The Way of a Pilgrim is a 19th century Russian work telling the story of
the narrator’s pilgrimage across Russia pursuing wisdom in the way of prayer.
In particular he is concerned to learn to pray without ceasing in communion
with God. The focus is on the Jesus Prayer, the ancient Eastern Christian
practice of continuous prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on
me, a sinner.” It is an instructive account of the challenge of praying deeply
and truly.
After
much practice, the Pilgrim has this experience:
The prayer of my heart gave me such consolation
that I felt there was no happier person on earth than I, and I doubted if there
was a greater or fuller happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven. Not only did I feel
this in my own soul, but the whole outside world also seemed to be full of
beauty and delight. Everything drew me to love and to thank God; people, trees,
plants, animals. I saw them all as my kinfolk. I found on them all the magic of
the Name of Jesus.
– The Way of a Pilgrim
– The Way of a Pilgrim
While
we trust that God desires for us to bring all our concerns to him in prayer,
all true prayer is rooted in the practice of sinking our hearts into the Heart
of God where we are transformed and begin to see other people and everything in
the world with the love of God – full of beauty and delight.
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