how i pray (synchroblog)
I have been invited by my friend over at Calacirian to participate in Lynn Hallewell’s “synchroblog” entitled “How I Pray.” So here it goes.
For me the following are the most regular prayer practices that inform and form my prayer life.
The Jesus Prayer - about 5 or so years ago this practice of praying became a very regular part of my life. It remains to be my “go to prayer.” I can pray this prayer 100’s of times in a day. It is so portable. Powerful. Meaning FILLED. I repeat it gratuitously. I repeat it fervently. It rolls in the back of my mind on some occasions like the surf on the beach. It has in some ways become a part of my pattern in living.
The Jesus Prayer is a simple prayer from the Eastern Church and the prayer while incredibly profound is merely a simple sentence (that most can remember upon hearing just once.). The scriptural intent behind this prayer is to help the Christian Pilgrim fulfill Paul’s admonishment to “pray without ceasing.” (I Thessalonians 5:17) The words themselves that make up the Jesus Prayer also come from the words of Scripture - Luke 17:13 and Luke 18:14.
The words I use for the Jesus prayer (there are shorter and longer versions) come from what I understand to be the Anglican Tradition. The version I say, regularly is:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
I find myself often praying it in the following manner - focusing my prayer on the bolded word each time.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
God, have mercy on me a sinner.
God, have mercy.
Have mercy.
Praying the Hours has been the other way in which I have learned to pray. Joining with the Church universal several times a day to pray and read the Psalms has been a life line in my life with God. I have not been as regular in my habits the past year in this endeavor. I have been real hit and miss, actually. But, that foundation has made my prayer life the richer. I long to be part of a community which has a habit of practicing the hours. Nonetheless I journey on in my attempt to keep the hours of Morning Prayer (Matins), Mid-day Prayer (None) and Evening Prayer (Vespers). The prayer books that have been most enriching for me are St. Benedict’s Prayer Book; Celtic Daily Prayer and For All The Saints.
I have blogged about this before - so for the roots of this practice and some reviews of the books I mentioned above and maybe a couple of others - check out this post - Using A Prayer Book
Besides some spontaneous prayer during idle times during the day - it is the Jesus Prayer and Praying the Hours that inform and form my prayer life.
Others who have participated in this synchroblog -
Calacirian
Lyn Hallewell
Cindy Bryan
Brother Maynard
Lew A
Jonathan Peres
Out Of The Cocoon
Alan Knox
Rick Meigs
Barry Taylor
decompressing faith
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Doug- thank you for joining our synchroblog. I’ve read a number of people write about the value of praying the hours. Thanks for adding your insights about using the Jesus prayer.
Doug thank you so much for sharing your journey. As Cindy wrote, a number have written about praying the hours. I hope that one day you become part of the community you are longing to join.
[…] Doug Jones - How I Pray […]
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I was first introduced to The Jesus Prayer by Brennan Manning. It brought me sweet peace through some very dark days of depression then. It is still in my “prayer box” … my multiple ways that I commune with the Father.
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