Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Jesus Prayer / the Power In the Name



" Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."






The Jesus Prayer  composed from the two declarations:
 1-The first one came  from the faith, declaration and the acknowledging in the divine nature of Christ.
2-The second is the recognition of unrighteousness. And therefore it an asking for mercy, It’s an acronym for Mercy Psalm, Psalm 50.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector stated in (Luke 18:10-14).
Jesus refer to the prayer of the man which was a tax collector,((Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.)), Jesus said: "This man went home justified before God”, where his prayer was acceptable
Also, we could referring to Jesus Prayer, through (Luke 18:38) when the blind man had called for Jesus “Jesus, Son of David, have a mercy on me",  as result to this Prayer, The bible says “Immediately he received his sight" The God's response was quick and direct. So, as a result of this prayer, the eyes of the blind men had been opened





 
Jesus Christ - the Power In the Name
The Jesus Prayer's power comes from the use of our Lord's Name, Jesus Christ, and Son of God. Through declaring of our faith in Jesus Christ the son of the Father and the Second Hypostasis in the Holy Trinity
The prayer begins with the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And according to the book of Acts “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)


The power in the prayer comes from  the Lord’s name. In simple form we declare confession our faith in Jesus Christ as our God and Lord.

Saint Theophanous the Recluse emphasizes the importance of this prayer when he says, “Only with the help of this prayer can the necessary order of the soul be firmly maintained…” (Art of Prayer, p 92)
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov 6 says, “By the power of the name of Jesus the mind is freed from doubt, indecision and hesitation, the will is strengthened and correctness is given to zeal and other properties of the soul.” (On the Prayer of Jesus. p 25)
He is saying that as when we engage in this prayer the mind is freed from its confusion caused by the attack of numerous thoughts that distract us from God. As the mind is tamed though our repeated repetition of this prayer, the mind is brought under control through God’s grace so that we can use our rational faculties to direct our bodies in an appropriate way allowing us to act in a manner that is consistent with the teaching of Jesus

Editor: διάκονος. Camill Tannous
 Orthodox Christianity for Theological Research and Patrimony of church
 www.christ-prayer.org