The Jesus Prayer is one of the most rewarding and difficult prayers to pray. There are different variations of the prayer but the most common is, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."
The constant repetition of this prayer is a great meditation or reflection on Jesus Christ and the the mercy of God. The other night I spent about 15 minutes praying this prayer.
As I focused my mind on the words of the prayer I realized that I must cling to Jesus Christ and Him alone for victory over sin. Our sins are like a giant black hole of spiritual death that are seeking to consume and destroy us. By the mercy and grace of God we can conquer this monster. By His mercy I am forgiven and cleansed of sin. If however I am lax in my spiritual life and reflect, enjoy, think and indulge in the sins of this world then this black hole of sin will corrupt and destroy me.
The Apostle Paul declared,
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
The fleshly nature must be put to death. If we feed the flesh with the things of this world by focusing and thinking on this worlds pleasures and sins then sin like a spiritual black hole will consume us in time. If we reflect and meditate upon Jesus Christ as one does in the Jesus Prayer then we curb the feeding of the flesh. The prayer becomes both a meditation upon Jesus Christ and a cry of forgiveness and of mercy to cleanse us of our sins.
John Chrystotom stated regarding the Jesus prayer ,
The Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, descending into the depths of the heart, will subdue the serpent holding sway over the pastures of the heart, and will save our soul and bring it to life. Thus abide constantly with the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the heart swallows the Lord and the Lord the heart, and the two become one.
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