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Jesus Prayer - text in Russian, how to pray correctly? Many have heard that only monks are allowed to recite the Jesus Prayer. But this is not true. Ignatius Brianchaninov, the Optina elders and other holy fathers said how important it is for the laity to say the Jesus Prayer. At the same time, they taught how to read the Jesus Prayer correctly and explained what its great power is.

The Jesus Prayer can be repeated in a short or long form. In short form, the text of the Jesus Prayer is most often pronounced not during the prayer rule, but while performing some other task. Here long and short forms of the text of the Jesus Prayer in Russian:

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

Lord have mercy!

It is always easier for us to understand the technique of the question (how many times to read the prayer? Is it better in the morning or evening?) than to delve into the essence of the question, namely: WHY do you need to read the Jesus Prayer, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT to read the Jesus Prayer, what is its GREAT POWER?

Meanwhile, if we understand exactly this, prayer itself and without any calculations will constantly sound in our heart. It is precisely this kind of mental Jesus prayer, beating in the heart incessantly night and day, that the holy fathers strove for for two millennia.

Ignatius Brianchaninov on the Jesus Prayer for the laity

To explain to us why the Jesus Prayer has such great power, Ignatius Brianchaninov draws a parallel with the prayer of the publican. Many people know this prayer. By the way, the Morning Prayer Rule (morning prayers) begins with it:

God, be merciful to me, a sinner!

The Gospel depicts a scene in the Temple when this short prayer of the publican God heard. Because it was said in sincere repentance. A the long-winded prayer of the Pharisee God rejected. Because she was vain, praising her own good deeds and condemning the sins of others.

Ignatius Brianchaninov says that in a long prayer our mind often becomes scattered, not allowing us to concentrate on the main thing that we would like to say to God in our prayer. And sincere, repentant prayer is always a cry, it is a cry from the soul. This is the first reason, Why short Jesus a prayer said with attention has incomparable greater strength than verbose, but inattentive and absent-minded prayers.

The second reason, why the Jesus Prayer is so powerful is obvious. When we say the Jesus Prayer, we pray in the name of God himself. During such prayer, the whole person is sanctified by the great name of Jesus Christ.

Optina elders about the stages of the Jesus Prayer

Venerable Barsanuphius spoke about three stages of growth when reading the Jesus Prayer:

• 1st stage is oral prayer when we need to make a great effort so that our mind does not wander while reading the Jesus Prayer.
• 2nd stage is smart-hearted prayer, when prayer occurs continuously, no matter what you are doing.
• 3rd stage - prayer creative who can move mountains. Not many saints were honored with such prayer.

How to read the Jesus Prayer correctly? How many times should I repeat?

Here is the most important thing you need to understand before you begin to constantly say the Jesus Prayer: It is not the number of repetitions of prayer that is important, but the spiritual mood in which it is pronounced. The Monk Leo of Optina Hermitage taught that the Jesus Prayer must be read in simplicity of heart.

The Optina elders advised the laity recite the Jesus Prayer as often as possible no matter what business they are doing. The Monk Ambrose of Optina said that the Jesus Prayer, according to the covenant of the Holy Fathers, can be said constantly, and when man walking, and when sitting or lying, and when eating, and when doing any kind of needlework. At the same time, you need to say the prayer with humility.

When Theophan the Recluse was asked, how to accustom yourself to the Jesus Prayer, he gave this advice: you need to stand (you can sit) in front of the icons and, focusing your attention in the place where your heart is, begin to slowly say the Jesus Prayer, constantly remembering the presence of God. Read like this for half an hour or more. At the very beginning of doing this it will be very difficult. Many thoughts will overcome you. But over time, a skill will appear and the prayer will begin to be pronounced like breathing.

Obviously, spiritual ascent requires attentive, unceasing prayer. This is exactly what the Jesus Prayer is designed to help with. The Holy Fathers said that it is easier to accustom yourself to the unceasing Jesus Prayer if repeat one form over and over again. At the very beginning, you need to pay more attention to the words: “have mercy,” “have mercy on me, a sinner,” pronouncing them with repentance and simplicity.

