Praying The Jesus Prayer

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and New Year and that you found time, made the time, to rest and reflect on God’s faithfulness in 2013.

If you are like me, your New Year has started off with a bang and all of life is going at its usual, busy pace. With this in mind, I wrote the following prayer, below, in preparation for the worship service that I am assisting in tomorrow morning.

I wanted to share it with the Internet world because this ancient prayer, called "The Jesus Prayer," is a powerful prayer that slows us down and reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ and his mercy in our lives. 

The practice of The Jesus Prayer dates back to the monastic tradition, from the 5th century. Though, as you will see, the refrain Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me has its roots in Jesus' healing of Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52. 

Use this Jesus Prayer to help you SSSLLOOWW down for a few minutes ….….. and to rest …..….. in Jesus.

Find a comfortable, yet attentive body position to sit in.

I would also encourage you to place your hands on your knees, palms up with your hands open. These bodily actions help prepare our minds and hearts to be ready to worship and to receive from the LORD.

Pay attention to your breathing. Breathe in deeply, exhale slowly. 

Slowly, meditatively, reflectively, pray…

“Lord …

“Lord Jesus Christ…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy …

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners, saved …

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners saved by…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners saved by grace…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners, saved by your grace thru your Son…

“L.J.C., have mercy on us, sinners, saved by your grace thru your Son Jesus Christ.”

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners, saved by your grace thru your Son…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners saved by grace…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners saved by…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners, saved …

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, sinners…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me…

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy …

“Lord Jesus Christ…

“Lord …

And all God’s people said, AMEN!

Vows and Fasting

As I read Numbers 6 this morning I was struck with the sense of importance that these men and women had, and were called to, when they took the Nazarite vow. It got me thinking about my own "vows" that I have made for this week of prayer and fasting at our church. How seriously am I taking these? How am I setting myself apart to the Lord? Are these routine acts or am I doing things that will challenge the normal patterns and habits of my day and my life?

This quote on Numbers 6:1-2 was a real challenge to me, "In our passage, as in Lev. 27:2, the verb is used of an extraordinary vow of a devotee of Yahweh. This vow, then, does not describe a routine matter or even an expected act of devotion one might make from time to time. It is an act of unusual devotion to God, based perhaps on an intense desire to demonstrate to the Lord one's utter separation to him" (Ronald B. Allen, Expositors Bible Commentary: Numbers, pg. 749).

With whatever we decide to do for prayer and fasting I encourage us to be prayerful yet cautious with what "vows" we commit to doing this week. Remember what Proverbs says, "Don't trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost" (20:25, NLT). And remember what Jesus said, "But I say, do not make any vows! ... Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will' or 'No, I won't.'" (Mt. 5:33-37, NLT).

With this said though, don't be afraid to step out in faith and challenge yourself to seek God! Remember the words of the Chronicler, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive theirs sins and restore their land" (2 Chr. 7:14).

God bless you this week!

Can list making be a Spiritual Discipline?

 

Maybe you are like me and you get fed up with how much you want to remember but the reality is that so much of it gets forgotten. So you make lists. You have lists on your counter at home, on your bedside stand, on your desk at work, on your iPhone, on your laptop...soon you are swimming in post-it notes of various lists.

I started two new spiritual disciplines this morning as part of my morning quiet time and I hope they will not only bear much fruit in my life, in my marriage and in my walk with Christ. But I also hope it will help me to better remember the beautiful things of God!

My wife loves praise and worship music and we have many CDs so I decided to take what I do well (making lists) and take what I don't do well (remembering music lyrics) and pair them together. The hope and plan is to listen to one or two songs a day and really focus on the lyrics and discern the maid ideas or themes of the song. What is being said? What Truth is being conveyed? And then write the song title and album on a list for future reference when I'm looking for that right song for someone in need or when planning a worship service.

Today I started with The Gospel Song and The Glories of Calvary by Sovereign Grace Music which can be found here. Or you can listen to the entire album here for free.


To take my list making a step further (I know, I know, my best friend from college is probably laughing right now saying your OCD is definitely coming out :) as I was reading through Nehemiah 11-13 and Esther 1-2 this morning I also started lists of themes from these chapters. Themes like: The Precedence for Choirs in Worship, Confrontation and Guarding the purity of God's People, the Precedence for the Involvement of Children in Worship, Tithing, How Women/Wives and Men/Husbands are to be Treated and to Act, God's Sovereignty, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing music lyrics and Scripture passages come alive today in a new way... in the form of lists!

Long live the journal and post-it note! :)

Thoughts on Nehemiah's "Arrow" Prayers

It's been said somewhere in Christian literature, or maybe Christian folk lore :), that if Martin Luther had a lot to do in a day he would wake up 2-3 hours earlier JUST to pray! The busier he was, the more he prayed and the earlier he woke up!

Certainly we could all learn A LOT, myself included, about the discipline of prayer from Martin Luther. After all we see in the Book of Proverbs the following:

⁹ How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
    When will you get up from your sleep?
¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest —
¹¹ and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man (Proverbs 6:9-11).

Didn't Jesus spend the night praying on the mountain before: selecting his disciples (Luke 6:11-13) and before walking on the water (Matthew 14:23ff) and before his journey to Golgotha in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36ff)?

Certainly there is Biblical backing for long prayer times like what Jesus did here and what Martin Luther lived out. But we also see many references for short prayers, what I call (or more likely, I heard this from someone else but can't remember who) "arrow prayers." 

After all, didn't Jesus also say, "and when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:7-8)? After that comment he then went on to teach them "the Lord's Prayer."

So there is also Biblical support for short prayers and I was again reminded of this by Nehemiah's prayer life in Nehemiah 5:19; 6:14.

"Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people" (Neh. 5:19) and 

"Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me" (Neh. 6:14).

Short, sweet, to the point. God, be with me for all the work I have done for your people. And God be with my enemies for vengeance is yours (see Rom. 12:18ff).

What a great reminder it was for me this morning as I was folding laundry and walking our dog that I could say quick, short prayers - arrow prayers.

Maybe you are in a season where you need to be in your prayer closet for hours, leaning into God and asking, seeking and knocking (Luke 11:9)? But maybe you are in a season where arrow prayers to our gracious Heavenly Father would be helpful as you look at your prayer lists?

Either way, I encourage you to pray, pray, pray!