The Jesus Prayer is the short, ancient prayer at the heart of the Orthodox spiritual tradition: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” In these few words the whole Gospel is confessed, the name of Jesus, His divine Sonship, and the sinner's plea for mercy. It can be shortened to “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,” or simply to His name.
Its power is not in the words as a formula but in the turning they carry. The Fathers of the desert taught the ceaseless calling on the name of Jesus as the way the mind descends into the heart and stands, at last, in the presence of God. Prayed slowly, with the breath, in the quiet, it gathers the scattered self and gives it a single, steady direction.
The prayer is for everyone, not only monks, but it is best begun under a guide, kept simple, and never turned into a technique or a count to achieve. It is a cry for mercy, and mercy is its whole reward. Prayed on the komboskini, one soft calling per knot, it becomes the rhythm of an ordinary day.