It's important to remember that a layman should not seek mental or heartfelt prayer. You cannot look for and wait for a surge of special feelings and spiritual pleasures. Elder Alexy Mechev said that main strength The Jesus Prayer in its simplicity. It needs to be read very, very simply. One should not think and dream about “doing prayer with the heart,” like the holy fathers and hermits. The feat of such prayer is very difficult, dangerous for new monks and impossible in the world.

Books about the Jesus Prayer

• Saint Theophan the Recluse. “On Spiritual Life and the Jesus Prayer”
• Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. "Teachings on the Jesus Prayer"
• Optina elders about the Jesus Prayer. “Do not abandon the Divine Prayer”

Andrey Kuraev about the Jesus Prayer “Lord, have mercy!” in Russian and Greek

Jesus Prayer “Lord, have mercy!” on Greek sounds like this: “Kyrie, eleison!” From the video you will learn how to accurately translate the Greek word “eleison” (have mercy) into Russian.

I would really like this article “Jesus Prayer - text, how to pray correctly?” turned out to be useful for you!

I wish you joy and patience in your spiritual growth!

(Transcript with minimal editing oral speech)

- Let's start today Dear friends, to study, read individual petitions from the Akathist to the Lord Jesus Christ, works unknown author, possibly the holy priest, presbyter of Jerusalem Hesychius, who lived in early Middle Ages. And let us pay attention to the first kontakion - this is the name of the short chant with which the akathist begins. What mood is it permeated with? Extreme reverence, fear and trembling, which a person should experience, God’s creation, daring to turn to God, the All-Wise, Almighty and All-Good. This kontakion says that we, recognizing in Christ the Conqueror of death, the One who rose from the tomb alive, approach Him as captives to the liberator, as prisoners to the one who opens the prison before them, as disciples blessed to the benefactor to the teacher, children to their father, warriors to the governor, or better said, the King of heaven and earth. And seeing misfortunes and sorrows around us, recognizing that many troubles have surrounded us on all sides, we, like little babies, fall at the feet of the Lover of God with the words: Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Thus, in each subsequent kontakion and ikos (and there are thirteen in total), we will hear a repetition of this prayer: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me (the word “me” in Slavic). It is not difficult to notice, guess, dear and dear listeners, that this is an abbreviated form of the Jesus Prayer, full text(or according to the Russian expression “pillar”), which sounds like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Therefore, the entire Akathist is nothing more than the repeated Jesus Prayer. But the use of this Akathist is made mandatory for all Christians, not only priests and monks, but also those living among noisy city, in the world, but not in a worldly way. But if we open the full prayer book, we will find the text of this Akathist, which each of us is called to read on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, adding it to our morning or evening rule.

Why does this Akathist occupy such an important place in our weekly prayer rule? Yes, because it represents a reflection on the Jesus Prayer, because by repeating “Hail Jesus” many times, we will inevitably see the gracious name of the Lord Jesus Christ imprinted on our mind and heart. This name is that same gospel pearl, having found which, a savvy merchant sold everything he had and hid this valuable bead in his heart.

“Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.” Let us remember where in the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament we will find similar confessions of Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, Christ, Messiah? Where can we find such meetings? ordinary people with the Lord, in which they, humbly bending their knees, did not ask for money, nor for power, nor for earthly success (on which our contemporaries were obsessed), but asked for the granting of mental and physical health, adding: “Have mercy on me, wake up have mercy on me, a sinner? So, mentally revealing Holy Bible, you probably remember the story where Christ, addressing the chosen apostles, asks them: “Who do you say that I am?” After all, there were all kinds of rumors among the people, and even negative ones, that Jesus of Nazareth was a deceiver and flatterer, deceiving the nations, and others similar to these blasphemies could be spread by malicious Pharisees and scribes among ordinary people. “Who do you say that I am? Is it for Elijah the prophet or for that prophet about whom Moses spoke: one day a great prophet will come to Israel, and everyone who listens to him will be saved, but whoever does not listen will be separated from the ways of the Lord? And what? On behalf of everyone, Peter then stepped forward, the most impetuous and ardent, loving Christ. more life, and said on behalf of all the apostles: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” This wonderful and famous confession of Peter, the confession of Jesus as the true Son of God, the true God in the flesh, and, as you understand, formed the basis of the Jesus Prayer.

