Sacrament Of The Ordinary Life

The Practice of the Jesus Prayer.

Just when, where and how do we begin the practice?  There are several books on the Jesus Prayer and a multitude of websites, each giving their own spin on the “how to” of the Jesus Prayer.  However, my goal is to present Spiritual Formation as simplistically as possible to create a sacramental life for ordinary people.  Though we may at time desire to run off to a monastery in order to cultivate a prayer life, most of us will never be able to.  For what it is worth here are my suggestions as to how to begin.  Start small.  Carve 5 minutes out of your day to still yourself.  Get comfortable but not too comfortable, you just might just fall asleep.  Begin saying the Jesus Prayer and repeat it again and again. Each day increase the time you spend in prayer.  You will soon find yourself easily saying the Jesus Prayer when you are doing mundane chores such as the dishes or mowing the lawn.  You may want to get a length of cord  that you can tie knots in to make your own prayer rope to track your prayers.  I made my cord 18" long with 10 knots so it easily fit in my pocket.  As you pray, finger one knot then move on the next knot and say the prayer again.  When you reach the end of your rope... begin praying down the rope again. The rope is not necessary but it helps you to focus to begin with. You will soon find out that can finger the rope in your pocket, say the prayer silently and listen to that workshop lecture or your bosses instructions.  Some people can even carry on a conversation with another and silently pray the Jesus prayer silently at the same time - pray without ceasing.