A Prayer that is Heard

by Fred Vilbig


Jesus told a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector who went up to the temple to pray. Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee thanked God that he was so righteous and not like other men such as the tax collector. He listed all of the “holy” things that he did, in effect, bragging to God.

The tax collector, on the other hand, stood in the back of the temple. He did not even lift up his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast in sorrow and said, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Jesus pointed out that it was the tax collector’s prayer that was heard; not the Pharisee’s. He said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

After the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, it became somewhat fashionable to be a Christian in the Roman Empire. Some saw this as a softening of the Christian discipline. They fled to the desert, which was the beginning of monasticism.

The monks looked for ways to pray since they had a lot of time in the desert. They, of course, read the Gospels. In the Gospel of Luke, they saw that the Lord said that the prayer of the tax collector was the one that was heard by God. Over time, they developed what has come to be known in one form or another as the Jesus Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, 
have mercy on me, a sinner.

In this simple prayer, we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and the son of God; we acknowledge our status as sinners; and we ask for God’s mercy. The monks made a habit of praying the Jesus Prayer throughout the day.

Prayer does not have to be complicated. It can be simple. Although Jesus told us not to multiply our words in prayer (Matthew 6:7), He did tell His disciples to pray always (Luke 18:1). So the “Jesus Prayer” is a simple prayer that we can pray throughout the day. We can pray it when we get up. We can grab a moment at a stoplight and pray it. While waiting for an elevator, we can pray it. We can pray it when we enter a church.

Praying this simple prayer throughout the day can help us, maybe just for that brief moment, to focus on Jesus, recalling that He is God, and that He is all merciful. Prayer doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be simple. And Jesus promises that this prayer will be heard.