A prayer to jesus

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Three Methods:Praying the Lord’s PrayerBenefiting Emotionally From PrayerPraying TechniquesCommunity Q&A

If you want to understand prayer life, or if you are just curious about choosing how to pray, you will learn about different techniques and methods you might use to pray to Jesus. You will learn many tips on where and when to pray. And you can pattern your prayers after Jesus’ recommendation on how to pray in the Bible. Also, you will find out how prayer can help you manage your emotions in healthy ways.

Method 1 Praying the Lord’s Prayer

1. Know the context of the Lord’s prayer.

   This prayer is directed toward God; however, Jesus in John 10:30 says “I and my Father are one”. The Lord’s prayer is found in Matthew 5-7. These passages also contain the Sermon on the Mount and Beatitudes (blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted). The sermon on the mount is about the importance of God’s place in the inner life as opposed to doing religion for appearances.

   • Jesus condemns the religious officials who have been showing off their righteousness in public.
   • Jesus says true righteousness belongs to those who are the lowest: those who mourn, those who are poor, those who are meek, even though they do not give the appearance of righteousness.
   • For example, Jesus says in Matthew 6:5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them.”
2. Choose for example to go into your room, close your door and pray to Jesus.

   This is one of Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 6:6 on how to pray. Jesus goes on to say, “And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” Find a room or a private space where you can be alone, and pray to God there. Feel comforted by the presence of God “who sees in secret.”

   • This is not the only place you can pray. You can also “pray without ceasing” (wherever you may be you can be prayerful) as Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians.
   • Paul also described speaking in tongues as a good way to pray He said ” I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all” 1 Corinthians 14:18 (See also 1 Corinthians 14:2,4-5, and14-15)

1. Keep the recitation of the Lord’s prayer concise.

   Jesus in Matthew 6:7 says “When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that that by their many words they will be heard.” During this time people may have been praying using certain rituals, recitations, and incantations, but you do not need these to pray to Jesus.

   • Additionally, you do not need to talk about your problems when you recite the Lord’s prayer. When you pray in general, or at a different time, you can talk to Jesus about your problems.
   • Jesus follows up the previous verse with this warning in verse 8, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
2. Meditate on the Lord’s prayer.

   You can read the Lord’s prayer out loud or to yourself. Read it slowly so that the meaning of each verse can sink in. Jesus said in Matthew 6:9-13,

   Pray, then in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

   • “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name” helps you direct your attention to God who is beyond your ability to see or comprehend.
   • ”Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” helps you form an attitude of willingness toward taking part in what is being done on earth and engaging with the world around you.
   • ”Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” means that you rely on the goodness of God to provide for you the things you need. You also let go of the things that needy people owe to you, thus you should not demand to receive payment. Not forgiving debts of the poor displeases God, for you were forgiven a debt of sin you could never pay.
   • “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” could mean different things for different people. Not everyone shares the same things they do that they wish they would not do. However, whatever things you struggle with, ask for God’s help to overcome those things.
   • “For yours is the kingdom and power and glory forever” is not found in early manuscripts; however, it can give closure to your prayer and refocus you on the awe inspiring nature of God.

Method 2 Benefiting Emotionally From Prayer

1. Talk to Jesus about your anger and difficult emotions.

   You can use your prayers to Jesus to tell Him about the difficult things that are going on in your life. Praying can be helpful for coping with emotions like frustration and pain. If you can let out your anger during prayer rather than in daily life or in your relationships, then it can become an emotional support that you can use to calm you down.

   • When something bad happens to you, for example, you lose your job, you can pray to Jesus to help process your emotions and find relief from your stress. Give your words of frustration, anger or fear over this loss to Him.
   • You can use the Psalms as guides in how to pray through hard times. For example, in Psalm 4 the Psalmist asks that God to give him relief for his distress.
2. Assure yourself that Jesus loves you.

   Remember that God made you in His image, and Jesus loves and His Spirit accompanies you on your journey. He wanted you to choose to repent, to seek to please God and acknowledge Him in all you do, just the way you are: Free to choose to follow His plan to be saved. When you are having a hard time loving yourself, remind yourself that Jesus came to this earth and died, in part, because of His great love for you. His grace passes all understanding.

