The Jesus Prayer is a meditative prayer associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church, and it goes like this: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (see
Jesus Prayer - Wikipedia). Another source says, “The history of the Jesus Prayer goes back, as far as we know, to the early sixth century, with Diadochos, who taught that repetition of the prayer leads to inner stillness” (
Saying the Jesus Prayer). The biblical basis for the Jesus Prayer is 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing. An entertaining description of a person who is dedicated to the Jesus Prayer is
The Way of a Pilgrim, which was published in the nineteenth century . See
Jesus Prayer - Wikipedia: “It is unknown if the book is literally an account of a single pilgrim, or if it uses a fictional pilgrim's journey as a vehicle to teach the practice of ceaseless inner prayer and communion with God”). The form of the prayer is “
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner” (“sinner” may be omitted).
Here’s a description of the practice of the Jesus Prayer from The Master Game, Robert S. De Ropp (1968):
"You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organ which serves for this is the lungs which lie round the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelops the heart. And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which ir reaches the heart and, together with this inhaled air, force your mind to descend into the heart and to remain there. Accustom it, brother, not to come out of the heart too soon, for at first it feels very lonely in that inner seclusion and imprisonment. But when it gets accustomed to it, it begins on the contrary to dislike its aimless circling outside, for it is no longer unpleasant and wearisome for it to be within. Just as a man who has been away from home, when he returns is beside himself with joy at seeing again his children and wife, embraces them and cannot talk to them enough, so 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; and seeing it now in himself, he strives with pure prayer to keep it and strengthen it there, and regards everything external as not worthy of attention and wholly unattractive.
"When you thus enter into the place of the heart, as I have shown you, give thanks to God and, praising his mercy, keep always to this doing, and it will teach you things which in no other way will you ever learn. Moreover you should know that when your mind becomes firmly established in the heart, it must not remain there silent and idle, but it should constantly repeat the prayer: 'Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!' and never cease. For this practice, keeping the mind from dreams, renders it elusive and impenetrable to enemy suggestions and every day leads it more and more to love and longing for God." (E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer, Translators.
Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart. [London: Faber and Faber, 1951] p. 33.)
Here’s a video:
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