However, not only Peter rightly believed in Christ. Let's remember another apostle - the Apostle Thomas, who did not make it to the Zion Upper Room the first time, when the apostles, frightened by the execution of Jesus Christ, gathered there and locked themselves tightly for fear of the Jews who killed Christ and were therefore ready to deal with His disciples. Thomas, who was not with the other apostles, hearing that the resurrected Teacher had appeared to them, then said: “If I don’t see it with my own eyes, I won’t believe it.” And a week later, when the Savior, out of His great compassion and love for the human race, appeared again in the Upper Room of Zion, this time Thomas had the happiness of beholding Christ who had conquered death. This time the apostle said: “My Lord and my God!” - in these words, confessing that Jesus Christ is true God and true Man, the God-man. But it is precisely on this rock of faith in the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ that His Church is founded.

Faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, is that vertical that connects earth with Heaven, that staff on which each of Christ’s disciples firmly rests. This faith is a victory that has conquered the world; it gives us genuine wings of prayer and hope that help us rise above this sinful earth. And no matter how much you leaf through the Gospel, everywhere you find evidence of a living, sighted, ardent faith in the deity of our Savior. Here is a blind man sitting at the exit to Jericho and shouting at the top of his lungs, not expecting that he will be heard, that anyone will pay attention to him: “Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me." And the Lord, contrary to the expectations of many, calls the blind man and restores his sight as a reward for his ardent faith in Him, Jesus Christ, not just as a prophet from Nazareth, not just as a Galilean teacher, but as the Almighty Eternal God, who took upon Himself our human nature, as the true Son of God, for whom nothing is impossible: He restores sight to the blind, and our Savior, with a single cry, calls Lazarus, a four-day dead man, from the crypt and places him alive before the sisters Martha and Mary.

So, no matter how much you look into the Gospel, we will see everywhere the foundations of our faith: the Savior is God and Man. Invoking Him in the Jesus Prayer, as St. Gregory of Thessaloniki used to say in the 14th century, is an internal need and at the same time a duty of every Christian, regardless of age, gender, rank and condition. In every place and at every time, we, compelled by love for the Sweetest Redeemer, are called to slowly and with attention, putting our minds into every word of prayer, to pronounce these wondrous words: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. And according to the Apostle Paul, there is no other name by which we must be saved under heaven. “And it will be,” said the Old Testament ancient prophet“that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This is the kind of grace that has been granted to us today, dear friends, and the Akathist to the Savior is therefore the favorite reading of our people. Whether we are sitting in the privacy of our own home, whether we are on the road, using public transport, or driving a car, with the help of a recording we can, if not read, then listen to this Akathist, the main decoration of which is the wonderful name of the Lord. Called with faith, it gives us the life-giving grace of the Holy Spirit.

Recorded by Aksinia Shmondenko

Do the math! There are only five words here. The Jesus Prayer contains five words, but these five words will take you across the five continents of the earth, five words will spread the heavens across the entire length and width of the world; five words will place you before the throne of God; five words will put Christ into you and make you close to Him.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! Today I would like to talk about this prayer. And not just: today I would like something even more daring - for us to offer this prayer, so that we don’t just talk about it, but at the same time - why not? - and lifted her up.

