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On Prayer

Origen, tr. Oulton, 1954

Probably, however, most godly and laborious Ambrose, and most modest and brave Tatiana …

Probably, however, most godly and laborious Ambrose,1 and most modest and brave Tatiana2 (for whom, it can be said, “it” has “ceased to be after the manner of women,” as “it” had “ceased to be with Sarah”3), you are somewhat at a loss why, when the subject before us is prayer, we should begin by speaking of the things which though impossible for men yet become possible by the grace of God. One of these impossible things, having regard to our weakness, is, I believe, to give a clear, exact and appropriate account of the whole matter of prayer, how we ought to pray, what things we ought to say to God in prayer, and what times are more suitable than others for prayer4 . . . [we know that Paul] who because of “the exceeding greatness of the revelations” took care “lest any man should account of” him “above that which he seeth” him “to be, or heareth from”5 him, confessed that he did “not know” how “to pray as” he “ought”6; for as concerning what ought to be prayed for, he says, “we know not as we ought.” So it is necessary not only to pray, but also to pray “as we ought,” and to pray for what we ought. For it is not enough that we should be able to pray for what we ought, unless in addition we possess the “as we ought.” And what does the “as we ought” profit us, if we do not know how to pray for what we ought?

Now, of these two things the one, that is to say, “what we ought,” is concerned with the words of prayer; the other, “as we ought,” with the condition of him who is praying. Examples of “what we ought” are: “Ask for the great things, and the little things shall be added unto you”7;8 and “Ask for the heavenly things and the earthly things9 shall be added unto you”10; and “Pray for them that despitefully use you”11; and “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest”12; and “Pray that ye enter not into temptation”13; and “Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath”14 and “And in praying use not vain repetitions”15; and any other sayings like these. An example of “as we ought” is: “I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing. In like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety, not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly raiment; but (which becometh women professing godliness) through good works.”16 Instruction on “as we ought” is also to be found in the passage: “If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”17 For what greater gift can a reasonable creature18 present to God than a sweet-savoured19* word of prayer, offered by one whose conscience is void of the foul savour that comes from sin? Further instruction on “as we ought” is: “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan rejoice not over you2021 because of your incontinency.”22 From this it follows that “as we ought” is hindered unless in the performance of the ineffable mysteries of marriage due regard is paid to gravity, infrequency and absence of passion: for the “consent” here mentioned does away with the disorder of passion, removes “incontinency,” and hinders the joy that Satan takes in another’s ill. In addition to these passages, instruction on “as we ought” is to be found in the saying: “If we stand praying,23 forgive, if ye have aught against anyone.”24 Also the passage in Paul, “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoureth her head,”25 is indicative of “as we ought.”

Paul knew all these passages, and could quote a great many more besides from the Law and the Prophets and from their fulfilment,26 the Gospel, and give a varied exposition of each of them; nevertheless it is out of a true as well as a modest disposition that he says (for in spite of all this knowledge he saw how far off he was from knowing what we ought to pray for “as we ought”): “As touching what we ought to pray for, we know not as we ought.”27 And, in addition to this saying, he also indicates the means whereby what is lacking is supplied for the man who though ignorant renders himself worthy to have what is lacking in himself supplied: for he says, “The Spirit himself maketh intercession” to God “with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”28 Now “the Spirit” who “cries” in “the hearts” of the blessed ones, “Abba, Father,”29 knowing full well the groanings “in this tabernacle,”30 that they are capable of weighing down those who have fallen or transgressed, “maketh intercession” to God “with groanings which cannot be uttered,”31 and out of his great kindness and sympathy receives our groanings. And when, in accordance with the wisdom that is in him, he sees “our soul humbled to the dust”32 and confined in “the body of humiliation,”33 “he maketh intercession” to God, using no ordinary “groanings,” but certain “which cannot be uttered,” which appertain to those “unspeakable words, which it is not” possible “for a man to utter.”34 In very truth, this Spirit, not content simply to intercede with God, intensifies the intercession and “intercedes exceedingly.”35 I imagine that he does this for those who are conquering exceedingly, such as Paul was when he says, “Nay, in all these things we conquer exceedingly.”36 Probably, he merely “intercedes” for those who, on the one hand, are not so great as “to conquer exceedingly,” and yet, on the other, are not such as to be conquered, but rather are conquering.

