Lord Have Mercy
Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things.
The fifth of Fr. Thomas Hopko’s 55 Maxims is one that has great potential for keeping a person out of trouble. How many times have each of us ended up being tempted just because of the mere fact we had nothing to occupy our hands or mind with? That seems to be the way we are wired. As long as one is busy, it is not so difficult to stay aways from the things that lead us away from God. It is when we allow our minds to wander that temptation comes most easily.
One method of combatting this type of temptation is to have a short prayer that can be with us during the idle periods of the day. This type of prayer also helps us to take the advice of St. Paul who urged the early Christians to pray always. Some common short prayers are the Jesus Prayer, Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner, or perhaps more common in the Catholic world is the rosary which uses the Hail Mary as its chief prayer. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter which prayer one uses as long as it helps us to be continually aware of God’s presence.
Lord have mercy works pretty well for me.
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