If you can, then where you are now, lift it up. If you are not doing something that requires complete concentration, then raise it to yourself. Try.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! I repeat it many times because someone may not have heard it properly, and someone does not know how to pray this prayer or knows its longer version: Lord Jesus Christ, Son and Word of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! Others pronounce it briefly, some only say: Lord have mercy!- third only: Jesus, have mercy on me!- and the fourth say only: My Jesus! And you say what you want, and say it how you want, it’s enough just to pronounce this name, and for it to be carved in your heart - the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, when you listen, it is not difficult for you to say this prayer to yourself, so that it flows like a stream, and when the transmission ends and you continue to do your daily activities, then you too say it constantly.

She is very strong. Saint Cosmas of Aetolia advised to create it. Wherever he went and wherever he stopped, since he learned it on Holy Mount Athos, in the Philotheus monastery, where he lived, he told people:

And you say a prayer. Take the rosary, they do not serve us for this purpose, so that we while away time with them in a cafe, but each knot means a word. And what word is pronounced in this prayer? The name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you call on the name of the Lord, you are calling Christ Himself to you.

We absolutize not prayer, but the Person to Whom prayer is raised - Christ, in Whom everything is

The power of this prayer is enormous. We do not absolutize any prayer, but we absolutize prayer as such, and most of all, the Person to Whom the prayer ascends, our Christ, Who is the absolute Good, Who is everything.

Christ is everything, and prayer is a reliable, direct, strong, beautiful way, thanks to which you healthyly cling to Christ and unite with Him. Prayer unites a person with Christ, and therefore we say that it has very great power. Any prayer. You say what you want, how you want, but only tell Christ. Do you want to say “Our Father”? "King of Heaven"? Psalms of David? Canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos? Akathist to the Virgin Mary? All this is good, but only the Jesus Prayer, these words: …

So I said it again. Is it hard for you to hear this? But don't let it be hard for you. May it not be hard for you to hear the name of Christ, the name of your Creator, the Creator, the One who loved you and died for you, who is now thinking about you and who is next to you, who cares about you and can give a solution to all your problems. Everything that occupies you, all decisions are concentrated in this Person, in Jesus Christ. May it not be difficult for you to hear the name of Christ, to speak to Him, to love Him.

This is very powerful prayer! IN " reference book spiritual advice,” in that book that talks about keeping the five senses, that is, about how a person can protect himself and be spiritually awake with his five senses, Saint Nicodemus the Holy Mountain says: “Advise people in the world, believers, to say the Jesus Prayer. It is not for only monks, but for everyone."

It would be good for all of us to say this prayer; it would be good to know that the person sitting opposite and listening to you has a common point of contact with you - he has the name of the Lord Himself and that common love that unites us. We say this for Him, and today we say to Him, Jesus Christ, and repeat: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!

The monks recite it all day long. At least a good monk, to be a real monk, should not be a “monk”, that is, alone, but should always be in company - in the company of prayer, and above all the Jesus Prayer, he should always wear a rosary in his hands, and more everything - in the heart. Each knot is lust, each knot is love, each knot is an offering, a praise, an invocation of this holy and almighty name, the name of the Lord.

The monk prays all day.

Where are you going? - someone said to a monk on the Holy Mountain, seeing him leaving the monastery without taking his rosary with him. - Does a warrior go to war without weapons?

Where do you go without your rosary? This is your weapon - the rosary, you always hold it in your hands, and so that the prayer passes from your hands to your mind, and from your mind to your heart. Then there will be no need for rosaries, and you will experience indescribable and unique experiences.

Let me tell you something, because I haven't forgotten. What haven't you forgotten? I have not forgotten what I say to people living in the world. Today I don't tell the monks. I know that I was daydreaming a little, and you, of course, think that... No, no, I’m telling this to you and about your problems. I know that you have your own problems: expenses, a child, illness, all sorts of difficulties in your marriage. Someone is preparing for something, someone is dreaming about something, someone is living with their pain and joy, with their various problems. Everyone has their own, and now one of you is saying:

Last time you spoke well to us about current, our, contemporary issues that concern us. What are you going to tell us now about the Jesus Prayer, the mental prayer intended for monks? What does this have to do with me?

