Sacred Invocation: Origen On Prayer

Джерела християнського Сходу #22

by Origen, William A. Curtis (Translation), Theodore J. Nottingham (Introduction)

A unique translation from the original Greek of the second century spiritual master Origen, developed and handed down by a reknown Scottish scholar and made available nearly one hundred years later in memory of Dr. Charles Ashanin whose last days were devoted to this project. From the book: Who would not say that it is impossible for man to trace out things in heaven? Yet this impossible thing, by the surpassing grace of God, becomes possible; for he who was caught up unto a third heaven traced out things in the three heavens through having heard unutterable utterances which it was not permitted for man to speak. Who can say that it is possible for the mind of the Lord to be known by man?

Genres: Religion, Christian, Theology, Spirituality, Prayer, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2010

About the author

Origen of Alexandria (c. 184 – c. 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and biblical hermeneutics, homiletics, and spirituality. He was one of the most influential figures in early Christian theology, apologetics, and asceticism. He has been described as "the greatest genius the early church ever produced".

Reviews

[Matthew McConnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gift it was to learn from Origen on the topic of prayer. I am humbled and grateful to have been in the presence (via his penned words!) of this godly man and theologian.

Oh God, may my whole life be a prayer to you. All praise belongs to you, God our Father, through the glorious name of your Only-Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the end of this short book of about 100 pages Origen says something that is striking and worth considering for any writer as prolific as he is:  "But if you press on to the things in front and forget those behind and pray for me in my undertaking, I do not despair of being enabled to receive from God the Giver a fuller and more divine capacity for all these matters, and with it to discuss the same subject again in a nobler, loftier, and clearer way.  Meanwhile, however, you will peruse this with indulgence (112)."  There are no shortages of books about prayer [1], but this book benefits both from being among the first of these books and also for setting a template for the concerns that books on prayer would often deal with, including some of the details of how it should be done as well as looking at the deeper meaning of the Lord's Prayer, all of which makes this book pretty distinctive.  That is not to say that this book couldn't have been better--a table of contents would have improved matters, but even as it is it is a worthwhile book.

This book is a pretty short one, at 112 pages and twenty chapters, but one should at least note that the author gets to the point, beginning with an introduction (1), looking at the scriptural uses of the biblical words for prayer (2), giving objections to prayer (3) and answers to them (4, 5, 6, 7, 8), which are worth reading because such objections are still used today and their answers are still worth keeping in mind.  After this the author discusses the content of prayer in its moods (9), the recipient of prayers (10), and the objects of prayer (11).  At this point the author turns his attention to the Lord's prayer, starting with its preface (12) and then looking at different aspects of the prayer:  reflecting on our Father in heaven (13), His hallowed name (14), the coming Kingdom (15), God's will being done (16), asking for our needful/daily bread (17), forgiving our debts as we forgive our debtors (18), and leading us out of evil (19).  After this point the author closes the short book (20).  I do not know if the author ever managed to write another book of prayer, but this book is certainly a worthwhile one and the model for many books since them which also look at the Lord's prayer as a template for the prayers of believers.

There are a few elements that raise this above the normal level of books about prayer.  For one, the book itself presents itself as what it probably was, a letter involved in a conversation.  Some writers nowadays forget that they are involved in a conversation with other books and with other writers, but once upon a time writers were very cognizant of the fact and let their readers know that their writings were the best that they could do in the time that they had, and that they hoped to do better if they had the chance.  If only contemporary works could be as modest and as candid.  Additionally, the author does a good job at bringing some complicated grammatical matters into his discussion of prayer, reminding us that there are different words used for prayers and that praying is a complicated matter.  To be sure, the author could have included more biblical prayers and less works from the apocrypha, which he was all too fond of quoting, but these are minor quibbles.  All things considered, this is an excellent book about prayer that gives the reader plenty of food for thought and plenty of encouragement as to why prayer remains important for believers even now.  Few books remain relevant as long as this one has about topics of importance that are universally considered important.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book on prayer. Very different from all the other books I've read on prayer.

It certainly helped that I discussed parts of this book in the group https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
The cultural background and style of arguing is so different from what we are currently used to, that it is easy to misunderstand what he says while thinking that you do understand (but disagree).

All through the book you see that Origen points out that we need to have a spiritual perspective. Not that the earthly things don't count, but they are an expression of spiritual realities.

When considering what is so different from this book and more modern books, the first thing that comes to my mind is that I don't remember him mentioning the problem of unanswered prayers, which is something you would find in every modem book.
I think in those times people really didn't bother so much about unanswered prayers, because for them it was obviously much more important to stay faithful to God even in hardships, which were much more than now considered part of reality.

I liked the part on the Lord's prayer best. Especially the chapter on "give us today our daily bread". This chapter is exemplary of his spiritual attitude. He says: What is more nourishing to the soul than Word, or what more precious to the mind of him that is capable of receiving it than the Wisdom of God?
And I just loved this, because I think it is really true, and my soul and mind really long for this spiritual food.

[Logan Prettyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Origen delivers. He is truly a master of the Scriptures, and I’m thankful to learn from him. Speaking of prayer: “There are realities that are so great that they find a rank superior to humanity and our mortal nature … [through Christ and the Spirit] these realities have become possible for us.”

[Artash Arakelyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Origen is one of the greatest humans living on the earth and his works are very prominent in philosophy and in Christianity! In this book he gives wisdom about the essence of the prayer and particularly explains Lord's Prayer (Our Father / Հայր Մեր). Regardless of the beliefs human life is full of temptations and evil, so for many it may not be clear why we ask God in the prayer "to not to lead us to temptation and deliver us from evil". While all of us, especially devoted Christians face tons of temptations and evil, Origen gives a 360 overview of what exactly each word means in the prayer and why we are asking it. Deep topic but Origen covers it all in this short book, and no questions left :)

[A.J. Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was an interesting combination of theology (majoritively through the use of commentary on the Lord's Prayer) and practical advice. The clear instructions of praying three times a day, facing towards the east and having a position of outstretched hands and eyes facing upward, all of which is giving as a suggestion and not a command, give the twenty-first century Christian a fresh yet ancient way to approach his/her prayer life. Origen challenges the modern lackadaisical disposition towards prayer and calls for a preparatory time of clearing the mind before prayer and situating oneself to giving God due reverence in the act of praying. This dismisses the desire to pray while doing other things, giving prayer some sort of supposed efficiency (as if it lacked such benefits). No, for Origen, prayer is a special time by itself, which should be treated as such.
This treatise of prayer was read in the Origen: An Exhortation to Martyrdom, Prayer, and Selected Works" by the Classics of Western Spirituality. I would recommend this to an adult small group at church that is open to the power and symbolism of liturgy and who are wanting to challenge their view on prayer.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sure, Origen had some pretty major theological issues, but this is a great essay on prayer.

[Kris L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit wordy at times, but a good contemplative book.

[Steven Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing exposition on prayer.... Origen clearly studied the Scriptures obsessively, as nearly every sentence is explaining a verse or referencing a verse.

[Kyleigh Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good and helpful, thought-provoking things, but Origen's quirks also come through.