Profoundly rooted in the Scriptures and first practiced centuries ago by the great teachers of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Jesus Prayer, with its many variations, is among the world's most ancient forms of devotion. But how does it apply to today's world? Why does it remain so popular among men and women, lay and religious, from all over the world and in every Christian religious tradition?With an eye toward the issues facing contemporary Christians, Father Wilfrid Stinissen shows readers the underlying reason why the Jesus Prayer continues to hold universal appeal for Orthodox and Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants, and all kinds of Christians of both Eastern and Western traditions -- it is a sign of hope in an age of anxiety, a beacon of light in a world of uncertainty. The prayer, in its simplicity and clarity, brings the new life granted by the Holy Spirit into vivid focus.Easily understood yet deeply profound, this book traces the evolution of the Jesus Prayer from its beginnings in the tradition of the Desert Fathers and the words of the Old and New Testaments through Christianity's expansion into the second millennium. In penetrating style, Father Stinissen demonstrates how the Jesus Prayer sums up the whole of the Gospel, bringing the body and the heart closer to Christ.