The Jesus Prayer

It has been said to me lately by a few people that I am not one to stress. For the most part I think this is probably a true observation, but over the past few weeks I'm not so sure. I don't like to show worry on the outside, but as with most people we fight a lot of internal battles that we don't often want to share. This semester has become much more difficult then I ever imagined it would when I went about setting up my school year, but I don't feel like I can drop anything that I am doing at the moment. If I can make it through to this time next month life will begin to become easier, but in the mean time I feel like I am doing 100 different things, but not doing any one of those well.
There is a running joke amongst people who have been to seminary that the name is cemetery. There is a certain truth to that statement. It can be a difficult environment, and one that can lead to a spiritual death very quickly. The academics can be demanding, and in trying to keep up with the demands of schoolwork, church schedules, finances, and other meetings, conferences, and commitments it is very easy to forget that this is a calling from God. It's easy to forget to sometimes stop and listen. The one thing that is helpful right now is a class on historical models of prayer. This week’s assignment is simple and probably very much needed. It is simply to give five minutes a day to a simple single prayer:

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me"

"Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱέ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν."