In Bartimaeus’ cry to Jesus in our gospel today, we hear the strains of what we have come to call the Jesus Prayer from the Orthodox tradition: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Through the centuries, many have so internalized that prayer through constant repetition that they experience respite and peace underlying all that they think and do. It rises up from their hearts bringing Christ into the present moment, upholding them in all the situations of their lives.

Madeleine L’Engle has said that the Jesus Prayer saved her during a major crisis in her life. She was on her way to give a presentation in California. Someone from the conference picked her up at the airport, and on the way, they were in a terrible car wreck. Madeleine was rushed to a hospital critically injured. Surgery soon followed. With none of her family or friends near by to be with her, to provide support in that desperate time of pain and fear and loneliness, she said she clung to the Jesus Prayer like a lifeline. It made all the difference, she said.

Now Madeleine didn’t just decide to try that prayer out of the blue. She, of course, knew lots of prayers from her long-time daily practice of reading Morning and Evening Prayer, but the Jesus Prayer had already reached deep into her heart in a special way. It was there to rise up into consciousness when she needed it, to enable her to feel enfolded in God’s grace, to ensure that she knew she was not alone in her hour of need. And like Bartimaeus, when Madeleine experienced the healing presence of God, she followed Christ Jesus on the way.

(The Way of a Pilgrim by an anonymous Russian staretz explains the Jesus Prayer in detail should you be interested in learning more.)