Tomorrow evening, Thursday, October 20, at 7:00 PM, we will meet to explore the spiritual practice of The Jesus Prayer.  Long used by the desert fathers and mothers as far back as the fifth century, The Jesus Prayer became a way to truly commune with God, built on the belief that body, mind, and spirit were so intertwined that the soul could only truly commune with God if removed from all other distractions.

The classic longer form of the prayer:
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Some scriptural references to this prayer are: Mark 10:47, Luke 18:38, and Luke 18:13

Shorter version:
"Christ, have mercy on me."

The prayer is first recited in private, in quiet, often with the help of a prayer rope, or other counting device.  Eventually, the prayer is said to become one with the one praying.

For more information, check out this article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Prayer

or these links, explaining prayer ropes:

http://www.orthodoxprayer.org/Prayer%20Rope.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_rope

A good text written for youth groups, but giving a lot of detail on various spiritual practices can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Shaper-Tony-Jones/dp/031025101X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476911231&sr=1-2&keywords=soul+shaper

Hope to see you tomorrow evening.