John Chrysostom, On Prayer

having conversed with the king, and having enjoyed gentle words and honor, they do not deign to come into the company of beggars and outcasts; so he who has spoken to God and prayed, would not deign to accept the company of the wicked and impious. For truly he who is a slave to pleasures, converses with demons, and has emulated their madness; just as he who is temperate, and practices righteousness lives together with angels, and emulates their magnificence. And it seems to me that someone saying that prayers are the sinews of the soul, would speak the truth. For just as, I think, the body is held together by the sinews, and runs, and stands, and lives, and is made firm; but if someone should cut them out, he dissolves all the harmony of the body; so the souls are fitted together by holy prayers, and are held together, and run the course of piety with ease. But if you deprive yourself of prayer, you will do the same thing as if you were to take a fish out of the water; for just as water is life to it, so is prayer to you. Through it, it is possible, as through water, to fly up, and to pass beyond the heavens, and to become near to God. Therefore, what has been said is sufficient to show the power of holy prayer; but it is perhaps better, coming to the divine Scriptures, to learn from the declarations of Christ the wealth which prayers store up for those who wish to devote their whole life to them. And he also told them a parable, it says, to the effect that they ought always to pray. There was a judge in a certain city, who did not fear God and did not respect man. And there was a widow in that city, and she came to him, saying: 'Avenge me of my adversary'; and for a time he would not. But afterward he said within himself: 'Though I do not fear God, and do not respect man, yet because this widow gives me trouble, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she wear me out.' And the Lord said: 'Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will bring about justice for them speedily. Let us learn, brothers, the hidden wisdom in the words of the Spirit, searching according to our ability, not how great it is, but as much as is attainable for us. Those who make their living in the sea, going down to the very deep, bring the precious stones to those on the land; but we, having explored the sea of the divine Scriptures, to 50.782 the very deep of spiritual wisdom, let us run down as far as is possible, so that we might bring to you a good treasure adorning souls better than jeweled crowns do the heads of kings. For their beauty is completed with this life; but he who crowns his soul with the words of the Spirit, both now passes the time with all security, and after the end of life, confidently approaches the judgment seat of Christ, being full of virtue, and pure of all evil. What treasure, then, do we bring you from the deep of the Scriptures, not touching the very depth of wisdom, but descending only so far as is possible? Christ, leading people to prayer, and wishing to present the benefit from it to our souls, introduces a certain wicked and harsh judge, who had cast all shame from his eyes, and had driven the fear of God from his soul. And yet it would have been sufficient to propose the person of a just and merciful man, and by comparing his justice with the love of God for mankind, to show the power of supplication. For if a good and gentle man graciously receives those who bring supplication, how much more God, whose magnitude of love for mankind surpasses not only our understanding, but even that of the angels themselves? Therefore, as I said, it would have been sufficient to propose the person of a just judge; but now a cruel one

βασιλεῖ διαλεχθέντες, καὶ λόγων ἡμέρων καὶ τιμῆς ἀπολαύσαντες, οὐκ ἀξιοῦσιν ἐλθεῖν εἰς ὁμιλίαν τῶν προσαιτῶν καὶ ἀπεῤῥιμμένων· οὕτως ὁ Θεῷ λαλήσας καὶ προσευξάμενος, οὐκ ἂν ἀξιώσειε τοῦ πονηροῦ καὶ ἀσεβοῦς ὁμιλίαν παραδέξασθαι. Καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ὁ δουλεύων ἡδοναῖς, δαίμοσιν ὁμιλεῖ, καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων μανίαν ἐζήλωσεν· ὥσπερ ὁ σωφρονῶν, καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἀσκῶν ἀγγέλοις συνδιαιτᾶται, καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων ζηλοῖ μεγαλοπρέπειαν. ∆οκεῖ δέ μοί τις ἂν εἰπὼν, ὅτι νεῦρα τῆς ψυχῆς εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ, τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ, οἶμαι, τὸ σῶμα διὰ τῶν νεύρων συνέχεται, καὶ τρέχει, καὶ ἵσταται, καὶ ζῇ, καὶ πέπηγεν· ἂν δὲ ταῦτά τις ἐκτέμῃ, πᾶσαν τὴν