An Old Prayer

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

Title: An Old Prayer

Christians in the Orthodox Church use a prayer
called the Jesus Prayer. Sometimes they pray it
in the rhythm of breathing, learning in this way
almost to "pray without ceasing." The words are
simple, but they cover everything we need to ask
for ourselves and others: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son
of God, have mercy on us."

The Lord did not say we should not use
repetition. He said we should not use vain
repetition. A prayer prayed from the heart of the
child to the Father is never vain.

The Very Reverend Kenneth R. Waldron, a priest of
both the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and of the
Anglican Church, wrote to me of his having had
surgery. "The last moment of consciousness before
the anaesthetic took over, I heard my surgeon
repeating in a whisper GOSPODI POMILUY, GOSPODI
POMILUY, GOSPODI POMILUY [Dr. Waldron put the
Russian words into phonetic spelling]--Lord, have
mercy on us.... It is wonderful to drift off into
unconsciousness hearing these words on the lips
of the man whose hands you trust to bring you out
of your troubles. It is great to have a surgeon
who knows how to pray at such a time. Think of
the comfort and help that this simple prayer has
brought to thousands through the years, a prayer
that was a big help to me in January 1982. Some
of my hospital friends thought they would not see
me alive again, but the good Lord had a bit more
work for this old priest to do."

The Jesus Prayer was one my husband Add and I
often used together when he was dying of cancer,
when we seemed to have "used up" all the other
prayers. I recommend it to you.