the Jesus prayer
“The effect of the Jesus Prayer has been rightly described as homecoming. It enables us to return home, becoming our own true self, the person whom God calls us to be.” - Kalistos Ware (from 'The Jesus Prayer)
The Jesus prayer goes back as far as the 4th and 5th centuries and was widely practised by the Desert fathers and mothers.
It's longer form is 'Lord Jesus Christ, son and word of God, have mercy on me, a sinner' but many people shorten it, some even as far as to simply repeat the word 'Jesus'. Personally, I tend to use 'Jesus Christ have mercy on me' though sometimes mix that with slightly longer variations.
In the bible, Paul tells us to 'pray without ceasing'. Some, and I'm thinking of some Greek Orthodox here, most specifically the monks of Mount Athos, take that literally, saying the words quietly while using their prayer ropes. Not everyone does this so obviously though, and while it is an excellent way to pray and deter distractions during periods of prayer or silence (or silent prayer), it is sometimes called the 'prayer of the heart'. After repeating this short phrase for some time, people find that they say it predominantly in their heart, rather than aloud or in a whisper.
It is a simple but very effective prayer and can be used at times when silent prayer is barely possible. For example, today, I had to take a moderately long local bus journey, and finding a quiet seat, i used my small wrist prayer rope to recite this for most of the journey. Ideally, the prayer should be 'focused' but even just saying it while looking out of the window is useful too.
One point to note is that while it sounds like we are begging for mercy, ie not to be punished by God, this is not really the essence of it. What we are praying for is grace and healing and acknowledging that we are only human and therefore imperfect, and asking God to accept us as we are and to be in front of God in humility and acceptance.
if you would like to find out more about this simple but important prayer, there is a very good short lecture by Kallistos Ware on 'What is prayer?' which I have pasted below. You may also find some of his quiet humour quite amusing too.
'Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me'