Related to the text “we know not what” we ought “to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit intercedes exceedingly” to God “with groanings which cannot be uttered,”37 is the text: “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”38 For neither can our understanding pray, unless previously the Spirit prays, hearkening39 as it were to it,40 nor likewise can it sing and hymn the Father in Christ with rhythm, melody, measure and harmony, unless the Spirit, who “searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God,”41 first praise and hymn him, whose “deep things”42 he has “searched,” and, so far as he is able,4344 apprehended.

“One of the disciples” of Jesus (being conscious in himself, as I suppose, of human weakness in its ignorance concerning how one ought to pray, and recognizing this especially when he heard the wise and great words uttered by the Saviour in prayer to his Father), “when” the Lord “ceased” praying, said: “Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.” The following is the full context of the saying: “And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples”45 to pray.46 . . . Is it then that a man, brought up in the instruction of the Law and in hearing the words of the Prophets, and a constant frequenter of the synagogues, did not know how to pray at all, until he saw the Lord praying “in a certain place”? It would be absurd to assert this. Undoubtedly he was accustomed to pray in the Jewish fashion; but he saw that he needed greater knowledge in the matter of prayer. Moreover, what did “John teach his disciples” concerning prayer, as they came “unto him” to be “baptized” from “Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and the region round about,”47 unless it was that, being “much more than a prophet,”48 he saw certain things concerning prayer, which, I dare say, he delivered secretly, not to all those who were being baptized,49 but to those who were under instruction as disciples for baptism?

Such prayers, being truly spiritual (for the Spirit prays in the hearts of the saints), have been recorded, and they are filled with unutterable and marvellous teachings. An example, in the First Book of the Kingdoms, is the prayer of Hannah,50 which is given in part (for the whole prayer, “when she continued praying before the Lord, speaking in her heart,” has not been written down).51 In the Psalms, the sixteenth Psalm is entitled, “A Prayer of David,” and the eighty-ninth, “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God,” and the one hundred and first, “A Prayer of the poor man, when he is uncared for, and pours forth his petition before the Lord.”52 Such prayers, since they were truly prayers which came into being and were spoken by the Spirit, are filled with the teachings of the wisdom of God; so that one may say of the things that they set forth: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these” prayers? “and prudent, and he shall know” them?53

Since, therefore, to treat of prayer is so weighty a task that it requires the illumination of the Father for this very thing, and the teaching of his first begotten Word, and the operation of the Spirit that we may understand and speak worthily of so weighty a matter, I pray as a man54 (for I do not hold that I am able of my own self to treat of prayer) before I begin to speak on the subject of prayer, that the Holy Spirit may be vouchsafed to me, so that a very full and spiritual word may be bestowed upon me, and the prayers recorded in the Gospels55 made plain. Let us now then begin the subject of prayer.

