Unceasing prayer for the world

[Justin Farr]

How is this accomplished? I know that the Jesus Prayer is "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!" But monks unceasingly pray for all the world. And when my sinful soul moves from its despondency and does pray this prayer, I feel as if I am being far too selfish in constantly calling upon the Lord our God to have mercy on only myself! So I was reading the book "A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain" today and read text saying that the hermit the character visited with constantly prayed for the world with "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me [the sinner] and on Thy world!" Is this an acceptable form of the Jesus Prayer? Or do I have it all wrong and am taking the monastics' "unceasing prayer for the world" too literally?

Thanks!

Love,
Justin

[Effie Ganatsios]

No, Justin you aren't. This is what monastics all over the world do, not only Orthodox but all monastics. Jesus is the Word, and how powerful that Word is.

We can help by praying but monks and nuns have dedicated their lives to helping the world by prayer.

Elder Paisios on this subject :

"The monk departs far from the world not because he hates it, but because he loves it. In this way he will, through his prayer, help the world more in those matters that are, being humanly impossible, only possible by God's intervention. This is how God saves the world. The monk never says: "I will save the world". Instead, he prays for the salvation of the whole world, along with his own. When the Good God hears his prayer and helps the world, he does not say: "I saved the world", but "God saved the world".

In a few words, monks are the "radio operators" of Mother Church, and therefore, if they depart far from the world, they do it out of love, departing from the distractions of this world in order to be in better contact with God and help people more effectively."

Our own unceasing prayer can be the Jesus Prayer, the Lord's prayer, even the thought of God held close to us all through the day. We can also pray for the world during our regular morning and evening prayers. And don't forget the daily liturgy in which the world is prayed for.

Justin, the Jesus Prayer is not selfish. We pray "Have Mercy on me" and to my mind that doesn't mean that we are pleading only that our personal sins be forgiven and that we can then rest easy. I read that the word "mercy" here can also mean "grace" and that as our souls are stripped of various sins each day - sort of like onion skins - we become closer to God and can therefore help more in our own environment. Helping ourselves in this way, helps others and slowly, slowly, this will have a ripple effect and goodness will destroy evil. The yeast that makes the bread rise - working silently but effectively. I know I've mixed all my metaphors but this is the way I see it.

Effie

[Justin Farr]

Thank you for the very informative and helpful post, Effie! While reading it, something sprang to mind. Doesn't the Church teach that everyone's sin is my own sin, or something to that effect?

[Andreas Moran]

"O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me [the sinner] and on Thy world!" Is this an acceptable form of the Jesus Prayer? Or do I have it all wrong and am taking the monastics' "unceasing prayer for the world" too literally?

This variant of the Jesus Prayer and other variants are to be found in the writings of Elder Sophrony: see his book, 'On Prayer'. When the prayer is said liturgically in church at the monastery here (which it is for four hours a day most days), the person saying the prayer for 100 times may change for the final 10 times from 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon us', to 'Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and upon Thy whole world'. The word 'sinners' is not included since we do not call others sinners. I seem to think that someone told me that the conversation between the hermit and Metropolitan Hierotheos (as he now is) who wrote the book referred to is a kind of setting for his conversations with Elder Sophrony whose disciple he is. Metropolitan Hierotheos used to visit the monastery here every summer when Elder Sophrony was in this life. His books are full of references to the Elder and his writings.


I feel as if I am being far too selfish in constantly calling upon the Lord our God to have mercy on only myself!

I once read, but can't remember where, of a visitor to the Holy Mountain asking an elder if he wasn't selfish in praying, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner'. The elder replied, 'we are all one'.

[Moses Ibrahim]

I once heard this from someone, when saying the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me) the me part is also including the Church, our fellow brothers in our prayer to God. However, if you still have any doubts, you can also say this, (Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us) which includes the whole world should you desire to do so.

[Nina]

I once heard this from someone, when saying the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me) the me part is also including the Church, our fellow brothers in our prayer to God. However, if you still have any doubts, you can also say this, (Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us) which includes the whole world should you desire to do so.

We were taught by spiritual parents (monks and nuns) to say not only the standard forms of the Prayer (Jesus Prayer), but also what Justin has mentioned. What we were taught to say are these variants:

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner and all the world."
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us [can add the word sinners here also]."