness and presentness, how much more do beginners. The point being, speak with your spiritual father or priest, the general guidance is start small, do what you are capable of doing while keeping your heart invested in the prayer and you will see the benefits.

St. Porphyrios warned how the prayer can be dangerous to us if we use it incorrectly too. He says, “The prayer shouldn’t be a chore. Any pressure to say it might cause an adverse reaction on our part and do us harm. A lot of people have fallen sick because of the prayer, because they were under pressure to say it. Of course, something comes of it even if you say it as a chore, but it’s not healthy. And don’t use special techniques. You don’t need a little stool, never mind bowing your head or closing your eyes. A lot of people say: ‘Sit on a little stool, bow your head, apply yourself and concentrate’. But how…try it and see. You don’t need to concentrate particularly to say the prayer. There’s no need for any special effort if you love God. Wherever you are, on a stool, a chair, in a car, on the street, at school, in the office, at work, you can say the prayer: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me’. Gently, without pressure, without forcing yourself to do so. Don’t be tied down to a place. The whole thing is love for Christ.” (14).

St. John Chrysostom’s warnings are similar, “This prayer can stir the snake to action, and this prayer can lay it low. This prayer can expose the sin that is living in us, and this prayer can eradicate it. This prayer can stir up in the heart all the power of the enemy, and this prayer can conquer it and gradually root it out. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it descends into the depths of the heart, will subdue the snake which controls its ranges, and will save and quicken the soul. Continue constantly in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (15).

The Jesus Prayer is going to stir up the snakes, sins, or lies hidden in your heart, they could have been in there for years, even your whole life. The Holy Name of Christ upsets the snakes and lies as He is Life and Truth Himself. It can cause harm to bring up very deep wounds that we are unwilling to partner with Christ to mend, it can open them back up instead of healing them. Notice St. John says “gradual” meaning most of the time this is a process, as our life is a process to trust and follow Christ more and more. So as I understand, the Jesus Prayer is to be used gradually to our capacity as well.

Kallistos Ware of blessed memory had this advice regarding those who want to use the prayer but don’t have spiritual guidance, “But those who have no personal contact with starets may still practice the Prayer without any fear, so long as they do so only for limited periods - for no more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time - and so long as they make no attempt to interfere with the body's natural rhythms." (16).

Like most things in life there is a sweet spot, a balance, what is normally called the Royal Path away from left or right. One of the most common things I’ve both heard from others, and experienced myself, is eventually after saying the Jesus Prayer as a small rule you’ll begin to do it subconsciously. Even in dreams, you’ll find yourself saying it instinctively, helping you escape from a nightmare or demonic attack is common phenomenon I’ve seen and heard. This subconscious prayer is how it’s possible to achieve St. Paul’s call to pray unceasingly.

The Jesus Prayer Forges Saints

The Jesus Prayer helped many to become glorified saints, again what is a saint? One who emulates Christ. We are all saints to some degree with what little we are able to do that, but the ones who are glorified are the ones who do it to a greater degree. “To the Church of God which is at Corinth. [You are] those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all those who call upon the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours.” 1 Corinthians 1:2. Here is a direct association with being a saint, and calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are countless unknown saints in the Orthodox Church, God did not find it prudent to reveal them, but He reveals the saints we need in every time period through His will which is beyond our understanding. Recently it has been St. Porphyrios, St. Paisios, St. Gabriel Urgebadze, St. Dumitru Staniloae, St. Maria of Paris, etc. Something about these people God wants us to hear or see. It is through the example of these people who became like Christ that we can take from aid to become like Him too.

If they can through Christ use the Jesus prayer to become saints, it is possible for us. There are two recent saints in particular St. Porphyrios & St. Ephraim of Katounakia who stick out to me. St. Porphyrios especially would emphasize that you must become holy, the solution to all of your problems is to become a saint. “One can become a saint anywhere. At your work, whatever it may be, you can become holy through meekness, patience, and love. Every day, make a new beginning, a new disposition with enthusiasm, love, prayer and silence.” (17).

He says “I repeated the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” and new horizons would open up. Tears of joy and gladness would flow from my eyes on account of Christ’s love and His sacrifice on the Cross. Insuperable longing! In this the whole greatness is concealed, Paradise itself. Because you love Christ, you repeat this prayer, these seven words, with craving, and with your heart. And gradually the words are lost. The heart is so complete it suffices to say one thing, “my Jesus!” and ultimately no words at all. Love is better expressed without words. But when a soul truly falls in love with the Lord, it prefers silence and spiritual prayer.” (18).

The Jesus Prayer is a fire. St. Ephraim of Katounakia says, “even if you don't understand the Jesus Prayer, the devil does, and it burns him.” (19). God is an all-consuming fire, His presence warms us and burns the demons. The Jesus Prayer calls Him presently to us. It brings heaven to us, and us to heaven. Here is what men much holier than me have to say about it. May it encourage you, embolden you, and help us all to remember God as often as we can and to become saints as St. Porphyrios says. Utter it slowly, frequently, and with intention of heart. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Especially during this Lenten season upon us; amidst the trials, distractions, hardships, and wounds knowing the love of God makes all of our burdens easy. Say the Jesus Prayer, and fear nothing.

