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

doxology for greater things, offered up more magnificently by someone, and intercession, a request to God concerning certain things by one having a certain greater confidence, and thanksgiving, a confession with prayers for having obtained good things from God, the magnitude being reciprocated by the one confessing or the magnitude of the benefit done to him appearing to the one who has been benefited. 14.3 Examples of the first are the words of Gabriel to Zacharias, who had likely prayed concerning the birth of John, having it thus: “Fear not, Zacharias, because your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John,” and the things recorded in Exodus concerning the making of the calf, in this manner: “And Moses petitioned before the Lord God and said: Why, O Lord, are you angry with your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great strength?” and in Deuteronomy: “And I petitioned before the Lord a second time just as the first time, for forty days and forty nights (I ate no bread and drank no water) concerning all your sins which you sinned,” and in Esther: “Mordecai petitioned God, remembering all the works of the Lord, and said: Lord, Lord, King almighty,” and Esther herself “petitioned the Lord God of Israel and said: O Lord, our king.” 14.4 Of the second, in Daniel: “And Azarias, having stood up, prayed thus and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire said,” and in Tobit: “And I prayed with anguish, saying: You are righteous, O Lord, and all your works, all your ways are mercy and truth, and you judge true and righteous judgment forever.” But since they have obelized the saying in Daniel as not being in the Hebrew, and those of the circumcision dispute the book of Tobit as not being in the covenant, I will cite that of Hannah from the first of Kingdoms: “And she prayed to the Lord and wept with weeping. And she vowed a vow and said: O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look upon the affliction of your servant” and the rest, and in Habakkuk: “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, with a song. O Lord, I have heard your voice and was afraid; O Lord, I have considered your works and was amazed; in the midst of two living creatures you will be known, in the drawing near of the years you will be recognized.” This very clearly shows what is according to the definition of prayer, that it is sent up with doxology by the one praying. But also in Jonah, “Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the sea monster and said: I cried out in my affliction to the Lord my God, and he heard me; from the belly of Hades, from my cry, you heard my voice; you cast me into the depths of the heart of the sea, and rivers surrounded me.” 14.5 Of the third, in the apostle, who reasonably assigns prayer to us but intercession to the Spirit, as being superior and having “boldness before the one” for whom he intercedes; “for what we should pray for,” he says, “as we ought, we do not know, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God”; for the Spirit “makes intercession for” and “intercedes,” but we pray. And what was said by Joshua concerning the sun standing still over Gibeon also seems to me to be an intercession: “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord, on the day when God delivered up the Amorite under the hand of Israel, when he crushed them in Gibeon, and they were crushed before the face of the sons of Israel. And Joshua said: Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Elom”; and in Judges I think that Samson said while interceding: “Let me die with the Philistines,” when “he leaned with might, and the house fell on the satraps and on all the people who were in it.” And even if it is not stated that they interceded but that Joshua and Samson spoke, their speech seems to be an intercession; which is thought by us to be different from prayer, if we were to hear the names in their proper sense.

