Embracing the Fullness of God's Love and the Jesus Prayer

Reflecting on the depth of loving God with all our heart and mind, we must ask ourselves: do our thoughts during prayer truly reflect this love? When worldly distractions permeate our prayers, it might reveal our shortfall in living up to His commandment to love God with our whole being.

Saint Silouan articulates this challenge with profound clarity. He teaches that when our thoughts drift away from God, even during prayer, our attention is divided. At such moments, we are not fully living the commandment to love God "with all thy mind and all thy heart." True adherence to this commandment, according to Saint Silouan, is achieved when our consciousness is so fully immersed in God that no extraneous thought can find room. This state represents an earnest attempt to fulfill the greatest commandment, though we must humbly acknowledge our imperfections in its execution. (Reference: Saint Silouan the Athonite, p. 438)

The intrusion of distractions into our prayer life signals a disconnect, suggesting that our minds are not wholly attuned to God. This mirrors the Apostolic teaching of Saint Paul, who encourages us to adopt the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), a call to wholly align our thoughts and being with Christ's example and teachings.

Engaging in the practice of the Jesus Prayer is a transformative exercise that brings our minds under the dominion of our soul, empowering us to dismiss or overlook irrelevant thoughts. This prayer practice fosters a spiritual discipline that aligns us more closely with the commandment to love God with every facet of our being.

To deepen your understanding and commitment to this form of prayer, it's beneficial to explore further the practice of the Jesus Prayer. This exploration can lead to a more profound and distraction-free engagement in prayer, drawing us closer to fulfilling the commandment to love God with our entire heart and mind.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27B-YUrTXeg Excerpt from a recent talk on the teaching of Saint Symeon the New Theologian on prayer.

More: https://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Jesus%20Prayer.html

Tri-fold Pamphlet: https://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Articles_files/Jesus%20Prayer%20Brochure.pdf

Articles and books: https://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Jesus%20Prayer-Articles%20and%20Books.html