It has. This applies to you too, because it is a way of putting Christ into Here and now of your life. Precisely because your life is multidimensional, there are many worries in it, you are split and fragmented, from morning to evening you have to do a lot of things and do not have time to do anything for God, to pray properly. That is why this prayer exists, which is called monologue, which means that it contains one word, one expression, one short saying, which, even if you say it to a small child, is only five words! - then he will learn it.

This way you focus. And there are no excuses for you, as you sometimes say:

I want to pray, but I don’t have time. I don’t know what to say, I have nothing to say in prayer.

You have something to say! Do you cook food? Say a prayer! Do you stir food in a saucepan? Every time you stir with a spoon, say: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! And while you are preparing food, God’s grace enters inside you, the entire fragrance of this name enters, the life-giving juices of this name enter.

The name of Jesus is full of life-giving juices, blessings, and strength. This prayer is very powerful. Oh, if we prayed it, if we lived it and enjoyed the feeling of Christ’s presence while creating it!

Do you know what it means to constantly say someone's name? Always say: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, call someone to come to you? When you say, for example: “My Jesus!”, “Holy Mother of God, help me!”, “Holy Angele!”, “Holy Nektarios!” - then won't they come? They will come.

When you call someone by name, the name expresses the presence and living sensation of the one you are calling. I'll tell you this with reverse side, With dark side: Magicians, in order to perform their witchcraft, call on the names of evil spirits. They also call names, and the spirits come. So the Lord, when you call on God, when you call on the name of Christ, He comes to where you are. When you have some problem and you say: “My Jesus! Jesus Christ!" - and you call Him, then Christ comes.

This is a lot, it’s not a lot at all - for us today to talk about this mystery, which brings such a distant God so close to us. If Christ comes to where you are now, into your room, and it is filled with His presence, then you will understand that next to you now is not only a bed, a table, a kitchen, pots, a TV and everything that you have there, but there is Someone Else next to you. Who is this? The one you called.

There is such a commandment in the Old Testament, where God says: “Be careful! Don’t take the name of the Lord in vain!” - that is, without honoring, without reverence, without loving, without “adoring” God. As they say, “clean your mouth first before you speak the name of God.”

It's scary to say His name. Why? Because His name is His presence: you call Christ and He comes. This is extremely large. He comes. Just think: so that Christ may enter into you when you call on Him.

He Himself says this:

Before you call on Me, I will tell you. You will call Me, and I will immediately tell you: behold, I have come! What do you want? Tell Me what you want Me to do for you.

And you tell Him:

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! That's what. I want You to have mercy on me.

When you pray the Jesus Prayer, you help the world: you fill the world with God's grace

We can say a lot of things about prayer, but, unfortunately, all this is not ours, everything is someone else’s. And if we were doing prayer, we would not make programs about prayer, but would live it, and would not talk about it, but would offer prayer, and the grace of prayer would spread everywhere without us making programs. This is what the monks do on the Holy Mountain, this is what the great saints did, who spoke very little, through force, spoke only and only good things to others and did not want to get out of this pleasure that they experienced and from this great offering to humanity . After all, when you pray the Jesus Prayer, you greatly help the world: you fill the world with Angels, God’s grace, and heavenly mercy.

Is it a little rude to tell you this? We are deeply covered in darkness, all of us, and we do not know very much about our Church. Oh, if we only knew what bread contains what we call mental prayer!

Saint Nicodemus the Holy Mountain turns to Christ in the “Akathist to Jesus Christ” and constantly says: “My Jesus! My Jesus!” - and then says different things to Christ. He says:

Jesus, I thank You for worthy of me with this great blessing and the gift of mental prayer.

This is something great, this is great art.

You say:

Well, there's a lot in the world we can't do.

You are right, but now you listen, and then you will go and do something and you can pray at the same time. Do you think God won't appreciate this? Do the little that you can in this life.

