The Oates Journal (ISSN: 1098-1446) is a publication of the Wayne E. Oates Institute addressing issues related to spirituality, ethics, and healing from the perspective of pastoral care and counseling.

...for his mercy endures for ever.
- Psalm 136

The Jesus Prayer ends with the phrase “have mercy on me, a sinner.” I wonder who is the “me” who asks for mercy and I find that there isn’t just one me, but quite a few who need individualized attention. They manifest themselves as different voices, sometimes humming quietly in the background and other times bellowing vigorously. They are voices of illness, fear, anxiety, insecurity, littleness, doubt and they have plenty of friends behind them hiding in the shadows. They are all calling out for attention, and if I don’t acknowledge them, they become annoyed and sometimes enraged. They have figured out that the best time to get a reaction from me is in the middle of the night, usually somewhere between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

In the psalm, the wisdom of God’s eternal mercy has done wonders--made the heavens, spread out the earth on the waters, created the light and the day, the stars. Mercy has struck down the firstborn of Egypt and the great kings--Og, the king of Bashan--and swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.

Struck down the firstborn? Swept Pharaoh into the Red Sea? If mercy can do that, surely it can speak to a few unruly voices in the middle of the night. Mercy and compassion… who better to find me in my low moments and deliver me from my enemies?

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