“But I give myself to prayer” (Psalm 109:4), words spoken by David the Prophet, the author of the Psalms and of spiritual prayers overflowing with every human emotion.

This expression, “But I give myself to prayer,” is exceedingly lofty and spiritual. It conveys the immersion of the whole human being: body, spirit, soul, mind, feeling, and sense, in that relationship unique to humankind: the ability to communicate with one’s Creator at any time and in any way. Through it, a person forms that fine yet strong thread connecting earth and heaven, carrying supplications up from the earth and bringing down responses from heaven, in a harmonious,  profound, and satisfying sense for the person walking the path toward eternity.

David the Prophet lived a thousand years before Christ, and from that time on, prayers, sighs, supplications, and entreats became a person’s choice in life and in the worship that is offered up at all times.

When the Lord Jesus Christ came to our earth, dwelt among us, was incarnate, became man, was crucified, and died — offering salvation to humanity that was drowning in sin — humanity came to enjoy meeting God in prayers that express his love for God. These prayers grew diverse in form and subject, and a person’s true delight became prayer through praises, hymns, chants, and songs in varied tunes.

Across the years and centuries, and through the experiences of the Fathers in prayer, the spirituality of prayer, the act of prayer, the work of prayer, the words of prayer, and the tunes of prayer — all of these together formed a precious treasure for every Christian, who lives his earthly life while at the same time enjoying heavenly touches and a refreshment of heart that cannot be described with precision, but which is a blend of joy, happiness, comfort, and inward satisfaction.

Prayer, in any form, is not genuine or acceptable unless it comes forth from a loving heart, an inward faith, and a sincere longing. And so it has taken many forms. There is the single-word prayer: “Lord, have mercy” (Kyrie eleison) which we repeat often in our lives and in our churches. There is the “Jesus Prayer,” which is a single sentence. There are the prayers of the Psalms, which the Church arranged in the Agpeya (the Book of Hours), linked to the stages of our Lord’s life on earth. There are prayers set to music and melody, which we call hymns and chants in all their forms and tunes. There are prayers that use movements, such as prostration, metanoias, the raising of hands, and the closing of the eyes. And there are prayers of tears and silence, without words being uttered, as the psalmist said: “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD…” (Psalm 130:1).

In this article, I want to focus on the “Jesus Prayer,” which also goes by other names, such as: the Short Prayer, the Arrow Prayer, the Prayer of the Heart, the Jesus Prayer, the Repeated Prayer, the Continuous Prayer… and so on. This prayer is suitable for all believers, young and old, and it is also suitable for monastics and laypeople alike, for through it a person allows God to dwell in his mind, his heart, and his whole being. It is a prayer, a covenant, and a confession of faith; it purifies the heart and casts out demons. It is a wellspring of contemplation and holy thoughts, a dawning of inner illumination, and a fountain of divine mercy. In it is “Jesus,” the name of God by which salvation comes: “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

It is said of this prayer that it is a refuge for those who have grown lax in their spiritual lives, or for the weak in general, and according to the guidance of the Fathers, it is a spiritual remedy if a person perseveres in it and grows through it amid his outward concerns. Through it, a person is able to enter into the depths, for you must know, dear reader, that the power of this prayer lies not in the repetition of certain words, but in the turning of the mind and heart toward God as these words are repeated — that is, in the spiritual struggle accompanying the words of the prayer. St. Paul the Apostle says: “I would rather speak five words with my understanding… than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:19). Therefore, the mind and heart need to be purified in order to repeat these few words, saying them again and again from the depths of the heart without ceasing, until the prayer turns into a hymn accompanying the beating of a person’s heart — for the highest goal of this short prayer is to deepen one’s thought of God and one’s sense of Him, whereas mechanical repetition accomplishes nothing. Likewise, spiritual readings, from the Scriptures and the Fathers, increase self-knowledge along the path of spiritual growth, which in turn has an effect on this short, continuous prayer. Of course, you may repeat this prayer while doing manual or non-manual work, and in the moments between your many daily occupations. You may also set aside a daily time to repeat a fixed number of this prayer, a number which increases from time to time under the counsel of your father of confession and spiritual guide.

Dear reader, draw near to God always through this prayer, and acquire His presence in your heart and inner depths, until the day comes when you too can say: “But I give myself to prayer” (Psalm 109:4).

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