Not a talisman
The Jesus Prayer is not some talisman. Its power comes from faith in the Lord, and from a deep union of mind and heart with Him. With such a disposition, the invocation of the Lord’s Name becomes very effective in many ways. But a mere repetition of the words does not signify anything.
--Theophan the Recluse
Mechanical repetition leads to nothing
Do not forget that you must not limit yourself to a mechanical repetition of the words of the Jesus Prayer. This will lead to nothing except a habit of repeating the prayer automatically with the tongue, without event thinking about it. There is of course nothing wrong with this, but it constitutes only the extreme outer limit of the work.
The essential thing is to stand consciously in the presence of the Lord, with fear, faith and love.
--Theophan the Recluse
[Igumen Chariton of Valamo, The Art of Prayer (Faber and Faber, 1966), pp 99-100, 104-105]
Posted by Clifton at November 3, 2006 05:24 AM | TrackBack