   • Remember John 15:11-13: These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment,
     • ‘That you love one another, as I have loved you, and greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,.
3. Understand the difficult things that have happened to you in a new light.

   In your prayers to Jesus you have an opportunity to reconsider why things have happened to you. Perhaps when you reconsider your circumstances you will be better able to understand how God could be using something bad in your life for good.

   • For example, although you have lost your job, you have been able to spend a lot more time with your kids.
   • Consider the beatitudes. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12) says that “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”.
4. Concentrate on your connection to Jesus in tough moments.

   Going to Jesus in prayer when you are going through a hard moment can help shield you from the negative emotions that you are experiencing. For example, if someone you love is

   sick

   or in surgery, you may need to take a moment and refocus on Jesus and take comfort in his presence and strength.

   • Although you should use Jesus as a support, continue to support others and allow other people you are with to support you as well. Continue to stay present with your loved ones and share with them the routine, the joy and pain of what they or you are experiencing.
5. Think about how Jesus would handle the situation you are in.

   It can be helpful to use the model of Jesus and his practices of love and compassionate to help give you the understanding you need to face your life. While you pray about the situations in your life, consider the ways Jesus would respond.

   • If you are having difficulty at work with someone who has interrupted your career by receiving the promotion you desired/deserved, you can think about Jesus-like responses to the situation. For example, in Luke 6:27, Jesus says “But I say to you who hear,

     Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

Method 3 Praying Techniques

1. Pray daily in a consistent place and at a regular time.

   Find regular times and places where you can take a break, and take time out to pray. Look for a quiet place in your building at work where you can go to pray during your breaks, for example. Or go into nature to pray, and find a place by a great tree in a park. You can mark off a consistent time in your schedule to go to this place.

   • Set a daily alarm to go off in your phone or make a repeating email reminder for yourself.
   • Go to the place you do your prayers, and sit there until you are ready to pray.
2. Take on whatever posture makes you feel comfortable.

   For instance kneel, fold your arms in front of you, and close your eyes to pray is a suggested posture.

   • Try different postures depending on where you are. For example, if you are praying in a park you might cross your legs, and lay your hands on your knees.
3. Express gratitude, and talk to God as He is your Father who cares about you.
   • Don’t make demands, instead ask for help from your father for guidance, peace, and comfort. End the prayer “in the name of Jesus” when you pray to God through Jesus.
4. Try letting your thumb and each of your fingers of either hand represent an important part of life that needs attention in prayer.

   Pray for your family, your teachers, your government officials, the poor, and yourself.

   • The thumb can represent your family and the close relationships that are your supports. It is the most sturdy finger, and that is why it represents the family.
   • The index finger, as a pointing finger, can be the finger that represents guidance in your life, or it might stand for those who show you the way and help you. For example, this could be bosses, pastors, teachers, mentors, friends, and even those who provide you health care like your doctors and nurses..
   • The middle finger is the tallest finger on your hand, and it can be used to remind you to pray for the people in power in your country and in the world: government officials, world leaders, politicians, etc.
   • The ring finger is the weakest finger and therefore may remind you to pray for those who are people who are suffering from poverty and any ailments they do not wish to have.
   • The last, smallest finger represents yourself. Don’t forget to pray for yourself.
5. Experiment with ways to pray that work the best for you.

   Use objects or play music to help focus you on your prayer. For example, pray while looking at a beautiful painting, if you are a visual person. Or you can read a book on prayer or write in a journal. Don’t try to fit yourself into any container of what you think a prayer should be.

   • Perhaps you need to be doing something with your hands while you pray. You can use rosary beads and repeat prayers for each bead, or you can doodle flowers in your notebook as you pray.
   • You can also sing your prayers. Singing prayers can be a joyous way to express your feelings in an outward way.

Community Q&A

Add New Question

• Can l pray in my heart without talking?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Certainly, your heart and soul are easily heard by the Lord.

• Do I have to shout when I am praying?

  wikiHow Contributor

  You do not have to shout, God is not hard of hearing in that sense. You can whisper or regularly speak your prayer. If you want to shout, you can, it’s totally up to you but unanswered prayers are not to do with deafness, they’re more to do with what you’ve asked for and how you need to discover they’ve been answered.

