Jesus: The Shortest, Simplest, and Most Powerful Prayer in the World

PETER KREEFT

I am now going to tell you about the shortest, simplest, and most powerful prayer in the world. This is not one of the many "methods", because it bypasses methods and cuts right to the heart of practicing God's presence, which is the essence of prayer.

I am now going to tell you about the shortest, simplest, and most powerful prayer in the world. It is called the "Jesus Prayer", and it consists simply in uttering the single word "Jesus" (or "Lord Jesus", or "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner" in any situation, at any time and place, either aloud or silently. !here is only one prere"uisite, one presupposition# that you are a Christian. If you have faith in Christ, hope in Christ, and love of Christ, you can pray the most powerful prayer in the world, because you have real contact with the greatest power in the universe# Christ himself, who assured us, in his last words to his
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apostles, that "$ll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (%t &'#(' . It is also the simplest of all prayers. It is not one of the many "methods", because it bypasses methods and cuts right to the heart of practicing )od*s presence, which is the essence of prayer, the secret of which has been given to us by )od the +ather. !he secret is simply )od the ,on, )od incarnate, the Lord Jesus. Its simplicity and flexibility $s the Catechism says, "!he invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always.... !his prayer is possible *at all times* because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation# that of loving )od, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus" (CCC &--' . .ecause it is so short and simple, this prayer can be prayed literally at any time at all and at all times, even times when longer and more comple/ forms of prayer are not practical or even possible. !his includes times of anguish, pain, or stress, and times of deep happiness and 0oy. It can be used by everyone (and has been # by the ran1est beginner and the most advanced saint. It is not only for beginners2 the saints use it too. It is not "cheating" 0ust because it is so short. +or it will ma1e you pray more, not less. !his only sounds parado/ical, for one of the things Jesus reminds us to do, when we invo1e him by name, is to pray more3 It is so simple that it is li1e the center point of a circle. It is the whole circle. It contains in itself the whole gospel. !he Catechism says# "!he name *Jesus* contains all# )od and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation" (CCC &--- . Into this name the Christian can pour all of his faith, with nothing whatsoever

left over, for to be a Christian is to rest all of your faith on Christ, with nothing left over. It is not only the shortest prayer but also the shortest and earliest creed. !wice the 4ew !estament mentions this most basic of all the Christian creeds# the simple three5word sentence "Jesus is Lord" (I Cor (&#6 and the same creed in four words# "Jesus Christ is Lord" (Phil &#(( . It is also the most distinctively Christian creed, for "Lord" (Kyrios means ")od", and Christ*s divinity and lordship over one*s life is the distinctive, essential faith of Christians# no non5Christian believes that (if he did, he would be a Christian , and all Christians believe it (if they do not, they are not Christians . What it is not: Magic Li1e any prayer, it "wor1s", not by the power of some impersonal magic but by the power of personal faith and hope and love. It is li1e a sacrament in that way# it "wor1s" ob0ectively (ex opere operato , by the power of )od*s action, not ours2 but it does not "wor1" without our free choice. It is li1e turning on a hose# the water comes to us, not from us, but it comes only when we choose to let it through. !he mere pronunciation of the name "Jesus" is not invoking him and is not prayer. $ parrot could do that. )od does not deal in magic, because magic bypasses the soul, especially the heart2 it is li1e a machine. .ut )od is a lover, and he wants our hearts, wants to transform our hearts, wants to live in our hearts. Love is its own end. %agic, li1e technology, is always used as a means to some greater end. If you pray this prayer as a means, as a 1ind of magic or spiritual technology, then you are using it as you would use a machine or magic spell. 7hat you love and desire is the higher end, the thing that the machine or magic spell gets you. .ut whatever that thing is, the love of things 8 of )od*s gifts instead of )od 8 does not bring )od closer2 it pushes
