Invocations: Super-short prayers for when life gets crazy

You’ve got a baby in one arm, groceries in the other, your toddler somehow got your phone, which is ringing—quick, what do you do? When you need to pray but don’t really have time to sit down and compose yourself, an invocation might be just the ticket. Invocations (or “pious invocations”) are very short prayers—usually a phrase or sentence—that can be said once (as a quick, spontaneous prayer during stressful or busy times) or repeated over and over as a way of meditating on the presence of God.