• I often fall into deep sleep in my bed while praying at the end of day, and don’t get to the “praise you, God” and “thank you for everything, God” part of my prayer. Or close it with “Jesus, wonderful name, amen.”

  wikiHow Contributor

  Your main prayer time should be done in the morning so you can pray about the day ahead. You still may pray at the end of the day, but it doesn’t need to be very long.

• Will praying to Jesus help me clear my mind of the things I am afraid of?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Yes. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but also the spirit of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). When you are afraid, your mind is not sound, so any fear of that sort doesn’t come from God. Christ will triumph over it for you.

• What is the perfect time to pray?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Any time at all! Sometimes it is best to sit in a room on your own where it is peaceful, or when you’re in a group of Christians.

• What should I say at the start and end of my prayer?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Maybe start with “Lord, thank you for what you have given me” and end with “in Jesus’s name, amen.”

• I never know what to pray for or about. Can you help me to pray better?

  wikiHow Contributor

  You can pray about your day, thank God about what He has given you, and what He did for you that day.

• How do I focus my mind while I am praying?

  wikiHow Contributor

  I’d recommend turning off music and all the other things that might distract you. If you want to listen to music while praying choose some calm music (maybe for meditation). If you feel you can’t keep your mind from wandering include the things you unintentionally think about in your prayer.

• I recently prayed to Jesus for help and guidance with my anger issues. While I was praying my radio was on and a segment about controlling anger came on. How do I know if it is him answering?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Jesus heard you and that is likely him giving you a sign that he will guide you through your issues. He wants you to do anger management as part of your lifestyle.

• How can I stay focused on praying?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Pray like you are simply talking to a friend. Imagine Jesus sitting with you as you pray. If your mind wanders, ask for forgiveness.

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Categories: Christianity | Prayer

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Español: orar a Jesús, Português: Orar a Jesus, Italiano: Pregare Gesù, Deutsch: Beten, Русский: молиться Иисусу, 中文: 向耶稣祷告, Français: prier Jésus, Bahasa Indonesia: Berdoa Kepada Yesus, Čeština: Jak se modlit k Ježíši, 한국어: 예수님께 기도하는 방법, Tiếng Việt: Cầu nguyện cùng Chúa Giêsu, Nederlands: Bidden tot Jezus

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Dear Lord, You are the Just judge, Holy and True. You are the Most High God. You give us life. You hold all power in your hands.

You are the Mighty one from God who carries the world, and is ruler over all the earth. You Oh Most Blessed One are the giver of life.

In you are only good things. In you is mercy and love. In you is healing of the nations. In you is freedom of worry and freedom of pain.

Lord Almighty, You loved us so much. You were sent from your Father, sent to save us from destruction.

We truly can never make it to Heaven without the help of Jesus the Son, who was sent to earth to help us.

You, Lord are full of mercy and grace, please forgive us for our faults. Lord Jesus, in you all healing is performed.

You Lord are the miracle worker. In your Spirit, your gift of healing is alive. In you Lord we can put our trust that you can heal us, and protect us from the enemy, and death of our soul.

You, Lord are miracle worker for the sick, and for the lost souls. You, Lord forgive us and save us from condemnation.

You cleanse us and make us born again new. You give us a clean heart full of peace. You Lord are the Light.

In You is all truth. Your way Lord is the way to Heavenly Hope. Your hands Lord created the universe. You Lord are the True giver of Life. Every child is a miracle of Life. Life rests in Your Hands.

Wrap us as a close knit family, draw us near to you Lord, and bind us with your Loving Hands.

Let us be drawn closer to You. You are the Vine, dear Lord and we are the branches. You carry all knowledge and all power.

You Lord are our medicine. Your Words Lord are Truth and Life.

Help us put our trust in You. You Lord are the greatest physician.
You heal, You protect, You care, You love, You are kind, You are patient, You are thoughtful, You are strength. You Lord are our Creator.
You know our thoughts, our sighings and our cryings and every hair on our head. You are Wonderful and make all good things for us. Heal us Lord, if it be Your will.

Amen

HEALING PRAYERS: POWERFUL PRAYERS FOR OVERCOMING SERIOUS ILLNESS AND HEALING THE SICK

www.sainttherse.com

The most normal form of unceasing prayer in the Orthodox tradition is the Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer is the form of invocation used by those practicing mental prayer, also called the “prayer of the heart”. The words of the prayer most usually said are “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”. The choice of this particular verse has a theological and spiritual meaning.

