In practicing the Jesus Prayer, you may wish to use the traditional form [Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me] or you may prefer to explore more contemporary options, versions that retain an invitation to Divinely-grounded self-compassion but in language that more closely matches your own spiritual sensibilities. If that is true for you, it may be helpful to recall that the Jesus Prayer has been the primary practice in the "Prayer of the Heart" tradition. Those who practice it find that its words give expression to the heart's longing for all-encompassing Compassion, the ultimate yearning of a person's entire being. What words would express that longing for you? The "Prayer of Your Heart" is composed of your words.
Here are some examples to inspire you to form the unique practice that is the "Prayer of Your Heart":
- "Be with me, Jesus [on the in-breath], full of Compassion [on the out-breath]."
- "Compassion, fill me [on the in-breath], Compassion for me [on the out-breath]."
- "Compassion to me [on the in-breath], Compassion through me [on the out-breath]."