Some Thoughts on The Jesus Prayer: Adam Guillory

This summer, a bunch of us went to Ethiopia. There’s a lot I could share about my time there, but I want to focus on one specific thing that I read and practiced. That is, praying the Jesus Prayer with a chotki. For those who do not know, the Jesus Prayer is some variation of, “LORD Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” A chotki is a series of 10-100 beads with a cross attached to it in a loop. It is typically woven, and can be worn as a bracelet. You use the chotki by running a finger over each of the beads, one after another, every time you say the Jesus Prayer, or any other type of prayer. This form of prayer is most used by the Eastern Orthodox tradition of Christianity.

I was first introduced to this type of prayer by Phil, the Associate Director of The Wesley, and I figured, “What the heck, it can’t hurt anything, why not try it out?” So I ordered a chotki. By the time it came in the mail, I had been recommended a book called The Way of the Pilgrim by several people, so I picked it up and started reading it over the mission. The book, written by an anonymous author, details a pilgrim’s journey across Russia, set during the 1850s. It is unknown if it is a true account or if it is fiction. The narrator, wanting to learn how to take up the apostle’s instructions to “pray without ceasing,” sets off on a journey that lasts him many years. In this time he meets an elder, who teaches him the Jesus Prayer and instructs him to recite it 3000 times a day. Several weeks later, the amount is increased to 6000 times a day. Then, a month later, it is increased to 12,000 times a day. After the pilgrim is able to do that consistently, he is told to continue to recite it, however much he wants to. He then goes forth and teaches others how to pray the Jesus Prayer and learns much about faith in Christ.

I did not pray it 12,000, or even 3000 times a day. The most I ever recall doing it was 500 or 600 times, and that was because I was in a car for 7 hours. Nonetheless, I still found it was a very helpful prayer for me. So for the rest of this post, I’ll detail things I noticed that make it a very good prayer to pray.

Firstly, the words themselves: The first, being “LORD”, which addresses God as being above and superior to you. Then, “Jesus Christ”- by saying the name of Christ, you call Him to you. By announcing his title, you remember his crucifixion, resurrection, and His role in your salvation. “Son of God” announces His personhood in the Trinity, which, because of the Son’s relationship with the Father and the Spirit, summons them to listen to your plea as well. “Have mercy”- when someone begs for mercy, they have been subdued and are completely surrendering to the person who has overcome them. By declaring these words, you are surrendering all power, and in fact your entire self to God, however He sees fit. “On me”- this mercy is not a nebulous thing “around” you that makes your life “better”. By pleading for it, you are asking for something real to be put on you, like clothing. “A sinner”- you sign off this prayer by declaring your rebellion to God. You recognize that mercy is something that you do not have on your own, nor can you attain it by any power you have. You realize that you are at the end of your own capabilities.

Secondly, these are not simply words to say. The reason they are repeated so much is because otherwise, you will not actually believe them. They are very easy words to say, but hard words to believe. So by saying them over and over and over and meditating on them for a long time, you change your mind over them. You aren’t doing any magic to psych yourself out, or any mental jiu-jitsu to think it will work. Your whole body changes and becomes receptive to these words which you utter. From your voice, to your breath, to your heartbeat. And your mind changes accordingly.

Thirdly, this prayer keeps you from sins of thought, which, for me, anything that keeps me from a certain sin is worth doing for that reason alone. The way it does this is twofold. The first is that God does respond, and does actually have mercy on you, which means you don’t have to be the one fighting these temptations, because God does it for you. The second reason is practical. The brain likes to think. If you try to just keep it silent, then it will rebel, and will think about anything it can, from harmless curiosity to perverse fixations, which cannot be shaken. This is because God acts on the spiritual level, which is deeper than the conscious level, and our mind is bored. By having something to recite, we think about reciting the thing. I am no longer thinking about being angry because I hit my head, but am instead thinking about saying these words in this order, and moving my thumb accordingly. I am no longer thinking murderous thoughts, because my whole mind is focused on this one prayer.

The Jesus Prayer is an extremely versatile and good prayer, hence why it has survived for millennia, and I’m glad I got to learn the basics of how to pray it over the course of this trip.  This trip taught all of us a lot of things, and this was only one piece of the puzzle for what made this year’s mission as good as it was for me. It was a magical experience with a lot learned. May the peace of the LORD Jesus Christ go with you.

Adam Guillory is a senior Engineering major at Louisiana Tech and has blessed our community with his presence and joy since he showed up on our doorstep the fall of his freshman year. His wisdom, excitement, and tenacious desire to serve are a gift to The Wesley. Adam is passionate about swordsmanship, D&D, puns, and his friends. He will be serving his third year on our Discipleship Team this upcoming school year, and it has been a delight to see him grow in his faith.