vocals and instruments: T.S. Taylor

note:
Also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous and despised others:
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like
other men—-extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a
week and I give tithes of all that I possess.”
And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes toward
heaven, but beat his breast saying, “ God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone
who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus Christ
Luke 18: 9-14

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.
Jesus Christ, be merciful
(variations of The Jesus Prayer)

The Jesus Prayer is said to have originated with the Egyptian desert Fathers and Mothers some time during the 5th century. It is an esteemed and advocated prayer primarily within the Eastern Orthodox Churches, although many Catholics and Anglicans also make use of it as a personal ascetic practice. The prayer, which can vary in form, basically combines three Bible verses: “Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philipians 2: 6-11), “Son of God.” (The Annunciation of Luke 1: 31-35), and the parable of The Pharisee And The Publican (sited above).
A number of years back I made the choice to recite The Jesus Prayer each evening, just before bedtime, and have been doing so ever since. Not only has it served to humble me by reminding me of my constant need to trust in the saving grace of our Lord, it also connects me to an ancient tradition. There is also a wondrous sense of mystical bonding and spiritual strength in knowing that at the precise moment I am speaking the prayer, my voice is combining with countless brothers and sisters around the world who are praying this exact prayer at this exact moment.
Under the extraordinarily troubling (some would say dire) conditions we presently find ourselves, I have now taken to reciting the prayer first thing in the morning as well, and often it will come to mind throughout the course of the day. I suppose this is something close to what St. Paul had in mind when he admonished us to“pray without ceasing.”
I have never personally experienced a more uniquely troubling time than the one in which we currently find ourselves, and with the very real possibility that there may be even rougher roads ahead, a humble acknowledgment of our personal failures and sins, leading to repentance, has never been more incumbent upon us. Rather than adding our own fuel to the raging fire of accusatory hatefulness that has infiltrated much of public discourse these days (social media boasting of moral superiority, along with self-indulgent, self-righteous grandstanding and shaming reflective of the Pharisee’s prayer in Christ’s parable), we would do well to daily remind ourselves of who we truly are: broken, sinful beings, saved by grace alone, who are perpetually in need of a Holy God’s forgiveness and mercy. The Jesus Prayer serves to help us focus in on this ongoing reality. Should you decide to integrate it into your daily devotional practices, (which I would encourage you to do), you are free to chose the version of the prayer you find most personally suitable. I tend to vary between the corporate (“..have mercy on us), and the personal (“…on me, a sinner”), depending on my particular concerns on any given day.
In setting two versions of The Jesus Prayer to music, my aim was to create a kind of monastic ambiance in which Eastern and Western religious traditions are merged. It is in the hope that in this atmosphere of holiness and reverence, the listener’s heart will be moved toward humility, confession, and repentance.
www.orthodoxprayer.org/Jesus%20Prayer.html