Origen On Prayer

Over the centuries, countless authors have written on the subject of prayer. Saints such as St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Thomas Aquinas come to mind. Pre-dating all of these is Origen. Although not declared a Saint by the Church, Origen is a Church Father. He was a prolific writer, whose works are still studied today in the tradition of the Church.

Origen On Prayer is a discourse for anyone who might be just beginning the practice of prayer, or even for those who are accustomed to some form of prayer and would like to deepen it. Well versed in the scriptures, he begins with an overview of the different uses of the words for prayer in scripture. He describes those who say that nothing is accomplished by prayer and is therefore superfluous, gives their reasoning for such an argument, then proceeds to refute it by discussing topics such as: Man’s freewill and God’s foreknowledge, conditions necessary for prayer, and the place of prayer in man’s life. After his refutation he writes about the content of prayer, the recipient of prayer and the objects of prayer. The last half of the discourse is an exegesis on The Lord’s Prayer.

The chapter discussing the objects of prayer is particularly delightful. It seems that discussion on prayer these days centers around asking God for anything and everything. Whatever need you may have, bring it before God and he will help you. Petitioning God is not a bad thing; we can and should ask God for what we need. However, this has a tendency to treat prayer simply as petition for mere things that we want. Furthermore it often sets us up to be disappointed, as the things we desire are not always in accord with God’s will. There is much more to prayer. Origen reminds us that our prayer to God should be for the great, heavenly things. As for the little, earthly things, they will be added unto us.

Also beneficial is the entire section on the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is the greatest way to teach us to pray, as it was given by Jesus himself. In reading any scripture, often commentaries are helpful in opening the scripture up to us for better understanding. Modern commentaries are coming more and more frequently, but the writers of these commentaries are sometimes loose in their interpretation. The best source for commentary is always the Church Fathers. Origen’s commentary on the Lord’s Prayer goes at length to explain each phrase, without being too wordy.

While most of this discourse is easily understood and could be a teaching for all peoples of all times, there are a few things that might lead to confusion and also may be considered dated. In one instance, going back to the objects of prayer, Origen goes so far as to say that, “God is incapable of bestowing anything either earthly or little” (p.32). Of course we should pray for the greater, heavenly things, but that does not mean that the omnipotent God is not capable of granting the lesser things as well.

As mentioned before, there are many treatises on prayer. Some are confusing, some are boring, some leave you falling asleep, some leave you exhausted and certain that you will never be able to attain great heights in prayer. Origen On Prayer is none of these. It is a basic discourse on prayer, giving one a simple understanding of what prayer should be. As prayer ultimately is a communication with God, I would recommend this discourse to everyone.

Origen, Origen On Prayer, at Christian Classics Ethereal Library, http://www.ccel.org/origen/prayer.html. (20 May 2013)