The Jesus Prayer

Most of us have prayed the Jesus Prayer at one time or another.  Of course, it may be an abbreviated version of it, but the shorter version does not take away its power.  The Jesus Prayer in its long form is, "Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."   Around this neck of the woods it is often quickly exclaimed in its shortened form which is, "Lord, have mercy."  The "Lord have mercy" prayer is usually the prayer which requires no prior plan, no formal posturing, but simply a quick reaction to some unforeseen circumstance and in its most often used form is not a prayer relating to sin, but a prayer that seeks deliverance.    

It is, of course, extemporaneous to the core.  No prayer is more spontaneous.  It is more like the prayer of the first reaction.  It is interesting that it is often the natural prayer of those who are not sure about their faith in Christ and have even more doubts about praying.  I have heard it prayed in a variety of situations.  It is the prayer prayed when the hammer his the finger instead of the nail  It is the prayer prayed when passing what appears to be a horrible accident.  It is the prayer often prayed when we hear the news that a friend has been diagnosed with cancer.     

After being around here and there for a few years, it becomes obvious to even the most cynical that not all of life is within the scope of our control.  Even those who speak irreverently of God have been heard to utter, "Lord have mercy" when life dumps some disaster upon them.  It is a prayer very basic to the human experience because it is a prayer of our inner being as it calls out to the One who created it.  Like a child who calls for a mother or father, so does our spirit sometimes call out to our Creator God long before our conscious mind has time to give it consideration. Such is the nature of this shortened form of the Jesus prayer we pray around here.