Biblical ejaculatory prayers — ten brief invocations from the Gospels

The ejaculatory prayers — in Latin iaculatoriae, «thrown» like short arrows — are very brief prayers which can be addressed to God at any moment of the day: on awakening, while eating, while working, in traffic, when lying down, in moments of temptation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 2700 teaches that «through his words, spoken or interiorised, prayer takes shape»; and n. 2666: «But the name that contains everything is the name which the Son of God received in his Incarnation: JESUS». The best ejaculatory prayers are taken directly from the Gospel, put on the lips of characters who approached Christ in the days of his public life. Repeated throughout the day, they form what the patristic tradition calls «continual prayer» (cf. 1 Thess 5:17 «Pray without ceasing»). These ten may be memorised and used in rotation.

1. «Lord, save us, we perish!» (Mt 8:25 — apostles in the boat in the storm)

2. «I do believe, Lord: help my unbelief!» (Mk 9:23 — father of the possessed boy)

3. «Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!» (Mk 10:47 — blind Bartimaeus of Jericho)

4. «Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.» (Mt 8:2 — leper approaching the Lord)

5. «Lord, teach us to pray.» (Lk 11:1 — disciples asking for the Our Father)

6. «Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.» (Jn 6:68 — St Peter after the Eucharistic discourse)

7. «My Lord, and my God!» (Jn 20:28 — St Thomas before the Risen One)

8. «Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.» (Jn 21:15 — St Peter after the triple denial)

9. «Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom.» (Lk 23:42 — good Thief on the cross)

10. «Come, Lord Jesus!» (Rev 22:20 — last prayer of the last book of the Bible)

(Choose one of these ejaculatory prayers to repeat throughout the day, especially at moments of transition: on arriving at work, on opening the car, on receiving bad news, on falling asleep.)

Amen.