First of all, it is centered on the name of Jesus because this is the name of Him whom “God has highly exalted”, the name given to the Lord by God Himself (Лк. 1:31), the “name which is above every name” (Флп. 2:9-10, Еф. 1:21).

…for there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved (Деян. 4:12).

All prayer for Christians must be performed in the name of Jesus: “if you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (Ин. 14:13-14).

The fact that the prayer is addressed to Jesus as Lord and Christ and Son of God is because this is the center of the entire faith revealed by God in the Spirit.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

And Jesus answered, “Blessed are you… for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heave… and on this rock I will build my Church…” (Мф. 16:16-18).

That Jesus is the Christ, and that the Christ is Lord is the essence of the Christian faith and the foundation of the Christian church. To believe and proclaim this is granted by the Holy Spirit.

…no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit (1Кор. 12:3).

…every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Флп. 2:11).

In calling Jesus the Son of God is to acknowledge God as His Father. To do this is, at the same time, to have God as one’s own Father, and this too is granted by the indwelling Spirit.

And when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” (Гал. 4:4-6).

When we cry “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God… (Рим. 8:15-16).

Thus, to pray “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” is already to be a child of God, and already to be certain that the Holy Spirit is in you. In this way, the Jesus Prayer brings the Spirit of God into the heart of man.

“Have mercy on me a sinner” is the publican’s prayer. When uttered with humble conviction it brings divine justification (Лк. 18:9-14). Generally speaking, divine mercy is what man needs most of all. It is for this reason that the numberless repetition of the request for the Lord’s mercy is found everywhere in the prayers of, the Church.

And finally, all men are sinners. To know this is a fact, and to confess it with faith is to be justified and forgiven by God (Рим. 3:10-12, Пс. 14:1-3).

The Jesus Prayer basically is used in three different ways. First as the verse used for the “prayer of the heart” in silence in the hesychast method of prayer. Second as the continual mental and unceasing prayer of the faithful outside the hesychast tradition. And third as the brief ejaculatory prayer used to ward off temptations. Of course, in the actual life of a person these three uses of the prayer are often interrelated and combined.

In the hesychast method of prayer the person sits alone in a bodily position with his head bowed and his eyes directed toward his chest or his stomach. He continually repeats the prayer with each aspiration and breath, placing his “mind in his heart” by concentrated attention. He empties his mind of all rational thoughts and discursive reasoning, and also voids his mind of every picture and image. Then, without thought or imagination, but with all proper attention and concentration he rhythmically repeats the Jesus Prayer in silence – hesychia means silence – and through this method of contemplative prayer is united to God by the indwelling of Christ in the Spirit. According to the fathers, such a prayer, when faithfully practiced within the total life of the Church, brings the experience of the uncreated divine light of God and unspeakable joy to the soul. Its purpose is to make man a servant of God.

…the mind when it unites with the heart is filled with unspeakable joy and delight. Then a man sees that the Kingdom of heaven is truly within us.

When you enter the place of the heart… give thanks to God, and praising His mercy, keep always to this activity, and it will teach you things which you will learn in no other way.

…when your mind becomes established in the heart, it must not remain idle, but it should constantly repeat the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!” and never cease.

For this practice, keeping the mind from dreaming, renders it invincible against all suggestions of the devil and every day leads it more and more to love and longing for God (St. Nicephorus, Discourse on Sobriety).

To practice the hesychast method of prayer requires always and without exception the guidance of a spiritual guide, one must not use this method unless one is a person of genuine humility and sanity, filled with all wisdom and peace. To use this method without guidance or humble wisdom, is to court spiritual disaster, for the temptations that come with it are many. Indeed, the abuses of the method became so great in recent centuries that its use was greatly curtailed. Bishop Theophan tells that the bodily postures and breathing techniques were virtually forbidden in his time since, instead of gaining the Spirit of God, people succeeded only “in ruining their lungs” (The Art of Prayer, lgumen Chariton).

