De oratione

 Therefore, the one of these, I mean the 'what we should pray for,' is the words of the prayer, but the 'as we ought' is the state of the one praying

 we are more than conquerors.” It is likely that “intercedes” only concerns those who are not so great as to be more than conquerors, nor again such as

 God be with me, and keep me in this way that I go, and give me bread to eat and a garment to put on, and bring me back with safety to my father's hous

 of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying: This is the word, which the Lord commanded: A man, who shall vow a vow to the Lord or swear an oath with

 of those who say there is providence for it is not our present purpose to examine the sayings of those who entirely deny God or providence) God kn

 since God exists and has comprehended the whole universe and abides in His pre-arranged decrees, to pray, supposing that by his prayer he will alter G

 and from what is in our power, which will be enacted according to our impulse. For even if, hypothetically, God did not know the future, we would not

 “let him not boast” “before” me but let him say: “I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God,” and perceiving my

 of prayer benefits those who have persuaded themselves that they have stood before and are speaking to a present and hearing God? 9.1 What has been sa

 to God, who ordains what he wills for our training, but not even murmuring in the secret of our thoughts without a voice audible to men which murmuri

 his preeminence, and stretching forth the right hand and giving to Judas a golden sword, to whom another saint who had fallen asleep testified, sa

 an angel, «of the» in the church «little ones,» «always» seeing «the face of the Father» «who is in heaven» and beholding the divinity of the one who

 the prayer of Holofernes with God prevails and one woman of the Hebrews brought shame to the house of Nebuchadnezzar But 'Ananias' 'and Azarias and M

 suffering from a basilisk, because through Christ he has stepped upon them and has trampled “lion and dragon,” having used the good authority given by

 doxology for greater things, offered up more magnificently by someone, and intercession, a request to God concerning certain things by one having a ce

 And an example of thanksgiving is the voice of our Lord, saying: “I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these thing

 kings shall be your nursing fathers, and their princesses your nurses they shall bow down to <you> with their face to the ground, and shall lick the

 with him the intelligible blessing reaching all the saints, spoken by Isaac to Jacob, namely: «May God give you of the dew of heaven,» to have come to

 of things truly and genuinely great and heavenly, and matters concerning the shadows that follow the preceding things must be entrusted to God, who kn

 For it is the work of hypocrites to want to put on airs before men for the sake of piety or for social reasons. But it is necessary, remembering the s

 20.2 And we must listen carefully to that they may be seen, since nothing that is merely apparent is good, as if existing in appearance and not in t

 It is not that God has not been called 20father20, or that those who are considered to have believed in God have not been named sons of God but rathe

 he has imitated the image «of the invisible God» and has become «according to the image of the one who created him,» who makes «his sun» rise «on the

 20Father20» let him go. And let us seek to understand more mystically the saying at the end of the Gospel according to John: «Do not touch me, for I h

 in order to persuade the reader from every side, according to the power given to us, to hear the divine scripture in a higher and more spiritual way,

 to exalt «0the name20» of God «at the same time,» is <when> someone, having partaken of an emanation of divinity by being taken up by God and having p

 We are commanded by Paul no longer to be subject to sin which wants to rule over us, and indeed we are ordered through these words: Let not sin there

 for us «0on earth20» likewise to them in all things “the 20will20” of God should be done which will happen, when we do nothing contrary to His «0will

 to divinity and being united with it. 26.5 But since the second point does not yet solve the difficulties about how «0the will20» of God is «0in heave

 we will set these things forth from more numerous sources. He says in the Gospel according to John to those who had come to Capernaum to seek him: “Tr

 nor are you able even now for you are still of the flesh” and in the one to the Hebrews: “and you have come to need milk, not solid food. For everyon

 being set apart, but is subject to every quality just like a prepared place. And by qualities they mean dispositively the activities and productions i

 by a demonstration of the angels and their becoming more ready to cooperate in every way and henceforth to concur in the apprehension of more and grea

 in the psalms thus: a thousand years in your eyes are as yesterday, which has passed (which is the famous millennium, which is likened to the yeste

