Part 2

How You Can Put Jesus’ Teaching into Action

There is a simple way to pray, developed as far back as the fourth century by the desert mothers and fathers

 It enables you to put Jesus’ teaching into practice.

In this way, you pray without words and thoughts, only with your heart. 

This is why this way is often known as prayer of the heart.

This is the term I use in all my teaching articles on this online magazine and in my FREE Guide. 

In recent times, this way, based on Matthew 6:6, has been re-introduced by contemporary Christian spiritual masters, including Thomas Merton, John Main, Thomas Keating, William Menninger, and Basil Pennington, all of whom were formed in the monastic tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the 1970’s, Menninger, Keating and Pennington started the Centering Prayer movement which, in 1983, led to the creation of Contemplative Outreach, a program designed to promote and teach prayer of the heart or, as Keating called it, ‘centering prayer’.

Then in 1991, Fr. Lawrence Freeman, who took over from the late Fr. John Main, both Roman Catholic Benedictine monks, founded the International Centre for the World Community for Christian Meditation, which also teaches this way of prayer.

Freeman and Main call this way ‘Christian meditation’.

Others call it

• contemplative prayer
• prayer of union
• listening prayer

The special contribution of these men was to re-introduce prayer of the heart as a way of praying not just for hermits and monks, or members of the Roman Catholic Church, but for any and all Christians —both lay and clerical.

Thankfully, people are beginning to understand the profound wisdom behind Jesus’ teaching on prayer, and the unparalleled power and benefits of this way of consenting to God’s presence that it presents.

They have truly taken it to heart.

Jesus’ Way of Prayer Actually Mirrors His

Teaching On the Centrality of the Human Heart

Once you grasp Jesus’ teaching on prayer, it is no surprise that Jesus also taught, consistently and in no uncertain terms, that your human heart is what MATTERS MOST to Him. 

His teaching on prayer reflects this.

It is little wonder, then, that the way of prayer of the heart has stood the test of time over 2000 years.

It accurately reflects Jesus’ teaching on prayer.

This way of praying gives you the chance to experience firsthand God, His presence, His love, and His rest.

And, just as important, it can do this because in this way of praying you deliberately let go of thoughts and words.

It is this vital letting go of the mental clutter and stimulation that accompanies thoughts and words that allows God the chance of being fully present to you!

As is clear from His teaching in Matthew 6:6, this is exactly the kind of firsthand, direct experience that Jesus wants you to have when you pray.

He knew that if you and I use this way, we have a guaranteed way of connecting closely and authentically to Him, and doing so in a way that lasts.

This is, of course, the number one benefit.

But Jesus knew that countless other ONGOING benefits would follow from connecting to the Lord in this way.

This is why He said to seek His kingdom first and all other benefits would follow (Matthew 6:33).

Why not make these amazing benefits yours?

Read Part 1 of this article here 

 

 

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