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him farther away. ,o using this prayer as a 1ind of magic does e/actly the opposite of what prayer is supposed to do. 7hen you pray this prayer, do not concentrate on the name, the word, the sound, or the letters. 9o not thin1 of the name but of Jesus. $nd do not try to meditate on scenes from the )ospels or truths from theology, or to imagine what Jesus loo1s li1e, as you do in some other forms of prayer. Just reach out to Jesus in blind faith. "!he principal thing is to stand before )od with the mind in the heart, and to go on standing before :im unceasingly day and night, until the end of life" (.ishop !heophan, "uoted by ;allistos 7are in The Power of the Name: The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spiritua ity . What it is not: Psychology !his prayer is not merely sub0ective, li1e a psychological device, any more than it is merely ob0ective, li1e magic. It is not a sort of Christian yoga. It is not meditation. Its purpose is not to transform our consciousness and ma1e us mystics, or to bring inner peace, or to center on our own heart. 7hether these things are good or bad, these things are not what this prayer is for. +or all these things are sub0ective, inside the human soul2 but this prayer is dialogue, relationship, reaching out to another person, to Jesus, )od made man, invo1ing him as your savior, lover, lord, and )od. <ou have faith and hope in him as your savior2 you love him as your lover2 you obey him as your lord2 you adore him as your )od. In this prayer our attention is not directed inward, into our own consciousness, but only out onto Jesus. =ven when we address Jesus living in our own soul, he is not self but other2 he is Lord of the self. <et, although our intention in this prayer is not to transform our consciousness, this prayer does transform our consciousness.
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:ow> It unifies it. ?ur usual consciousness is li1e an unruly, stormy sea, or li1e a floc1 of chattering mon1eys, or a cage of butterflies, or a hundred little bouncing balls of mercury spilled from a fever thermometer. 7e cannot gather it together. ?nly )od can, for )od is the !ogos. ?ne of the meanings of this incredibly rich word in ancient )ree1, the word given to the eternal, divine, pre5incarnate Christ, is "gathering5into5one". 7hen we pray this prayer and invo1e Jesus the Logos, Jesus the Logos acts and does in fact unify our consciousness. .ut this is not what we aim at2 we aim at him. !he unification of our consciousness happens in us (slowly and subtly and sweetly only when we forget ourselves in him. !his is one of the ways "he who loses his self shall find it." @epetition of the holy name conditions our unconscious mind to see this name as normal, as central, and to expect him to be present and active, as a dog is conditioned by his master to see its master as central and to e/pect its master to be present and active. 9o we train our dogs but not our own unconscious minds> <ou may ob0ect, ".ut this sounds li1e a magic spell or a mantra# something not rational." In a sense it is (though not in the sense repudiated above . 9o you not 1now that blac1 magic can be overcome only by white magic, not by reason> $nd our culture*s secularism and materialism is a powerful spell of blac1 magic. It ma1es us 0udge Jesus by its standards instead of 0udging it by his standards, because it ma1es us see Jesus as abnormal and our culture as normal2 to see Jesus as a "uestionable, tiny thing surrounded by an un"uestionable, greater thing, namely, our culture. !his is a cosmic illusion3 Invo1ing the holy name builds up resistance to that illusion. !hat is not blac1 magic2 it is not itself an illusion but sheer realism. Jesus is everywhere and everywhen and the ultimate meaning of everything. !his prayer in deed conditions us, but it conditions us to 1now reality. What it is: Power
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"!he 1ingdom of )od does not consist in tal1 but in power", says ,aint Paul (( Cor A#&B . !he reason this prayer is so powerful is that the name of Jesus is not 0ust a set of letters or sounds. It is not a passive word but a creative word, li1e the word by which )od created the universe. (:e is the 7ord by which )od created the universe3 =very time we receive Christ in the =ucharist, we are instructed by the liturgy to pray, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, "ut on y say the word and I shall be healed." $ll our energy and effort is not strong enough to heal our own souls, but )od*s word of power is. !hat word is so powerful that by it )od made the universe out of nothing, and by it he is doing the even greater deed of ma1ing saints out of sinners. !hat word is Jesus Christ. In most ancient societies, a person*s name was treated, not as a mere artificial label for pragmatic purposes of human communication, but as a truth, a sign of the person*s uni"ue identity. @evealing your name was thus an act of intimate personal trust, li1e a handsha1e. $ handsha1e originally meant# ",ee> I bear no weapon. <ou can trust me." It is a little li1e your P.I.4. today. In all of human history, )od revealed his own true name, his eternal name, only to one man 8 %oses 8 and only to one people 8 the :ebrews, his own "chosen people" 8 and only at one time 8 at the burning bush (=/ 6 . !his name was the secret no philosopher or mystic had ever attained, the very essence of )od, the nature of ultimate reality# "I $%." .ut then, many centuries later, )od did an even greater thing2 he revealed a new name in Jesus (",avior" . !his is now the most precious name in the world. It is a golden 1ey. It opens all doors, transforms all corners of our lives. .ut we do not use this golden 1ey, and doors remain loc1ed. In fact, our society is dying because it has turned the
