Posted on 03/05/2009 12:11:10 AM PST by pobeda1945
Warm, succinct suggestions on making the prayer of the heart come alive from Moscow pastor Fr. Artemy Vladimirov.
We very much pity those Orthodox Christians who think that the best rest for their exhausted soul is to watch television news. This isn’t a bad thing, perhaps, but it’s a dead thing. You may spend all of the earthly time you have been allotted with such distractions, but you will never be at peace. If you want to calm your mind and ease your heart, try calling instead on the most holy name of Jesus Christ, without haste and with only one intent: to attract His attention and repent of your sins.
To stand before the face of God, to cleanse your heart and sanctify the space of your life by invoking His name, this is your aim. We don’t know how God cleanses our heart by His name, but we believe that He does so in a supernatural way. In saying the Jesus Prayer, it is not so important whether you are “a monk or a drunk,” but you are to be very steadfast, attentive, humble, mild, and concentrated.
Try taking a walk for ten minutes as you invoke His miracle-working name, and you will see spiritual profit. Begin in a simple, humble manner, “Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.” You may even do this somewhat mechanically, knowing that this tradition has been sanctified by generations of saints, but as you walk and pray, try not to think of anything else. Just walk in the presence of God.
In these ten minutes, you will find that your fevered mind is soothed, that the noisy bazaar of your thoughts has become light, clear, and direct, and that your heart has begun to say other prayers in a manner that satisfies you. You pray, you breathe, you speak to God; you are not just repeating empty words. What does it mean to have your mind in your heart? It means that you are to control your feelings. You are not to admit invaders into your heart, but are to check your heart with your mind, to observe everything that takes place there. To have your mind in your heart is exactly what our Lord prescribes to us in His commandment: When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret…”.
What does it mean to shut the door? It means to banish every earthly image or passion with the concentration of your mind and will. When we pray we should not admit feelings of lust or open our hearts to the snake of irritation; we are to rid ourselves of everything that is unpleasant. To have your mind in your heart is to control the space of your heart. It is the kingdom of God Almighty and of nothing else.
If you make progress in this humble prayer, you will begin to understand that this commandment is very complete. Your heart will be filled with a spiritual warmth that embraces the center of your feelings. You will come to understand what attentive prayer is, and that your heart has been created for ceaseless prayer. Ceaseless prayer is not a perpetual repetition of this or that word or phrase. The Holy Fathers say that it is the feeling of your heart. Just as you view the objects of this world with open eyes, so your heart, warmed by prayer to God, will partake of the spiritual world. This will be due, not to your piety, but to God’s grace. Unceasing prayer may have no words, but you will walk and sleep in the presence of God.
Well I know I’ve been watching the news so much less! It was more fun when I had some sort of horse in the race.
Praying the simple prayer offered here or just singing some praise or offering thanks is a wonderful blessing. There is great power in the name of Jesus.
Thank you so much for this wonderful post.
Thank-you for this fine post which, as we are just in Great Lent, is certainly timely.
Orthodox Jesus Prayer ping!
“At this point the zealous man looks inward, and what do you think he finds there? Ceaseless wandering of thoughts, constant onslaughts from the passions, hardness and coldness of heart, obstinacy and disobedience, desire to do everything according to his own will. In a word, he finds everything within himself in a very bad state. And seeing this, his zeal is inflamed, and he now directs strenuous efforts to the development his inner life, to controlling his thoughts and the dispositions of his heart. >From directions on inner spiritual life he discovers the necessity of paying attention to oneself, of watching over the movements of the heart. In order not to admit to anything bad, it is necessary to preserve the remembrance of God. And so he sets to work to achieve this remembrance. But his thoughts can no more be arrested than the wind; his bad feelings and worthless impulses can no more be evaded than the stench of a corpse; his mind, like a wet and frozen bird, cannot rise to the remembrance of God. What is to be done? Be patient, they say, and go on working. Patience and labor are exercised, but all within remains the same. At last someone of experience is found who explains that all is inwardly in disorder because the forces within are divided: mind and heart each go their own way. Mind and heart must be united; then wandering of thoughts will cease, and you will gain a rudder to steer the ship of your soul, a lever by which to set in movement all your inner world. But how can one unite mind and heart? Acquire the habit of praying these words with the mind in the heart,’Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me’. And this prayer, when you learn to perform it properly, or rather when it becomes grafted to the heart, will lead you to the end which you desire It will unite your mind with your heart, it will cut off your wandering thoughts, and give you the power to govern the movements of your soul.” +Theophan the Recluse
A Blessed Lent to all of my Orthodox Brothers & Sisters!
Lenten Ping
There are fathomless depthes for me to find in "attracting His attention."
It is not that somehow I may do enough or work hard enough to earn His attention, but rather that he knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
Every moment spent by me to draw near to Him, he draws near to me. The tiniest of my steps is met by Him changing my thoughts, intentions and inclinations. He brings me to repentance and brings joyous repentance to me.
Thank you for posting this.
Blessed Lent to my Orthodox Brothers and Sisters!!!!
From The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology compiled by by Igumen Chariton. (Text is chiefly from the letters of Bishop Theophan, with other Greek and Russian writers and concludes with the teaching given to monks of the compiler's community of Valamo.)The practice of prayer is called an 'art', and it is a very simple one Standing with attention and consciousness in the heart, cry out unceasingly: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me,' without having in your mind any visual concept or image, believing that the Lord sees you and listens to you.
It is important to keep your consciousness in the heart, and as you do so to control your breathing a little so as to keep time with the words of the prayer. But the most important thing is to believe that God is near and hears. Say the prayer for God's ear alone...
He who keeps his attention in the heart is safe. Safer still is he who at all times clings to God in contrition, and prays to be delivered from illusion.
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