Such abusive and abortive used of the method – itself something genuine and richly rewarding were already known in fourteenth century Byzantium when St. Gregory Palamas defended the tradition. And evidence exists from as early as the fourth century to show that even then people were using the prayer foolishly and to no avail by reducing it to a “thing in itself” and being captivated by its form without interest in its purpose. Indeed, the idolatrous interest in spiritual technique and in the pleasurable benefits of “spirituality” and “mysticism” are the constant temptations of the spiritual life – and the devil’s most potent weapon. Bishop Theophan called such interest “spiritual hedonism”; John of the Cross called it “spiritual gluttony” and “spiritual luxury”. Thus, by way of example from various times and places, come the following admonitions.

Those who refuse to work with their hands under the pretext that one should pray without ceasing, in reality do not pray either. Through idleness… they entangle the soul in a labyrinth of thoughts… and make it incapable of prayer (St. Nilus of Sinai, Texts on Prayer).

As long as you pay attention only to bodily posture for prayer and your mind cares only for the external beauty of the tabernacle (i.e. proper forms), know that you have not yet found the place of prayer and its blessed way is still far from you.

Know that in the midst of all spiritual joy and consolation, that it is still more necessary to serve God with devotion and fear (St. Nilus of Sinai, Texts on Prayer).

It is natural for the mind to reject what is at hand and dream of something else to come… to build fantasies and imaginings about achievements before he has attained them. Such a man is in considerable danger of losing what he has and failing into self-delusion and being deprived of good sense. He becomes only a dreamer and not a man of continual prayer (i.e. a hesychast) (St. Gregory of Sinai, Texts on Commandments and Dogmas).

If you are truly practicing the continual prayer of silence, hoping to be with God and you see something sensory or spiritual, within or without, be it even the image of Christ, or an angel, or some saint, or if an image of light pervades your mind in no way accept it… always be displeased with such images, and keep your mind clear, without image or form… and you will suffer no harm. It has often happened that such things, even when sent by God as a test before victory, have turned into harm for many… who have then done harm to others equally unwise… leading to pride and self-conceit.

For the fathers say that those who live rightly and are faultless in their behavior with other men… who seek God with obedience, questioning and wise humility… will always be protected from harm by the grace of Christ (St. Gregory of Sinai, Instructions to Hesychasts).

The use of the Jesus Prayer outside the hesychast method for unceasing prayer is to repeat the prayer constantly and continually, whatever one is doing, without the employment of any particular bodily postures or breathing techniques. This is the way taught by St. Gregory Palamas in his short discourse about how unceasing mental prayer is the duty of all Christians. Anyone can do this, whatever his occupation or position in life. This also is shown in The Way of the Pilgrim.

The purpose and results of this method of prayer are those generally of all prayer: that men might be continually united with God by unceasing remembrance of His presence and perpetual invocation of His name, so that one might always serve Him and all men with the virtues of Christ and the fruits of the Spirit.

The third method of using the Jesus Prayer is to have it always ready for moments of temptation. In this way, as St. John Climacus has said, you can “flog your enemies, i.e. the temptations, with the name of Jesus for there is no stronger weapon in heaven or on earth” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent). This method works best when one practices the prayer without ceasing, joining “to every breath a sober invocation of Jesus’ name” (Evagrius of Pontus). When one practices the continual “prayer of the heart”, and when the temptations to sin enter the heart, they are met by the prayer and are defeated by grace.

Man cannot live in this world without being tempted. When temptation comes to a person, there are only three possible results. Either the person immediately yields to the temptation and sins, or he tries to ward off the temptation by the power of his will, and is ultimately defeated after great vexation and strife. Or else he fights off the temptation by the power of Christ in his heart which is present only by prayer. This does not mean that he “prays the temptation away”. Or that God miraculously and magically descends to deliver him. It means rather that his soul is so filled with the grace and the power of God that the temptation can have no effect. It is in this sense that the Apostle John has written: “no one who abides in Christ sins” (1Ин. 3:6).

He who sins is of the devil… The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God commits sins; for God’s nature abides in him, and he cannot sin for he is born of God. By this may be seen who are children of God, and who are children of the devil (1Ин. 3:8-10).

One becomes a child of God, born of God in the Church through baptism. One continues as a child of God and does not sin only by continual prayer: the remembrance of God, the abiding in Him, the calling upon His name without ceasing in the soul. The third use of the Jesus Prayer, like the first two, is to accomplish this end: that man might not sin.

Orthodox Church in America

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