It is a good thing to call on the name of Jesus. If we pay attention, we will see that we do this constantly at the Holy Liturgy - we say: “Lord, have mercy!” Let's pray for peace from above - and two words: “Lord, have mercy!”

God help us! Give us Your mercy! Have mercy on us! Help us! Become what everyone needs! Have mercy on us!

Do you have a rosary? You don’t carry them with you, but hold them in your hand. You erase them, render them unusable from too much use, thin them down to a thread, but just - be careful - so that no one notices. When you hold a rosary and pray, only you, God and your confessor should know about it. What are you doing, how are you doing, did you feel anything, do you cry, do you have moments of tenderness, vision of God, a feeling of God’s presence, do you feel like you are leaving this world and experiencing what one grandmother told me the other day...

I prayed and said: “Take me, God, so that I die! I want to die now!” At that moment I said: “Let me die!”

But all this should not be visible. All this must happen in secret. The Jesus Prayer is a mysterious and intimate prayer, it is a loving experience, and, like all love, it is experienced in the innermost chambers human soul.

There is a secret room in the soul, there is a garden in the depths, which is reserved only for God. Nothing else should go into it, no one should know what we are doing, only our confessor and God. There is no need to show the rosary, they are not for demonstration, not for showing off, not for pretending to be great, but, as they say, When you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly .

Pray in secret, put this name into your mind, deep into your soul, carve this name inside: “My Jesus, my Christ” - this is the best seal, and then do not be afraid. Some ask what will happen with the Second Coming, with the Antichrist, with the seal. Let this name be our seal, so that you carve it in your heart, in your mind, in your soul.

Say to yourself: “My Jesus, my Christ, my God, my Lord,” but not formally, not technically, not methodically, not coldly, not monotonously, not as if performing some method and tactics, but give your heart, because that prayer requires the heart, prayer requires love, it requires a strong desire, it requires people in love with Christ, with the truth, with the saints, with the Church, with the heavenly world.

That's how things are. Today we are talking about difficult things, but we said that we will do the little that we can. Is it so difficult to do what we talked about now?

Is it difficult to pray? What's so difficult about it - to say: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me?!

This short prayer is very powerful, whether or not you understand it. That is, do something and you, you who don’t have time to read the Six Psalms, read the Canon of Prayer, you can constantly say the Jesus Prayer. Is it difficult? What's so difficult about it - to say: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me?

And the rest is about tenderness, about the feeling of God, whether you feel when God’s grace comes or not - this is not yours, but from God. God will give it when He wants, as He wants, as much as He wants, but you, however, can...

Do you have a mouth? Eat. Do you have a language? Eat. However, I will say something else: even if you are dumb, do you have a mind? Do you have a heart, do you have a soul? It is this soul that must speak. This soul must thaw, because it was frozen, like the glaciers, which are now, however, also melting. And they melt, so how can the soul not melt? It is from this name that she will gradually melt away.

This name is so hot, so fiery, so excellent that it melts any ice. My Jesus, my Christ, my Creator, my God! - the greatest prayer, the most powerful prayer!

(To be continued.)

Lord Jesus Christ, Son and Word of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother, have mercy on me, a sinner

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

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.

Lord have mercy.

Jesus Prayer in Church Slavonic:

Chosen Voivodo and Lord, hell to the winner,

for you have been delivered from eternal death, I will sing praises to You,

Thy creation and servant;

but, as if you have unspeakable mercy,

Free me from all troubles, calling:

Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.

They write a lot about the Jesus Prayer in different ways, so it’s easy to get confused. Some offer miraculous words as a panacea, without which it is impossible to be saved. Others sternly warn - this is a stumbling block: you can break on it, and instead of benefiting, you can get harm. Is such prayer necessary? Should we be afraid of it or, on the contrary, should we urgently adopt it?

We are cut from the same cloth, but the taste is different

We are all built the same way, and at the same time we are very different: in intelligence, in the level of Christianization, understanding of Orthodox teaching, depth of faith, abilities, temperament, inherent passions, and finally, in the degree of determination to follow Christ. What is good for one is death for another. By practicing prayer, you will have an idea of ​​its impact on:

• events;
• own transformation;
• surrounding people;
• changes in life.

You need to approach it thoughtfully. Listen to advice, but choose your path based on the experience of the saints. Follow their example, but don't copy. Adopt knowledge, but realize that their level of soul purification and ours are different as heaven from earth. We are cut from the same cloth, but we have individuality. You won’t know how it will manifest itself until you experience miracle prayers in your own skin.

The Mystery of the Jesus Prayer

Secret 1. True faith. The holy apostles said: We preach Christ crucified, that He is the Son of God and has risen. Essentially this is summary Gospels. The Jesus Prayer has the same quality. It contains Orthodox teaching, separating existing heresy (lies). True Christians believe that Jesus is not only a man, He is:

1. The Lord, that is, God.
2. Christ is the Messiah to whom the prophets testified.
3. The Son of God, who always existed (before the creation of the universe).

Secret 2. Repentance. A petition for mercy has been added to the Names of the Lord. A person believes: He who promised salvation will fulfill His word. In the end, we admit that we are sinners - this is a manifestation of humility, without which prayer will not be effective. The main goal of labor is to acquire:

• complete trust in God;
• true repentance (the Holy Spirit reveals sins gradually);
• the desire for humility, instead of pride and vanity;
• Grace, cleansing from passions.

Note: To some extent, similar goals apply to almost all prayers. Why is Jesus considered the strongest? Next, let's look at the main reasons why she is so exalted.

Secret 3. Name. The secret lies in the Name of the Lord. Returning from the sermon, the apostles told Christ in admiration: In Your Name even the demons obey us! In His Name they healed, put to death (those who hid the value of their property), and resurrected. The Lord Himself promised: everything that is asked in My Name will be given by the Heavenly Father.

Secret 4. Continuity. Demons are cunning and deceitful creatures that hate humans. Every second they wage war against us in order to destroy and plunge souls into hell. Their powers are superior to human ones, but not to God’s. There is a weapon against them - connection with the Lord through prayer. As soon as they “forgot” about God, they immediately became defenseless against evil spirits.

So that the enemy does not have time to take possession of us and does not instill his dirty tricks, the Jesus Prayer is read continuously. It becomes a shield protecting from demonic attacks. Since they cannot bear the Name of Christ and run away, the person is cleansed and freed from sins. He subjugates the passions inherent in the soul, not allowing the “occupiers” to control their own hearts.

Note: The Jesus Prayer has many more secrets, but for beginners it is enough to know this minimum in order to understand the purpose of reading it. Why is it needed, and is a Christian ready for it?

How do demons affect a person?

To corrupt and enslave the will, unclean spirits introduce thoughts. Before committing any sin, a thought arises in a person. He accepts it and begins to think about it. Even realizing that this is a thing harmful to the soul, he tries to resist, but is defeated by devilish cunning. I savored the crime a little in my mind, and then took it and committed it:

• I understand that overeating is harmful, but I can’t refuse;
• I know: love of money is evil, but I want, I want, I want..., and like a wound-up mechanism, a person spends his life acquiring more and more new “toys” that flatter his own vanity, beyond all measure;
• I know that drugs are death, but it’s impossible to resist;
• I feel like I’m living wrong, I need to change - but what the hell, I’m too lazy to even think about my salvation, etc., etc.

This is how passions and sins penetrate a person’s heart, becoming his essence, completely subordinating his will to themselves. A soul enslaved by the devil is deprived of freedom, doing not what it wants, but what the demons dictate.

The Lord brought us freedom

Many people don’t even know what real freedom is. And this is a most interesting (priceless) thing. After deliverance from slavery to sin (possible only with the help of Christ), this good is acquired. The Lord said: Believe in the Truth (the content of the Jesus Prayer), and It will make you free. What does it mean?