Notes

  1. II, 1. Ambrose] Further details concerning this man may be found in D.C.B., I, 90–91, and Lawlor and Oulton, Eusebius, II, 213 f. It is sufficient here to note that his association with Origen had a profound effect upon them both. Origen reclaimed him from heresy. Ambrose, on his part, encouraged Origen in his literary labours, and generously out of his own means, which were abundant, supplied him with equipment for them. The epithet “most laborious,” which Origen here applies to Ambrose, is by no means otiose. His zeal and industry were so intense that even the indefatigable Origen called him playfully his “task-master” or “slave-driver” (ἐργοδιώκτης: Ex. 3:7; 5:6–14). Ambrose communicated in writing to Origen the questions about prayer (V, 6) which gave rise to this treatise. See Introduction, p. 182.
  2. II, 1. Tatiana] Nothing is known about this woman. Ambrose associated her with himself, apparently, in the questions about prayer. Some have supposed her to be Ambrose’s sister (the name of his wife was Marcella: see Origen, Ep. ad Africanum, sub fin.). She was evidently a person of somewhat mature age. The epithet “very brave” may suggest constancy in time of persecution.
  3. Gen. 18:11.
  4. A lacuna of four and one-fifth lines (about 300 letters) occurs here in the MS. Doubtless at this point Origen referred to the need for divine grace to help him in his task, as we find him doing lower down in this chapter (sect. 6).
  5. II Cor. 12:7, 6.
  6. Rom. 8:26.
  7. See note.
  8. II, 2. “Ask for the great things, and the little things shall be added unto you”] An Agraphon, or extra-canonical saying, attributed by some writers in the early Church to our Lord. Origen goes on: “and ‘Ask for the heavenly things and the earthly things shall be added unto you.’” But it is not clear whether he intends both parts to be regarded as one or two separate sayings. The latter part has echoes of John 3:12 combined with Matt. 6:33 and Luke 12:31. Clement of Alexandria (Strom., I, 24:158, 2) refers to the earlier part only: “Of the kingly office one portion is divine, that which appertains to God and his holy Son, by whom are supplied both the good things of the earth and besides perfect felicity as well. For ‘Ask,’ he says, ‘for the great things, and the little things shall be added unto you.’” Cf. Eusebius, In Psalm., 16:2: “This also the Saviour taught, saying, ‘Ask for the great things, and the little things shall be added unto you.’” On the interpretation of “the great” and “the little” things Clement and Origen are at one. Clem., Strom., IV, 6:34, 6, says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness: these are great things; the small things, appertaining to this life, shall be added unto you.” Origen (contra Celsum, VII, 44) declares that the Christian prays for no trivial blessings, “for he has learnt from Jesus to seek for nothing little, that is, an object of the senses, but to seek only the great and truly divine things, such as are given by God to help to lead us on to that blessedness that is to be found with him through his Son, the Word, who is God”; and he develops this thought in XIV, 1, of this treatise (see p. 266). Some modern scholars have also reckoned this agraphon as an indubitable saying of the Lord, e.g., Resch, Agrapha, 230, “Es ist ein sehr gut beglaubigtes Herrenwort,” and Ropes, Sprüche Jesu, 140, “Dieser Spruch kann gewiss als eine treue Wiedergabe eines Lehrspruches Jesu gelten.” See H.D.B., article “Agrapha” in extra volume; B. Jackson, Twenty-five Agrapha, 29 ff. For the sentiment, cf. Plato, Apology, XVII.
  9. Cf. John 3:12.
  10. Cf. Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:31.
  11. Luke 6:28.
  12. Matt. 9:38; Luke 10:2.
  13. Luke 22:40 (Matt. 26:41; Mark 14:38).
  14. Matt. 24:20 (Mark 13:18).
  15. Matt. 6:7.
  16. I Tim. 2:8–10.
  17. Matt. 5:23, 24.
  18. Cf. Rom. 12:1.
  19. Cf. Eph. 5:2; Phil. 4:18.
  20. The usual reading is “tempt you not”: see note.
