The Jesus Prayer Archives

In the Stillness, Waiting

In the Stillness, Waiting, Nicholas Worssam, SFF. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9798400802317) 2025.

Summary: The wisdom of Eastern Orthodox saints on contemplative discipleship reflected in the Jesus Prayer.

One of the gifts of the Eastern Orthodox churches to the whole of the Christian community is the Jesus Prayer. This is also known as the prayer of the heart. In its most familiar form, it is the single petition, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” One can also shorten it in various ways. It is typical to pray this softly or silently repeatedly, coming to a place of stillness before God. As such, it is an expression of the yearning of our hearts for God above all. Thus, it serves as a kind of doorway into contemplative prayer.

Nicholas Worssam, SSF, a Franciscan friar and theologian, begins from this place and introduces us to the saints within Eastern Orthodoxy. These are monastics for the most part, who explored the frontiers of this prayer and the depths of contemplative practice. Among those the reader will meet Evagrius of Pontus, Syncletica and the Desert Mothers, John Climacus, Isaac of Syria, Maximus the Confessor, Symeon the New Theologian, and Gregory Palamas.

On one hand, each has distinctive insights into the spiritual journey, reflecting his or her own journey. But at the same time, several themes recur: stillness and silence, the solitude of the wilderness, the recognition of bodily passions and how they may distract, and the processes by which the contemplative may come to a purity of heart. Evagrius is of note in his identification of the eight passions, a precursor to the modern Enneagram. There is also the movement from head or intellectual knowledge of God ascending to the wordless love of God of the heart. And when one is filled with the compassion of God this eventuates in compassionate actions in the world.

Each of the chapters includes questions for reflection and discussion. Worssam provides suggestions for further reading. We hear the Fathers (and Mothers!) in their own words. Not only does this instruct in contemplative practice. It also introduces us to their writings, whetting our appetites for me. For all these reasons, this is a valuable introduction to both the history and practice of contemplative prayer, beginning with the Jesus prayer.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

The Jesus Prayer by John Michael Talbot
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Jesus Prayer is an ecumenical event! It is written by a Catholic monastic who returned to faith during the Jesus Movement of the 1970s. It is written about the Jesus Prayer, which has its origins in Eastern Orthodoxy beginning with the 5th century St. Hesychias (from whom hesychastic prayer, a form of contemplative prayer gets its name). And it is published by InterVarsity Press, a publisher most closely associated with thoughtful evangelical scholarship.

The book is an extended meditation and primer on praying the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Each of the brief chapters takes one word, or at most one phrase of the prayer and engages in a theological reflection upon that word, and then concludes with an exercise in praying the prayer. The book concludes with practical encouragements about praying the prayer daily (he suggests at least one 20 minute time of prayer) and helps regarding place, the role of community, the value of “fathers and mothers” or spiritual directors and the relation of the Prayer to the church and sacraments. Following the conclusion is an Appendix that goes deeper into the roots of the prayer.

What I appreciated about this book was how deeply theological this book was even as it was teaching a practice of contemplative prayer. Talbot is not interested in by-passing the head to reach the heart. He weaves this theological reflection into personal ministry narratives that bring the awesome truths of the incarnation, the Trinity, the work of the Spirit and more down to every day life.

I mentioned the ecumenical character of this book and this may either be winsome or off-putting, depending on how you think about such things. Talbot is unabashedly Catholic as he talks about Mary or the Eucharist, and yet his writing is irenic, framed in such a way to emphasize agreements and commonalities, while aware of historic differences. I found myself thinking that if ever the historic divisions in the church were healed, it would no doubt be through individuals like him, and perhaps Christians across these different communions who met together to pray the Jesus Prayer.

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