 «0today20» but also in a way of the «0daily20» he who prays for «0today20», from the one who is able to grant «exceedingly abundantly above all that w

 and we are in a theater of the world and of angels and of men, it must be known that, just as the one in the theater is a 20debtor20 to say or do cert

 heavenly Father will do, unless you 20forgive20 each his brother from your hearts.” They say, however, that we 20must forgive20 those who have sinned

 they conceived a thought against God” for he offers the sacrifice concerning things of which it is doubted whether a sin has been committed, and this

 which our Lord taught concerning prayer. But when has anyone considered men to be outside of 20temptations20, whose word he knew he had fulfilled? And

 every time is one of 20temptation20 for men, even these things not even he who meditates on the law of God «day and night» and practices to fulfill w

 Finding such things in the law and the prophets, they stumbled as at one who was not good, who uttered such words but for us, on account of the diffi

 having desired generation, pray again to obtain twice what you desire, having come to hate the thing desired, and then thus to return to the good thin

 of our own evils and let us give thanks for the good things revealed to us through 20temptations20. But that the 20temptations20 which happen are for

 to put on (for he has received), but by in all that befell him not to have sinned at all before the Lord but to be shown to be righteous of the o

 to pray, stretching out the soul, as it were, before the hands, and stretching the mind toward God before the eyes, and before standing, arousing the

 which is possible, unless one gives himself to this by agreement for a time, that perhaps also concerning the place, if it is permissible, it must b

 It seems to me that these things have necessarily been said, while examining the place of prayer and representing what is exceptional as in a place at

 for the sake of magnifying you, my Lord, Lord.” 33.4 An example of confessions: “Deliver me from all my iniquities,” and in other places: “My wounds h

suffering from a basilisk, because through Christ he has stepped upon them and has trampled “lion and dragon,” having used the good authority given by Jesus “to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy,” and having been harmed in no way by such great things, let him give thanks more than Daniel, since he was delivered from more terrible and harmful beasts. In addition to these things, let the one who is convinced of what sea-monster the one that swallowed Jonah was a type, and who has understood that it was of that one spoken of by Job: “Let him curse it who curses that day, he who is about to subdue the great sea-monster,” if ever, through some disobedience, he comes to be “in the belly of the sea-monster,” pray, repenting, and from there he will come out. And having come out, persevering in obeying the commandments of God, he will be able, having prophesied according to the goodness of the Spirit, to become even now for the perishing Ninevites a cause of their salvation, not being displeased with the goodness of God nor seeking for Him to persist in severity towards those who repent. 13.5 And that very great thing which Samuel is said to have done through prayer, it is possible for each one of those genuinely dedicated to God to accomplish this spiritually even now, having become worthy of being heard. For it is written: “And now stand still <and see> this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain”; then after a little: “And Samuel,” it says, “called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain on that day.” For to every saint and to the one who is a genuine disciple of Jesus it is said by the Lord: “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are white for harvest already. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life.” In this time of harvest, then, “the Lord does” “a great thing” “before the eyes” of those who hear the prophets; for when he who is adorned with the Holy Spirit calls “upon the Lord,” God gives from heaven “thunder and” the “rain” that waters the soul, so that the one who was formerly in wickedness may fear the Lord greatly and the servant of God's good deed, who is revealed as venerable and revered through the things for which he is heard. And Elijah, too, later opens by a divine word the heaven that had been shut for the impious for three years and six months; a thing which is always accomplished by anyone who through prayer receives the rain of the soul, of which he had previously been deprived on account of sin. 14.1 Now that these things have been interpreted by us in relation to the benefits that have come to the saints through prayers, let us consider the saying: “Ask for the great things, and the small things will be added to you; and ask for the heavenly things, and the earthly things will be added to you.” For all symbolic and typical things, in comparison with the true and intelligible things, are “small” and “earthly”; and it is likely that the divine word, summoning us to imitate the prayers of the saints, so that we might ask for them according to the truth of the typical things which they accomplished, calls them “heavenly” and “great,” which have been revealed through things concerning earthly and small matters, saying: You who wish to be spiritual, through your prayers ask for <“the heavenly” and “great things”>, so that, having obtained them, as heavenly things you may inherit the kingdom of heaven and as great things you may enjoy the greatest goods, while the “earthly” and “small” things, which you need for your bodily necessities, the Father will supply to you in due measure. 14.2 And since in the Apostle there are four names for four things related to the discourse on prayer, spoken in the first letter to Timothy, it will be useful, having set forth his wording, to see <if> we might understand each of the four, understood in its proper sense, well. And he speaks thus: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” and what follows. I think, then, that a petition is a prayer sent up with supplication by one who is lacking something, concerning obtaining that thing, but prayer is that with