  21. II, 2. “that Satan rejoice not over you”] ἵνα μὴ ἐπιχαρῇ ὑμῖν ὁ σατανᾶς. The usual reading in I Cor. 7:5 is: ἵνα μὴ πειράζῃ ὑμᾶς ὁ σατανᾶς. Von Soden notes this variant; but it seems to have escaped the attention of English scholars. That it is not a scribal error in T is plain from the words of Origen that follow: “the joy that Satan takes in another’s ill.” In spite of its weak attestation, there are two points that may be urged in favour of ἐπιχαρῇ ὑμῖν being the true reading: (1) it would be fatally easy for a scribe to alter ἐπιχαρῇ to πειράζῃ in a reference to Satan; and (2) if Paul wrote ἐπιχαρῇ it would give additional point to I Cor. 13:6: ἡ ἀγάπη . . . οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ.
  22. I Cor. 7:5.
  23. II, 2. “If ye stand praying”] Mark 11:25. Here and in IX:3 Origen reads “If ye stand” instead of “Whensoever ye stand,” which is found in all the other textual authorities, except the Bohairic and the Sahidic versions, which also read “if.” For posture in prayer, see XXXI, 2.
  24. Mark 11:25: see note.
  25. I Cor. 11:4, 5.
  26. Cf. Matt. 5:17.
  27. Rom. 8:26.
  28. Rom. 8:26, 27.
  29. Gal. 4:6.
  30. II Cor. 5:4.
  31. Rom. 8:26.
  32. Ps. 44:25.
  33. Phil. 3:21.
  34. II Cor. 12:4.
  35. Rom. 8:26: Origen here makes the point that Paul does not simply say ἐντυγχάνει (as in v. 27), but ὑπερεντυγχάνει. The English Bible versions do not attempt to reproduce this distinction.
  36. Rom. 8:37.
  37. Rom. 8:26.
  38. I Cor. 14:15.
  39. See note.
  40. II, 4. hearkening as it were to it] Reading, with Bentley, ἐπηκόῳ for ὑπηκόῳ, which usually means “obeying” although it can also mean “hearkening.”
  41. I Cor. 2:10.
  42. II, 4. him, whose deep things, etc.] An emendation of Bentley is followed.
  43. See note.
  44. II, 4. so far as he is able] ὡς ἐξίσχυσε. The words, taken in their literal meaning, would indicate that the Spirit cannot fully fathom the deep things of God. If so, they must be added to those expressions used by Origen which indicate a doctrine of the Holy Spirit that falls short of the Catholic Faith. On the other hand, in De Princ., I, 3, 4 (as translated by Rufinus), in which the reference to I Cor. 2:10 again occurs, Origen says: “As the Son, who alone knows the Father, reveals him to whom he will, so the Holy Spirit, who alone searches the deep things of God, reveals God to whom he will.” The knowledge and power of revelation possessed by the Holy Spirit is parallel to that possessed by the Son, and he has it in virtue of his own being. It may be, however, that Origen draws a subtle distinction between “knowing the Father” (the peculiar property of the Son) and “searching the deep things of God” (the peculiar property of the Spirit), and suggests that the latter involves a less complete understanding than does the former. And we cannot be sure that Rufinus has not doctored this passage in the interests of orthodoxy. Certainly, In Joh., II, 10, 11 (ed. Brooke) is on different lines. There Origen raises the question whether since it is said that all things were made through the Son, the Holy Spirit is one of them; and after some hesitation (in the course of which, however, he affirms his belief in three Hypostases) he slips into an affirmative answer, and comes to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is one of the “all things” inferior (ὑποδεεστέρων) to him through whom all things were made.
  45. Luke 11:1.
  46. A lacuna of two and a half lines occurs here in the MS., probably containing a citation of Matt. 3:5, 6.
  47. Matt. 3:5, 6.
  48. Matt. 11:9.
  49. II, 4. not to all those who were being baptized] It is a favourite thought of Origen that there are two classes of believers, a higher and a lower, and that the former alone are capable of receiving esoteric teaching. Here he suggests that the same distinction was to be found in John’s, as it was afterwards in Christian, disciples.
  50. I Sam. 1:11–13.
  51. So Koetschau emends the text of T.
  52. These Psalms are numbered in the English Bible 17, 90, and 102, respectively.
  53. Hos. 14:9.
  54. II, 6. I pray as a man] The punctuation and construction of the rest of this sentence is not self-evident: but I have followed Koetschau as giving the clearest sense.
  55. II, 6. the prayers recorded in the Gospels] Origen held (XVIII, 2, 3) that the versions of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and Luke represent two different prayers.

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