ἁρμονίαν διαλύει τοῦ σώματος· οὕτως αἱ ψυχαὶ διὰ τῶν ἁγίων προσευχῶν ἁρμόζονται, καὶ συνεστήκασι, καὶ τὸν δρόμον τῆς εὐσεβείας τρέχουσιν εὐχερῶς. Ἂν δὲ τῆς προσευχῆς ἀποστερήσῃς σαυτὸν, ταυτὸν ποιήσεις, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ τὸν ἰχθὺν ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐξήγαγες· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκείνῳ ζωὴ τὸ ὕδωρ, οὕτω σοὶ προσευχή. ∆ιὰ ταύτης ἔστιν, ὥσπερ δι' ὕδατος, ἀναπτῆναι, καὶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ὑπερβῆναι, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ γενέσθαι πλησίον. Ἱκανὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ τὰ ῥηθέντα, δεῖξαι τὴν ἰσχὺν τῆς ἁγίας προσευχῆς· βέλτιον δὲ ἴσως ἐπὶ τὰς θείας ἐλθόντα Γραφὰς, ἐκ τῶν ἀποφάσεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ μαθεῖν τὸν πλοῦτον, ὃν αἱ προσευχαὶ θησαυρίζουσι τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐν αὐταῖς πάντα τὸν βίον σχολάζειν. Ἔλεγε δὲ, φησὶ, καὶ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς, πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι. Κριτής τις ἦν ἔν τινι πόλει, τὸν Θεὸν μὴ φοβούμενος, καὶ ἄνθρωπον μὴ ἐντρεπόμενος. Χήρα δὲ ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ, καὶ ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα· Ἐκδίκησόν με ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου μου· καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν ἐπὶ χρόνον. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Εἰ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν οὐ φοβοῦμαι, καὶ ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἐντρέπομαι, διά γε τὸ παρέχειν μοι κόπον τὴν χήραν ταύτην, ἐκδικήσω αὐτὴν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς τέλος ἐρχομένη ὑπωπιάζῃ με. Εἶπε δὲ ὁ Κύριος· Ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς οὐ μὴ ποιήσῃ τὴν ἐκδίκησιν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ, τῶν βοώντων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, καὶ μακροθυμεῖ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς; Λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ποιήσει τὴν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει. Μάθωμεν, ἀδελφοὶ, τὴν κεκρυμμένην σοφίαν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ Πνεύματος, διερευνώμενοι κατὰ δύναμιν ἡμετέραν, οὐχ ὅση ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ ὅσον ἡμῖν ἐφικτόν. Οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ ποιούμενοι τὸν βίον, ἐπ' αὐτὸν κατιόντες τὸν βυθὸν, τοὺς πολυτιμήτους λίθους τοῖς ἐν τῇ γῇ κομίζουσιν· ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ πέλαγος τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ἱστορήσαντες, εἰς 50.782 αὐτὸν τὸν βυθὸν τῆς πνευματικῆς σοφίας, ὅσον οἷόν τε καταδράμωμεν, ἵνα κομίσωμεν ὑμῖν θησαυρὸν ἀγαθὸν κοσμοῦντα τὰς ψυχὰς βέλτιον, ἣ τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν βασιλέων οἱ λιθοκόλλητοι στέφανοι. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐκείνων κάλλος τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ συναπαρτίζεται· ὁ δὲ τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ Πνεύματος στεφανῶν τὴν ψυχὴν, καὶ νῦν μετὰ ἀσφαλείας πάσης διαπερᾷ τὸν χρόνον, καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου τελευτὴν, θαῤῥῶν προσέρχεται τῷ βήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, γέμων ἀρετῆς, καὶ καθαρεύων πάσης κακίας. Τίνα οὖν ὑμῖν θησαυρὸν ἐκ τοῦ βυθοῦ τῶν Γραφῶν κομίζομεν, οὐκ αὐτοῦ τοῦ βάθους ἁπτόμενοι τῆς σοφίας, ἀλλὰ τοσοῦτον κατιόντες, ὅσον ἐγχωρεῖ; Ἐπὶ τὴν προσευχὴν ἄγων τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὁ Χριστὸς, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ ταύτης ὠφέλειαν παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος ταῖς ἡμετέραις ψυχαῖς, κριτὴν εἰσάγει πονηρόν τινα καὶ σκαιὸν, πᾶσαν αἰδῶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἀποῤῥίψαντα, καὶ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξελάσαντα. Καίτοι γε ἤρκει δικαίου καὶ ἐλεήμονος ὑποθέσθαι πρόσωπον, καὶ παρεξετάσαντα τὴν ἐκείνου δικαιοσύνην τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, δεῖξαι τὴν ἰσχὺν τῆς δεήσεως. Εἰ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος χρηστὸς καὶ πρᾶος ἡμέρως δέχεται τοὺς ἱκετηρίαν προσάγοντας, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ Θεὸς, οὗ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς φιλανθρωπίας οὐ μόνον τὴν ἡμετέραν ὑπερβαίνει διάνοιαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτούς; Ἤρκει μὲν οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, δικαίου πρόσωπον ὑποθέσθαι κριτοῦ· νῦν δὲ ὠμὸν