The Jesus Prayer - Orthodox Hesychasm

Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner, repeated 50 times.

Hesychasm means continually abiding in contact with the energy of God through the continual invocation of the saving name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   • Hesychasm - The Monastic Tradition of...  
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In the hesychast method of prayer the person sits alone in a bodily position with his head bowed and his eyes directed toward his chest or his stomach. He continually repeats the prayer with each aspiration and breath, placing his “mind in his heart” by concentrated attention. He empties his mind of all rational thoughts and discursive reasoning, and also voids his mind of every picture and image.

Then, without thought or imagination, but with all proper attention and concentration he rhythmically repeats the Jesus Prayer in silence—hesychia means silence—and through this method of contemplative prayer is united to God by the indwelling of Christ in the Spirit. According to the fathers, such a prayer, when faithfully practiced within the total life of the Church, brings the experience of the uncreated divine light of God and unspeakable joy to the soul. Its purpose is to make man a servant of God.

. . . the mind when it unites with the heart is filled with unspeakable joy and delight. Then a man sees that the Kingdom of heaven is truly within us.

When you enter the place of the heart . . . give thanks to God, and praising His mercy, keep always to this activity, and it will teach you things which you will learn in no other way.

. . . when your mind becomes established in the heart, it must not remain idle, but it should constantly repeat the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!” and never cease.

For this practice, keeping the mind from dreaming, renders it invincible against all suggestions of the devil and every day leads it more and more to love and longing for God (Saint Nicephorus, 14th c., Discourse on Sobriety).

https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-ort...