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most precious name in the world, the name of its ,avior, into a casual curse word. =ven %uslims respect the holy name of Jesus more than Christians do, in practice# they commonly add "blessed be he" every time they pronounce it. In the $cts of the $postles (6#(5(B , Peter and John heal a man lame from birth when they say, "In the name of Jesus Christ, wal1." !hroughout the history of the Church and the lives of the saints, many such miracles of healing have been done "in his name". =/orcisms are performed "in his name". !he name of Jesus is so powerful that it can 1noc1 the devil out of a soul3 !he name of Jesus is our salvation. John ends his )ospel with this summary# "!hese CthingsD are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the ,on of )od, and that believing you may have life in his name" (Jn &B#6(, emphasis added . "!he name of Jesus Christ" is not only the 1ey to power5filled prayer but the 1ey to our salvation. ,o we had better understand it3 7hat does the phrase "in the name of Jesus Christ" mean> ,uppose you are poor, but your father is rich. 7hen you try to cash a chec1 for half a million dollars in your own name, you will get only a laugh from the ban1. .ut if the chec1 is in your father*s name, you will get the money. ?ur +ather in :eaven gave us unlimited grace in the "account" of Jesus Christ and then put us "into Christ", inserted us into his family, so that we can use the family name, so to spea1, to cash chec1s on the account of divine grace. ,aint Paul tells us that our account is unlimited# "%y )od will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Phil A#(E . Jesus himself first assured us of this wonderful truth, which we find hard to believe because it seems too good to be true, and then he e/plained why it is true# $s1, and it will be given you2 see1, and you will find2 1noc1, and it will be opened to you. +or every one who as1s receives, and he
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who see1s finds, and to him who 1noc1s it will be opened. 7hat man of you, if his son as1s him for bread, will give him a stone> ?r if he as1s for a fish, will give him a serpent> If you then, who are evil, 1now how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your +ather who is in heaven give good things to those who as1 him3 (%t F#F5I I . If even we love our children so much that we do not settle for anything less than the very best for them, why do we thin1 )od loves his children less> What it is: Real presence It is probably a very good e/ercise to practice "the imitation of Christ", to wal1 "in his steps", to as1 "7hat would Jesus do>" in all circumstances. .ut the prayer we are teaching now is even better, for two reasons. +irst, invo1ing his name invo1es his real presence, not mental imitation2 something ob0ective, not sub0ective2 between us and him, not 0ust in us. ,econd, it is actual, not potential2 indicative, not sub0unctive2 "7hat is Jesus doing>" rather than "7hat would Jesus do>" !o invo1e Jesus* name is to place yourself in his presence, to open yourself to his power, his energy, !he prayer of Jesus* name actually brings )od closer, ma1es him more present. :e is always present in some way, since he 1nows and loves each one of us at every moment2 but he is not present to those who do not pray as intimately as he is present to those who do. Prayer ma1es a difference2 "prayer changes things." It may or may not change our e/ternal circumstances. (It does if )od sees that that change is good for us2 it does not if )od sees that it is not. .ut it always changes our relationship to )od, which is infinitely more important than e/ternal circumstances, however pressing they may seem, because it is eternal but they are temporary, and because it is our very self but they are not. What it is: race
