From time to time recently, I have returned to praying The Jesus prayer in some of my quiet times. It has evoked memories of the part that the late Bishop Simon Barrington Ward played in our lives at the time we moved to Cambridge for me to join the staff of Ridley Hall. Bishop Simon’s prayerfulness shone out of him, sometimes with his small pocket book that he would write in whenever anyone asked for prayer. As Chaplain to the staff at Ridley, he played a significant role in the staff fellowship that was such a special part of that time of new horizons in a place that neither Pam nor I had ever expected ourselves to be. So much of that time to be thankful for.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
Have mercy on me,
A sinner.
And in the times of further using this ancient prayer came the fresh idea of adding a further stanza to the prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
Come fill me
With thanksgiving and praise.
This second stanza above emerged in an earlier morning quiet time and helped me recognise that maybe to seekers or non-believers, the wonder that is the Jesus Prayer (Stanza 1) might feel downbeat and give or reinforce feelings that the Christian faith is a dour philosophy.
By adding the second stanza, it might help some to recognise that Confession – Thanksgiving – Praise is a sequence of hopefulness that mirrors the pattern of much liturgical worship: so might be able to bring some hope and optimism into the lives of some who are heavy-laden.
I hope that for those who are thoroughly immersed in the ancient prayer, this might not be an affront, but a sincerely meant augmentation that can spread the meditative reach even further as we move through the 21stcentury.
In 2012 I was very thoroughly immersed in the ancient prayer, I struggled to produce the prayer in 50 languages to encourage thinking about Jesus welcoming people of every nation. With the development of web-based translation services, that has become a far easier task, so without much ado Stanza 2 can be swiftly available in translation and some samples follow.
Perhaps a similar sequence to my earlier collection, which can be found HERE , will follow.
So, as a start towards a similar collection, here are five language versions compiled with the help of a web translation site.
Spanish
Señor Jesucristo,
Hijo de Dios,
ven y lléname
Con acción de gracias y alabanza.
French
Seigneur Jésus-Christ,
Fils de Dieu,
Viens me remplir
Avec remerciements et louanges.
Portuguese
Senhor Jesus Cristo,
Filho de Deus,
Venha me preencher
Com ações de graças e louvor.
Italian
Signore Gesù Cristo,
Figlio di Dio,
Vieni a riempirmi
Con ringraziamento e lode.
German
Herr Jesus Christus,
Sohn Gottes,
komm und erfülle mich
mit Danksagung und Lobpreis.
As I post this, I think I will be returning to this theme.