δοξολογίας περὶ μειζόνων μεγαλοφυέστερον ἀναπεμπομένην ὑπό του, ἔντευξιν δὲ τὴν ὑπὸ παῤῥησίαν τινὰ πλεί ονα ἔχοντος περί τινων ἀξίωσιν πρὸς θεὸν, εὐχαριστίαν δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ τετευχέναι ἀγαθῶν ἀπὸ θεοῦ μετ' εὐχῶν ἀνθομολόγησιν, ἀντ ειλημμένου τοῦ ἀνθομολογουμένου τοῦ μεγέθους ἢ τῷ εὐεργετη θέντι μεγέθους φαινομένου τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν γεγενημένης εὐεργεσίας. 14.3 παραδείγματα δὲ τοῦ μὲν πρώτου ὁ Γαβριὴλ πρὸς τὸν Ζα χαρίαν, περὶ τῆς γενέσεως Ἰωάννου ὡς εἰκὸς εὐξάμενον, λόγος οὕ τως ἔχων· «μὴ φοβοῦ, Ζαχαρία, διότι εἰσηκούσθη ἡ δέησίς σου, καὶ ἡ γυνή σου Ἐλισάβετ γεννήσει υἱόν σοι, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννην,» καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ ἐπὶ τῇ μοσχοποιΐᾳ ἀναγεγραμμένα τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον· «καὶ ἐδεήθη Μωϋσῆς κατέναντι κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἶπεν· ἵνα τί θυμοῖ ὀργῇ, κύριε, εἰς τὸν λαόν σου, οὓς ἐξή γαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐν ἰσχύϊ μεγάλῃ;» καὶ ἐν ∆ευτερονομίῳ· «καὶ ἐδεήθην ἔναντι κυρίου δεύτερον καθάπερ καὶ τὸ πρότερον τεσσα ράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας (ἄρτον οὐκ ἔφαγον καὶ ὕδωρ οὐκ ἔπιον) περὶ πασῶν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν ὧν ἡμάρτετε,» καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἐσθήρ· «Μαρδοχαῖος ἐδεήθη τοῦ θεοῦ, μνημονεύων πάντα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ εἶπε· κύριε κύριε βασιλεῦ παντοκράτορ,» καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ Ἐσθὴρ «ἐδεῖτο κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ εἶπε· κύριε, ὁ βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν.» 14.4 τοῦ δὲ δευτέρου ἐν τῷ ∆ανιήλ· «καὶ συστὰς Ἀζαρίας προσ ηύξατο οὕτως καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐν μέσῳ πυρὸς εἶπε,» καὶ ἐν τῷ Τωβήτ· «καὶ προσηυξάμην μετ' ὀδύνης λέγων· δίκαιος εἶ, κύριε, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα σου, πᾶσαι αἱ ὁδοί σου ἐλεημοσύνη καὶ ἀλήθεια, καὶ κρίσιν ἀληθινὴν καὶ δικαίαν σὺ κρίνεις εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.» ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ ῥητὸν ὠβέλισαν, ὡς μὴ κείμενον ἐν τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ, τῇ δὲ τοῦ Τωβὴτ βίβλῳ ἀντιλέγουσιν οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς, ὡς μὴ ἐνδιαθήκῳ, παραθήσομαι ἐκ τῆς πρώτης τῶν Βασιλειῶν τὸ τῆς Ἄννης· «καὶ προσηύξατο πρὸς κύριον καὶ κλαυθμῷ ἔκλαυσε. καὶ ηὔξατο εὐχὴν καὶ εἶπε· κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων, ἐὰν ἐφοράσει ἐπί δῃς ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης σου» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, καὶ ἐν τῷ Ἀββακούμ· «προσευχὴ Ἀββακοὺμ τοῦ προφήτου μετὰ ᾠδῆς. κύριε, εἰσακήκοα τὴν φωνήν σου καὶ ἐφοβήθην· κύριε, κατενόησα τὰ ἔργα σου καὶ ἐξέστην· ἐν μέσῳ δύο ζῴων γνωσθήσῃ, ἐν τῷ ἐγγίζειν τὰ ἔτη ἐπιγνωσθήσῃ.» σφόδρα δὲ αὕτη ἐμφαίνει τὸ κατὰ τὸν ὅρον τῆς προσευχῆς, ὅτι μετὰ δοξολογίας τῷ προσευχομένῳ ἀναπέμπεται. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ Ἰωνᾷ «προσηύξατο Ἰωνᾶς πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεὸν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας τοῦ κήτους καὶ εἶπεν· ἐβόησα ἐν θλίψει μου πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεόν μου, καὶ εἰσήκουσέ μου· ἐκ κοιλίας ᾅδου κραυγῆς μου ἤκουσας φωνῆς μου· ἀπέῤῥιψάς με εἰς βάθη καρδίας θαλάσσης, καὶ ποταμοὶ ἐκύκλωσάν με.» 14.5 τοῦ δὲ τρίτου παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ, εὐλόγως τὴν μὲν προσ ευχὴν ἐφ' ἡμῶν τάττοντι τὴν δὲ ἔντευξιν ἐπὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, ὡς κρείττονος ὄντος καὶ «παῤῥησίαν» ἔχοντος «πρὸς τὸν,» ᾧ ἐντυγχάνει· «τὸ γὰρ τί προσευξώμεθα,» φησὶ, «καθὸ δεῖ οὐκ οἴδαμεν, ἀλλὰ αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις ὑπερεντυγχάνει τῷ θεῷ. ὁ δὲ ἐρευνῶν τὰς καρδίας οἶδε τί τὸ φρόνημα τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅτι κατὰ θεὸν ἐντυγχάνει ὑπὲρ ἁγίων»· ὑπερεντυγχάνει γὰρ καὶ «ἐντυγχάνει» τὸ πνεῦμα, ἡμεῖς δὲ προσευχόμεθα. ἔντευξις δέ μοι εἶναι δοκεῖ καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ εἰρημένον περὶ τοῦ στῆναι τὸν ἥλιον κατὰ Γαβαώθ· «τότε ἐλάλησεν Ἰησοῦς πρὸς κύριον, ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ παρέδωκεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν Ἀμοῤῥαῖον ὑποχείριον Ἰσραὴλ, ἡνίκα συνέτριβεν αὐτοὺς ἐν Γαβαὼθ, καὶ συνετρίβησαν ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ. καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς· στήτω ὁ ἥλιος κατὰ Γαβαὼθ, καὶ ἡ σελήνη κατὰ φάραγγα Ἐλώμ»· καὶ ἐν τοῖς Κριταῖς ὁ Σαμψὼν ἡγοῦμαι ὅτι ἐντυγχάνων εἶπε· «συναποθανέτω ἡ ψυχή μου μετὰ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων,» ὅτε «ἔκλινεν ἐν ἰσχύϊ, καὶ ἔπεσεν ὁ οἶκος ἐπὶ τοὺς σατράπας καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ.» εἰ καὶ μὴ κεῖται δὲ ὅτι ἐντετυχήκασιν ἀλλ' ὅτι εἰρήκασιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ὁ Σαμψὼν, ὁ λόγος αὐτῶν ἔοικεν εἶναι ἔν τευξις· ἥτις ἑτέρα παρὰ τὴν προσευχὴν, εἰ κυρίως ἀκούοιμεν τῶν ὀνομάτων, εἶναι ἡμῖν νομίζεται.