βασιλίσκου παθὼν τῷ διὰ Χριστὸν αὐτὸν αὐτῶν ἐπιβεβηκέναι καὶ καταπατήσας «λέ οντα καὶ δράκοντα» τῇ τε καλῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ δεδομένῃ χρησά μενος «τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ» καὶ μηδὲν ὑπὸ τῶν τοσούτων ἀδικηθεὶς πλεῖον τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ εὐχαριστησάτω, ἅτε ἀπὸ φοβερωτέρων καὶ ἐπιβλαβεστέ ρων ῥυσθεὶς θηρίων. πρὸς τούτοις ὁ πεπεισμένος, ποίου κήτους τύπος τὸ καταπεπωκὸς τὸν Ἰωνᾶν ἐτύγχανε, καὶ καταλαβὼν δὲ ὅτι ἐκείνου τοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰὼβ εἰρημένου· «καταράσαιτο αὐτὴν ὁ κατα ρώμενος τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην, ὁ μέλλων τὸ μέγα κῆτος χειρώσασθαι,» ἐάν ποτε γένηται διά τινα ἀπειθίαν «ἐν τῇ τοῦ κήτους κοιλίᾳ,» με τανοῶν εὐξάσθω, κἀκεῖθεν ἐξελεύσεται· ἐξελθών τε ἐπιμένων τῷ πεί θεσθαι τοῖς προστάγμασι τοῦ θεοῦ δυνήσεται κατὰ τὴν χρηστότητα τοῦ πνεύματος προφητεύσας καὶ νῦν Νινευΐταις ἀπολλυμένοις πρό φασις αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι σωτηρίας, μὴ δυσαρεστούμενος τῇ χρηστότητι τοῦ θεοῦ μηδὲ ζητῶν ἐπιμένειν αὐτὸν πρὸς τοὺς μετανοοῦντας τῇ ἀποτομία. 13.5 ὅπερ δὲ μέγιστον πεποιηκέναι λέγεται Σαμουὴλ διὰ προσ ευχῆς, τοῦτο πνευματικῶς δυνατόν ἐστιν ἕκαστον τῶν ἀνακειμένων γνησίως τῷ θεῷ καὶ νῦν ἐπιτελεῖν, ἄξιον τοῦ ἐπακούεσθαι γεγενη μένον. γέγραπται γάρ· «καί γε νῦν στῆτε <καὶ ἴδετε> τὸ ῥῆμα τὸ μέγα τοῦτο, ὃ ὁ κύριος ποιεῖ κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν. οὐχὶ θερισμὸς πυροῦ σήμερον; ἐπικαλέσομαι κύριον, καὶ δώσει φωνὰς καὶ ὑετόν»· εἶτα μετ' ὀλίγα· «καὶ ἐπεκαλέσατο,» φησὶ «Σαμουὴλ πρὸς κύριον, καὶ ἔδωκε κύριος φωνὰς καὶ ὑετὸν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ.» παντὶ γὰρ ἁγίῳ καὶ τῷ Ἰησοῦ γνησίως μαθητεύοντι ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου λέγεται· «ἐπάρατε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ θεάσασθε τὰς χώρας ὅτι λευ καί εἰσι πρὸς θερισμὸν ἤδη. ὁ θερίζων μισθὸν λαμβάνει καὶ συνάγει καρπὸν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.» ἐν τῷ καιρῷ δὴ τούτῳ τοῦ θερισμοῦ «μέγα ῥῆμα» «ὁ κύριος ποιεῖ κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς» τῶν ἀκουόντων τοὺς προφήτας· ἐπικαλεσαμένου γὰρ τοῦ κεκοσμημένου τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύ ματι «πρὸς τὸν κύριον,» δίδωσιν ὁ θεὸς οὐρανόθεν «φωνὰς καὶ» τὸν ποτίζοντα τὴν ψυχὴν «ὑετὸν,» ἵνα ὁ πρότερον ἐν τῇ κακίᾳ ὢν φοβηθῇ σφόδρα τὸν κύριον καὶ τὸν ὑπηρέτην τῆς εὐεργεσίας τοῦ θεοῦ, αἰδέσιμον καὶ σεβάσμιον δι' ὧν ἐπακούεται πεφανερωμένον. καὶ Ἠλίας δὲ τρισὶν ἔτεσι καὶ ἓξ μησὶ κεκλεισμένον τοῖς ἀσεβέσι τὸν οὐρανὸν θείῳ λόγῳ ἀνοίγει ὕστερον· ὅπερ παντί τῳ κατορθοῦται ἀεὶ, διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς λαμβάνοντι τὸν ὑετὸν τῆς ψυχῆς, τῶν διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν πρότερον αὐτοῦ ἐστερημένων. 14.1 Τούτων δὲ ἡμῖν ἑρμηνευθέντων εἰς τὰς διὰ τῶν προσ ευχῶν γεγενημένας τοῖς ἁγίοις εὐεργεσίας, κατανοήσωμεν τὸ «αἰτεῖτε τὰ μεγάλα, καὶ τὰ μικρὰ ὑμῖν προστεθήσεται· καὶ αἰτεῖτε τὰ ἐπου ράνια, καὶ τὰ ἐπίγεια ὑμῖν προστεθήσεται.» πάντα γε τὰ συμβο λικὰ καὶ τυπικὰ συγκρίσει τῶν ἀληθινῶν καὶ νοητῶν «μικρά» ἐστι καὶ «ἐπίγεια»· καὶ εἰκὸς ὅτι ὁ θεῖος ἡμᾶς λόγος προκαλούμενος ἐπὶ τὸ μιμεῖσθαι τὰς τῶν ἁγίων εὐχὰς, ἵν' αἰτῶμεν αὐτὰς κατὰ τὸ ἀληθὲς ὧν ἐκεῖνοι ἐπετέλουν τυπικῶν, φησὶ «τὰ ἐπουράνια» καὶ «μεγάλα,» δεδηλωμένα διὰ τῶν περὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ μικρῶν πραγμά των, λέγων· ὑμεῖς οἱ πνευματικοὶ εἶναι βουλόμενοι διὰ τῶν προσ ευχῶν αἰτήσατε <«τὰ ἐπουράνια» καὶ «μεγάλα»>, ἵν' αὐτῶν τυχόντες ὡς ἐπουρανίων βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν κληρονομήσητε καὶ ὡς μεγάλων τῶν μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσητε, τὰ δὲ «ἐπίγεια» καὶ «μικρὰ,» ὧν διὰ τὰς σωματικὰς ἀνάγκας χρῄζετε, μέτρῳ τοῦ δέοντος ἐπι χορηγήσῃ ὑμῖν ὁ πατήρ. 14.2 ἐπεὶ δὲ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ τέσσαρα ὀνόματα κατὰ τεσσάρων πραγμάτων, γειτνιώντων τῷ περὶ τῆς εὐχῆς λόγῳ, ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ πρὸς Τιμόθεον εἴρηται, χρήσιμον ἔσται παραθέμενον αὐτοῦ τὴν λέξιν ἰδεῖν <εἰ> ἕκαστον τῶν τεσσάρων, κυρίως ἂν νοούμενον, ἐκλάβοιμεν καλῶς. λέγει δὲ οὕτως· «παρακαλῶ οὖν πρῶτον πάντων ποιεῖσθαι δεήσεις, προσευχὰς, ἐντεύξεις, εὐχαριστίας ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. ἡγοῦμαι τοίνυν δέησιν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ἐλλείποντός τινι μεθ' ἱκεσίας περὶ τοῦ ἐκείνου τυχεῖν ἀναπεμπομένην εὐχὴν, τὴν δὲ προσευχὴν τὴν μετὰ