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In saying it brings )od closer, I do not mean to say that it changes )od. It changes us. .ut it does not 0ust ma1e a change within us, a psychological change2 it ma1es a change "etween us and )od, a real, ob0ective change. It changes the real relationship2 it increases the intimacy. It is as real as changing your relationship to the sun by going outdoors. 7hen we go outdoors into the sun, we do not move the sun closer to us, we move ourselves closer to the sun. .ut the difference it ma1es is real# we can get warmed only when we stand in the sunlight 8 and in the ,onlight. 7hen this happens, it is not merely something we do but something )od does in us. It is grace, it is his action2 our action is to enter into his action, as a tiny stream flows into a great river. :is coming is, of course, his gift, his grace. !he vehicle by which he comes is also his grace# it is Jesus himself. $nd the gift he gives us in giving us his blessed name to invo1e is also his grace. ,o, therefore, his coming to us in power on this vehicle, this name, is also pure grace. =ven our remembering to use this vehicle, this name, is his grace. $s ,aint !herese said, "=verything is a grace." What it is: !acramental !he Catechism says# "!o pray *Jesus* is to invo1e him and to call him within us. :is name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies" (CCC &--- . In other words, it is sacramental. )od comes to us on his name li1e a 1ing on his stallion. 7hen we pray to the +ather in Jesus* name, we provide )od with a vehicle to come to us 8 or, rather, we use the vehicle )od has provided for us. 7e do not initiate, we respond2 we respond to his grace by using the gift of his name that he gave us and told us to use2
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and he responds to our obedience by doing what he promised# actually coming. !his is the definition of a sacrament# a sign instituted by Christ to give grace and a sign that actually effects what it signifies. Jesus himself is the primary sacrament. ,o the believing Christian*s use of Jesus* name is sacramental. !he very act of praying "Jesus" effects what it signifies, brings about what the name "Jesus" signifies, which is ",avior", or ")od saves". !hat is the literal meaning, in :ebrew, of the name )od commanded Joseph to give to %ary*s son# "<ou shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (%t I#&I . $ name is not a machine, for a person is not a machine. !he name of a person must be personally "involved" (that is, called upon in faith and hope and love, as a human father is "invo1ed" by his son in Jesus* parable in %atthew F. .ut though it is not a machine, it really "wor1s"# when a son calls to his father, "9ad3" the father actually comes. 7hy> ,uppose we were to as1 the father. :is answer would be obvious# ".ecause that*s my son3" !he same is true of our relationship to )od now that Christ has made us )od*s children and his brothers. 4o stranger can call a human being "9ad", and no stranger can be sure that a man will come if he calls him only by his "proper name", for e/ample, "%r. ,mith". .ut %r. ,mith*s son can be sure his dad will come because his son can invo1e him under the name "9ad", as no one else can. Jesus has made it possible for us to do the same with )od. In fact, the name he taught us to call )od is "$bba", which is the :ebrew word, not 0ust for "+ather", but for "9ad", or "9addy", or even "9ada". It is the word of ultimate intimacy. <ou may thin1 the claim that invo1ing his name actually brings about his presence is an arrogant one. .ut in fact it is a humble one, because it is obeying his design, not initiating our own.

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?r you may thin1, "7hat right do we have to thin1 he will come whenever we call> Is he a dog>" 4o, he is a lover. What it is: !acred !he fact that this holy name of Jesus actually brings about the presence of )od e/plains why )od gave us, as the second of all his commandments, "<ou shall not ta1e the name of the L?@9 your )od in vain" (=/ &B#F . In the ?ld !estament, the self5 revealed name of )od was <:7:, in :ebrew# a name is always written without the vowels because it was forbidden to pronounce it, since it meant "I $%", or "I $% 7:? $%", and to pronounce that name is to claim to bear it. <ou can pronounce any other name, li1e "Ivan" or "%ary" or ":ey, <ou" without claiming to be the person who bears that name2 there is only one name that you cannot say in the second person (you or the third person (he or she , and that is "I". !hus no Jew ever dared to pronounce that holy name, or even guess how the vowels were supposed to be pronounced, because it could be truly spo1en only by )od himself. !hat is why the Jews tried to e/ecute Jesus for blasphemy when he pronounced it in his own name (Jn '#G' . $nd that is also why Jesus commanded us to pray to the +ather, as the very first petition of the model prayer he taught (which we call the Lord*s Prayer, or the ?ur +ather ":allowed be thy name" (%t -#E . +or we actually bring about and fulfill what we pray for when we call on the holy name of Jesus. 7e bring his presence and his mercy down from :eaven to earth, so to spea1. !hus it is blasphemy to treat this holy name li1e any other name, because it has a holy power unli1e any other power. Its practice I will tell you a little bit from my own e/perience about what I thin1 will happen when you use this prayer. +or I have tried many other, more comple/, and more abstract ways to pray, and I have found them all less effective than this most childli1e of all ways.