Wisdom From The Saints On The Jesus Prayer

“Set aside half an hour out of the twenty-four to say the Prayer. Whenever you are able; but the evening is best. Say it without using the prayer rope - in supplication, pleading, and with tears. 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.' Cultivate this, and you'll see what fruit it brings. From half an hour, it will become an hour. And guard this hour. Whether the phone is ringing, or you have this task you need to do now, or you're sleepy, or some blasphemy is confronting you. Nothing. Turn off the phone. Finish your tasks. Do this half hour and you'll see. You've planted a little tree, and tomorrow or the day after it will bear fruit. St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil both began like this and became luminaries for the whole world. St. Symeon the New Theologian had experiences of the Uncreated Light while still a layman. He was a layman. How many laymen appear as such exteriorly, but deep down are monastics!” + Elder Ephraim of Katounakia (20).

From the same elder, “Prayer has great power. If you say the Jesus Prayer, you can even bring a soul out of hell.”

“Hence we must give our mind to unceasing prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” And this alone is sufficient for us wholly to accomplish our goal. The mind should have this prayer so unceasingly before it that it has no time or opportunity to be distracted by other imaginings.” + St. Hesychios (21).

“Flog your enemies with the Name of Jesus, for there is no weapon more powerful in heaven or on earth.” + St. John Climacus (22).

“My children, I beg you, for the love of God, do not stop saying the prayer of our Christ, not even for a moment. Your lips should continuously murmur the name of Jesus Who destroys the devil and all his plots. Cry out incessantly to our Christ, and at once He will hasten wholeheartedly to help us. Just as iron cannot be grabbed or even approached when it is red-hot, the same thing happens with the soul of him who says the prayer with the fervor of Christ. The demons do not approach it—and how could they? For if they draw near it, they will be burned by the divine fire which the divine name contains. Whoever prays is enlightened, and whoever does not pray is darkened. Prayer is the provider of divine light. This is why everyone who prays well becomes all radiant, and the Spirit of God dwells in him.” + Elder Ephraim of Arizona

“Truly blessed is the man whose mind and heart are as closely attached to the Jesus Prayer and to the ceaseless invocation of His name as air to the body or flame to the wax. The sun rising over the earth creates the daylight; and the venerable and holy name of the Lord Jesus, shining continually in the mind, gives birth to countless intellections radiant as the sun.” + St. Hesychios of Jerusalem (23).

“Never ask for anything but for His infinite mercy and this is enough for your salvation. When asking for His mercy, cry aloud in entreaty with humble and contrite heart form morning to night and, if possible, during the whole night, saying unceasingly: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.” + St. John Chrysostom

“Even in the most difficult times, he who will occupy himself diligently with the Jesus prayer, ascending with the frequent invocation of the Son of God’s name in ceaseless prayer, will be able to be saved easily.” + St. Seraphim of Viritsa (24).

“Zealous Christians have a certain technique that they apply to secure the continual remembrance of God more firmly. It is the constant repetition of a short prayer, ordinarily either, “Lord, have mercy,” or “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.” If you haven’t heard this, then listen now. If you have never done this, begin now.” + St. Theophan the Recluse (25).

Sources:

1. Cleenewerck, Laurent. (January 2013). Eastern Orthodox Bible (EOB).

2. St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Studies. (2008). The Orthodox Study Bible. Thomas Nelson Inc.

3. “I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.” Psalm 119:19.

4. “Therefore, God highly exalted him, and gave him the Name which is above every name.”Phillipians 2:9.

5. Ware, Kallistos. (June 2014). The Power of the Name, the Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality.SLG Press.

6. Metropoitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos. A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain, (p 44-45).

7. “This saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the first.” 1 Timothy 1:15.

8. Christ begins His ministry in Matthew 4:17, “From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” And ends His ministry the same way, both in saying “Father forgive them” on the Cross (Luke 23:34) which is repentance on behalf of us and in Revelation 3:19 it is said, “As many as I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent!”

9. Ibid. Matthew 15:22.

10. St. John Chrysostom. Homily 52 on Matthew. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200152.htm>

11. Ibid. Matthew 15:28.

12. Ibid. Luke 17:15-19.

13. Ibid. Matthew 9:28.

14. Pantanassa Monastery, 2009. https://pantanassamonastery.org/st_porphyrios_on_the_jesus_prayer/

15. St. John Chrysostom. Letters to Monks. (PG 60, p. 753).

16. Dr. Albert Rossi, 2013. Saying the Jesus Prayer. St. Vladimir Orthodox Seminary (SVOTS).

17. St. Porphyrios. (2005). Wounded By Love. p. 143-144.

18. St. Porphyrios. (2014). Christ Is The Fullness of Life. p. 63. The Holy Stavropegic Monastery of Chrysopigi, Chania, Crete.

19. St. Ephraim Katounakiotis. (July 2016). https://pemptousia.com/2016/07/from-the-teaching-of-elder-efraim-katounakiotis/#:~:text=A%20dialogue%20between%20a%20disciple,burns%20him%20and%20he%20flees.>

20. Obedience Is Life: Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, by Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi, (p. 196).

21. St. Hesychios of Jerusalem. The Evergetinos. (Vol. 4, p.83). St. Hesychios is one of the first to speak of the practice of the Jesus Prayer specifically sometime around the year 400, his works are some of the earliest that we have historically documented.

22. St. John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent.

23. St. Heyschios of Jerusalem. Quoted by the Art of Orthodoxy. https://theartoforthodoxy.com/10-great-quotes-about-the-jesus-prayer-ii/>

24. St. Seraphim of Viritsa, Life-Miracles-Prophecies of Saint Seraphim of Viritsa: The New Saint of Orthodox Russian Church 1866-1949.

25. St. Theophan the Recluse. The Path of Prayer: Four Sermons on Prayer: No. 2 (Praxis Pocketbooks).