“The Jesus Prayer has historically been passed on face-to-face, from one Christ-loving person to the next, down the generations ever since the desert saints. It is learned in a community of fellow-believers, all of whom are aware of their need and sin, trying daily to resist temptation better and love God more. As you form the habit of saying this prayer in the back of your mind all the time, it soaks into you, like dye into cotton, and colors the way you encounter every person and circumstance you meet…”
Frederica Mathewes-Green offers the most comprehensive book to date on the Jesus Prayer – a spiritual jewel for anyone who yearns for a real and continuous presence with Christ. She illuminates the history, theology, and spirituality of Orthodoxy, so that the Prayer can be understood in its native context, and provides practical steps for making it a part of our being.
| Even if you don't believe that Paul's admonition to "pray without ceasing" or "pray constantly" was meant to be taken literally, you'll find much to ponder in this lucid account of the history, the meaning, and - especially - the practice of the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." Most fo the exposition is in a reader-friendly question-and-answer format. |
| Christianity Today |
| October 2009 |