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Perhaps the most shattering conse"uence of his real presence, which is brought about by invo1ing his name, is that we become unable to lie to ourselves any more. :e is light, and wherever he inserts his lordship there is now an absolute necessity of honesty and a Hero tolerance for any form of self5deception, self5 congratulation, or self gratification, even those forms that felt necessary, natural, and almost innocent before. :e is gentle, but he is light, and he simply does not and will not coe/ist with any dar1ness at all2 either he casts it out, or it 1eeps him out. !his is the negative dimension of the fact that he is light. :e subtracts our falsehoods. .ut he also adds his truth. !he positive dimension is essentially a clarification of vision, of perspective, of "the big picture". :e does not (usually give specific directions or instant solutions, but he always gives a clarification of our vision. (!his usually happens gradually. !hus there is a positive side to even the negative point made above. +or instance, he ma1es us men see how flawed and mi/ed our motives are even in such natural and spontaneous things as a loo1 into the face of a beautiful woman. (:alf of all the women in the world are beautiful to men, nearly all are beautiful when they smile, and all are beautiful all the time to )od. 7e find that there is something in this loo1 that is his, and also something that is not from him but is from the world, the flesh, or the =nemy. $nd yet this insight does not bring about a guilty despair but a happy humility. +or it is a sign of his presence. :e is the standard. 7hen the plumb line is present, apparently straight lines show their inclination. $nd this is, of course, upsetting (how easily our lines incline3 , but much more is it a cause of 0oy (it is he3 . $s John 7esley said, "!he best thing is, )od is with us." ?nce we realiHe that, we have the secret of 0oy# simply to do all that is from his will with 0oy, because he is there, and what is not from his will do not do.
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$nd when his light and our dar1ness, his straight and our croo1ed, are thus brought into relationship and warfare, we gain rather than lose, even if it is upsetting. It is li1e bringing in the @oto5@ooter man# the garbage becomes visible, but it also becomes removable. .efore his light came in, our sin was 0ust as much present but undetected. .ut he was not 0ust as much present. ,o that is a gain. +urthermore, he is stronger than sin2 he e/orcises sin more than sin e/orcises him. $ll we have to do is to give him a chance. ?pen the blinds, and light casts out dar1ness every time. !his new sense of vision or perspective that invo1ing his name brings about is most sharply perceived when we invo1e his name upon our problems and complaints. !he wordless message I seem to get most fre"uently is something li1e this# "!here are things that are infinitely more important for you than these little problems. !hey are all little compared to me. In fact, most of what you thin1 of as your problems are in fact your opportunities 8 opportunities for the really important thing, the *one thing needful*, your relationship with me. ,o get on with it. <ou don*t have much more time." :e is surprisingly bris1 and unsentimental. :e is a no5nonsense )od. Perhaps the most definite and ubi"uitous sign of his real presence, and the clearest difference between the times when I invo1e his name and the times when I do not, is the state of "uiet, calm alertness that he brings. Isually, I am either calm or alert, not both. 7hen I am calm, I am rela/ed and ready for sleep2 when I am alert, I am worried or agitated and ready for problems. :is peace, however, is not sleepiness, and his alertness is not an/iety. :is presence manifests itself, not in fire or wind or thunder, but in a still, small voice. ?nly in this "uietness does he give us the certainty of his presence. 7e usually cannot hear this because we are ma1ing so much inner noise, especially when we are agitated.
