Pray Always

I don’t know the full history of the Jesus prayer, but recently I keep tripping over it. The first reference I read was years ago. A Russian peasant seeking wisdom and peace is told to pray “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” He travels for years seeking understanding, only to discover that reciting the prayer unceasingly was his source of peace. 

Recently, I stumbled over it again, and the writer questioned, “how does one pray without ceasing when we are constantly interrupted by everyday life?” Mystics have written about it.  More recently, I read a week of Father Richard Rohr’s meditations on it.

How does one pray without ceasing?

As I sit writing this, the sun is rising over my backyard. The beans in my garden are climbing poles as the sunlight glistens on the dew that covers all. Perhaps the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ that we pray for is like the dew that covers everything I see.

Sometimes I think to myself I would like to work in the yard now, but I will get soaked. I tell myself I should wait. I see it as a problem. I hesitate as if it is something bad.

Perhaps the dew is a beautiful blessing that I should let soak me through and through because the love and mercy of Christ is shining through it and everything I touch. What if the dew is a blessing and not a curse? What if my perception that something seems difficult, or unpleasant, or inconvenient is the curse, because it keeps me from seeing the light of Christ’s mercy on me? What if by hesitating I am failing to share mercy and light with all that I encounter?

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. Give me the strength to recognize the blessings and your love that is in everything I see, and touch, and am. May your light shine on me, through me, from me. Lord, give me the strength to pray unceasingly and never hesitate. Lord Jesus Christ HAVE MERCY ON ME!

This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.