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The Power of the Jesus Prayer
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Jonathan Smith
(Book)
Product code: 1500831
ISBN: 978 1 84417 440 9
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This is an all-inclusive prayer that has been used by many different Christian denominations. The prayer has a long tradition, popular since the 6th century.
The book can be used in a group, as each chapter has practical suggestions and discussion points, but it can also be used by individuals to enrich their personal prayer life. It shows how our lives can be changed and how our relationships with God and each other can be transformed and deepened.
The prayer itself is very simple, and the book is accessible, practical and deeply prayerful.
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Featured Comment
Posted by:
Jonathan Smith (Author)
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I wrote the book as the result of reflection on my own spiritual life, and because I am aware that I need simple foundations to make that life real. Over the years the Jesus Prayer has become one of the “rocks” of that foundation for me, and I wanted to explore that further and share what I had discovered. In matters of regular spiritual practise I don’t find that I am that self-disciplined – I think quite a lot of us find that to be the case. However, the Jesus Prayer is both simple and profound. It cuts through the difficulties and leads us on to have more energy and discipline in other areas of your life.
The other important and helpful thing about the prayer is the way that it can be integrated into a busy life. As well as using the prayer at times set aside for it, it can be used as a part of our daily life, linking that life to our faith.
The book is only one person’s experience of the Jesus Prayer, but I hope that there is enough that most people can relate to. The first part of the book is about what could be called the “mechanics” of using the prayer. I have included this because I spent quite a lot of time not sure that I was using it in the right way, an equal amount of time reading about it to find out more, and yet more time discarding some of the instructions that obviously did not apply to my situation. The intention is that the book should present a simple introduction to the use of the prayer, with enough flexibility to suit most people.
In the second part of the book I have written a little about the meaning of the prayer. One can only hope just to scratch the surface, though, because the meaning of the prayer grows with practise. My practise of it leads me to believe that I shall not fully understand the meaning of the Jesus Prayer any time soon.
I hope that the book will be useful both to those who already know the prayer, and also to those who are looking for a practical discipline to use in every day life. It goes without saying that I am not an expert in the Jesus Prayer – I doubt that such a thing is possible – but I hope my experience will encourage others to explore it for themselves.
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