“Origen On Prayer” translated by William A. Curtis
Ebook published by Christian Classics Ethereal Library
As one would expect from a scholar and professor, Origen On Prayer is a well thought through, organized and easy to understand explanation and guide on prayer.
Origen lived from c. 185- c.254, born to a Christian family in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the eldest of seven children, and when his father, Leonides, became a martyr, he had to take over caring for his family and sought to do so teaching at the age of 17. He excelled in his studies having been tutored by first his father and then Clement. His classes were exceedingly popular and soon he had to divide his classes giving some of his students to assistants. He was called on to preach homilies as a layman. We do not know how many books he has written by the sheer amount of them, we know that many were not preserved. [1] It was said of him by George Scholarius, "Where Origen was good, no one is better, where he was bad, no one is worse."[2] So when you find one of his classic works, you must prepare yourself to enter the mind of one of the most brilliant men who has lived.
In this manuscript Origen answers what prayer is, how it is to be done, and what to include in your prayers. He argues the importance of prayer to an all-knowing God, he covers free will and its impact on our lives especially as it pertains to prayer, he breaks down the Lord’s Prayer in detail, the saints and angels role in prayer, spiritual warfare, and goes over the very purposes of prayer. He quotes the Bible and shares stories from it to make his points and lay foundation for the beliefs and arguments that he makes throughout the book.
The strengths of this book are its organization and the ease of understanding while still retaining its depth. It is a very personal book, meant to go into the most intimate of places in your soul. It makes coming into the presence of the Almighty something that you do in reverence and love, humility and confidence.
Among the qualities in this book that I noted, it may highly appeal to those who maintain a rigorous and structured religion. The caution in this is that it may become a checklist in prayer on so many levels that the heart of the one praying might be neglected. While this may not be true of the one who prefers this, to one who simply needs to approach their Creator in a childlike faith, it can be a burden. Origen addressed this point several times, listing why one would or wouldn't follow many of his points for good reason.
Whether you are a novice or have years of experience in prayer, this work is beneficial for growing in your understanding and personal prayer life. It is easy to understand while at the same time challenging and encouraging.
If you’re interested and looking to same time, I have found an audio reading online which can be located by clicking here.
[1] http://www.ccel.org/ccel/origen
[2] Quoted by Henry Chadwick, Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition (New York: Oxford University, 1966)
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