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.ut this is when he wants most to come, for he goes where the need is. $nd what happens when we invo1e him during our agitation> :e answers3 .ut not by magic or spectacle. 4othing spectacular happens when I invo1e the holy name at times when I am reacting to my problems by the "fight5or5flight response" that is so natural to our animal nature (that is, either by the "fight" of inner rage and resentment or by the "flight" of self5pity and fantasiHing . $t such times, when I pray his name, I do not suddenly feel holy or happy, but I do suddenly feel ... well, "mature" is the only word that comes to mind. !he word from the 7ord is often something li1e ")row up3" I suddenly see that far more important things are at sta1e than my feelings, when I let his great wave come in and wash my little garbage away. 7hat had loo1ed big on my beach loo1s tiny in his waves. 7e do not always get specific answers, even when we invo1e his name2 but we always get the $nswerer. It is better to have his authority for "no answer" than our authority for ours. 7hen I am in the middle of some garbage, he gives me no answer to my "uestions "#hy did you put me here>" or "$ow do I solve it>", but he gives me instead an answer to another "uestion# " #ho% " It is he. !hat is his answer# himself. !he real "uestion is# " #ho&s there%" $nd the answer is in %atthew (A#&F. 7e always start our sentences with "I". 7e unconsciously play )od. :e teaches us to see our "I" as surrounded by him instead of vice versa. :e is no longer an ingredient in our e/perience2 we are ingredients in his. 7e are actors in his play2 he is not an actor in ours, not even the most important actor. Let me give you a small e/ample of the positive side to this "sense of perspective" that we get from invo1ing his name. !he other day he reminded me to spea1 his name while I was painting an unimportant piece of porch wood, and I suddenly saw that
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what I was doing was not 0ust painting a porch but painting a portrait, myself, I was wal1ing :ome to him. =ach brush stro1e was a small step to :eaven. :eaven was here in this old porch, too. +or all beauty, even this tiny bit of it that I was ma1ing, is his, is li1e him2 beauty is one of the things he is, and all earthly beauty is a sunbeam of his sun. I remembered the story of two men hauling stones through a muddy medieval street. ?ne was cursing and the other was singing. $ traveler as1ed them what they were doing. !he curser replied, "I*m trying to get this damned roc1 to roll through this damned mud3" !he singer replied, "I*m building a cathedral." Is there any downside to this prayer> 7hat is the main problem with this prayer> ,imply remembering to do it. !his is embarrassing, because this forgetting is so foolish. 7hy do we forget> Clearly this forgetting is not merely a mental problem. !here are mental bloc1s to remembering. ,omething in us fears remembering. $nd I thin1 we all 1now what that is. 7hen we do remember and call him, and he comes and acts, he does all the wor1, for free3 ?ur part is only to call2 the )reat Physician ma1es house calls and charges nothing. $nd yet we continually fail to call him. Is this reasonable> !he solution to this "forgetting" is not in our power but his. In order to receive, we must as1 for the grace of remembering to as1. $nd for the grace to trust him with our thoughts as well as with our lives. :e is the %aster also of our miserable memories. $ thought comes into our mind when he says, "Come3" and leaves when he says ")o3" :e is the centurion, our thoughts are his soldiers. !he Lord giveth, the Lord ta1eth away, blessed be the name of the Lord. "#K$%W&E' EME$T
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;reeft, Peter. ""Jesus"# !he ,hortest, ,implest, and %ost Powerful Prayer in the 7orld." Chapter nine in Prayer for 'eginners (,an +rancisco# Ignatius Press, &BBB , G65F6. @eprinted by permission of Ignatius Press. $ll rights reserved. Prayer for 'eginners 8 I,.4 B5'E'FB5FFG5F.

T(E ")T(%R
Peter ;reeft has written e/tensively (over &G boo1s in the areas of Christian apologetics. Lin1 to all of Peter ;reeft*s boo1s here. Peter ;reeft teaches at .oston College in .oston %assachusetts. :e is on the $dvisory .oard of the Catholic =ducator*s @esource Center.

Copyright J &BBB Ignatius Press

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