If you tell a mountain to be thrown into the sea, it will move from its foundations; if you want to cross the river as if it were dry land, go and do not be afraid. Need rain? Ask in the Name of the Lord, and heaven will obey you. Raise the dead, please! Would you say science fiction? No, my dears, this is the absolute truth. And there were such saints on earth.

Note: Yes, not everyone can do this. We have little faith, practically none, otherwise we would become saints. You must at least be aware of your weakness.

The Jesus Prayer is an ancient recipe for salvation

Psalm 136 contains the words: Blessed(having fellowship with God)who will break your heads(daughter of Babylon)babies on a stone. A person who does not know the interpretation may be confused by the text: what cruelty! In fact, it's simple. This is the recipe for salvation from the wiles of the devil:

1. Babies- the thoughts that he puts into our minds.
2. Stone- Christ.

They don’t have conversations or arguments with thoughts, they don’t savor them, they don’t wait for them to grow and plunge into sin. Without allowing them to settle in their minds while they are babies, they must be beaten with the Jesus Prayer, in His Name. Since thoughts are constantly swarming in my head, I pray incessantly.

Do the laity need prayer?

All the saints recommended reading the Jesus Prayer to the laity. People can at least partially try its effect on themselves. Another thing is whether it will work or not. It all depends on the person himself. There are several stages of mastering it that the prayer goes through:

1. Verbal- read aloud in solitude to hear yourself, train attention, and get rid of distraction.
2. Smart– if you are not alone, but there is an opportunity, pray silently (you can practice simultaneously with the first). Depending on the situation.
3. Active- do everything the same, but increasing attention, concentration, thoughtfulness in the meaning, connecting a repentant and humble spirit, allocating more time to prayer. You have to learn this. Be patient until the skill comes.

You cannot skip steps. First, they master the first, second, third, consolidating and checking whether this is done correctly. At these stages there is nothing dangerous for a layman, but the subsequent stages are practiced only under the supervision of a mentor:

• smart-hearted;
• self-propelled and so on.

Note: Due to my busy schedule, it will not be possible to read the prayer continuously. If you wish, you can find at least a little time to test your strength. Who knows, maybe you are a future saint, and everything will work out (with the help of the Lord, of course).

Can prayer cause harm?

There is no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked. Warnings about danger (despondency, obsession, delusion, sorrow) concern not prayer, but man. As soon as he sees the benefits and fruits, the devil hooks pride. The one who prays is no longer in humility; he thinks of his high position, attributing merit to himself, and not to God. The Lord retreats, and the devil begins to take revenge. He cannot touch the humble.

Conditions for mastering the Jesus Prayer

During prayer, you cannot imagine anyone, draw images, even good impressions and thoughts must be left out of consciousness. Mental silence is necessary. At the first stage, there will always be something distracting, interfering, hindering, yawning, but you learn to keep the Spirit of repentance and humility within yourself, without scattering your mind for any reason. Not right away, but the skill will come. What is needed for this:

• Understand the meaning of each word.
• It is correct to determine the purpose for which you turn to the Lord.
• The possibility of privacy, both physical (especially when you decide to devote a certain amount of time to prayer) and internal (pray even when there is noise around you).
• Gradually strive for consistency.
• Maintain moderation - get tired, leave, distract yourself with other things.

The words of prayer will become a lifesaver always and everywhere: in front of the boss’s office, exams, problems that have arisen, even if you are flying towards an oncoming car, two seconds before the collision you will have time to shout (out loud or in your mind): Lord, have mercy! This is also the Jesus Prayer, an abbreviated version.

Conclusion: The brevity and simplicity of the Jesus Prayer make it accessible to all people. Its power against passions and demons has been tested for centuries. First you learn it - then it itself will teach you, or rather the Holy Spirit abiding in you. An indicator that you are praying correctly is joy, growing love for your neighbors, for people, for God.