Prayer

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

SUMMARY: Do not pray like the hypocrites, but as the Lord commanded in the Didache—D-I-D-A-CHE. The Christian prays in their thoughts during every hour; they are joined to God by love, according to Clement of Alexandria. To explain what it means to pray like the hypocrites, both Tertullian—Tertullian—and Cyprian—Esciprian—pointed to the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Let all the faithful pray to God early in the morning when they wake up from sleep, according to Hippolytus—Hippolytus—and Cyprian—Esciprian. God hears the heart, not the voice, according to Clement of Alexandria—Tertullian—Tertullian—and Cyprian—Esciprian. Those who pray for the sake of human glory have received their reward, according to Origen. The Lord has commanded us to pray in secret; this is best suited to faith, so that we may know that God is present everywhere, according to Tertullian—Tertullian—and Cyprian—Esciprian. We should not make our prayers like pagan babbling or wordiness, according to Origen. In some quotations below, the early Christians mention the third, sixth, and ninth hours, according to Tertullian—Tertullian—and Cyprian—Esciprian. These hours were regarded as sacred to the three persons of the Trinity, according to Tertullian—Tertullian—and Cyprian—Esciprian. They were also considered the hours of the beginning, middle, and close of our Lord's Passion. Praying three times a day was also in line with Jewish tradition. Clearly, these set times of prayer are not commanded in Scripture. But these traditions were followed very early in Christian history. Tertullian—Tertullian—admitted that nothing at all had been prescribed about the times of prayer except to pray at every time and every place. 6. 5. And following. Clement of Rome: Let us also pray for those who have fallen into any sin; pray that meekness and humility may be given to them so that they may submit, not to us, but to the will of God. In this way, they will gain a fruitful and perfect remembrance from us. We will remember them with sympathy, both in our prayers to God and in our mention of them to the saints.

ANONYMOUS: So when he heard that the people chasing him had come, he went down and spoke with them. And as the people who were there were amazed at his age and steadiness, some of them said, "Was so much effort made to capture such a respected old man?" Right away, in that same hour, he ordered that food and drink should be set in front of them as much as they wanted. Then he begged them to allow him one hour to pray without being disturbed. And when they gave him permission, he stood and prayed. He was full of the grace of God so that he could not stop praying for two full hours. The people who heard him were amazed, so much so that many began to regret that they had come out against such a godly and respected old man.

THE DIDACHE: Do not pray like the hypocrites; instead, pray the way the Lord commanded in His Gospel.

THE DIDACHE: But do your prayers your giving to the poor and all your deeds in this way, just as you have it in the Gospel of our Lord.

BARNABAS: you should not go to prayer with an evil conscience.

ARISTIDES: And I have no doubt that the Earth continues to exist because of the prayers of the Christians.

THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP: Therefore, he, Polycarp, left and went to a country house not far from the city. He stayed there with a few friends. Night and day, he did nothing else but pray for all people and for the churches throughout the world, just as he usually did.

JUSTIN MARTYR: Martyr. Who among you does not know that the prayer of someone who prays with sorrow and tears, with their body lying face down or with knees bent, pleases God most of all?

TATIAN: And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; they love to stand in the synagogues and at the corners of the marketplaces to pray, so that people may see them. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room, close your door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. And whenever you pray, do not babble like the heathen. They think that because they use so many words, they will be heard. So do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Just as it is right, before eating food, that we should bless the Creator of all; so also when we drink, it is right to praise Him as we share in His created gifts. Finally, before going to sleep, it is a holy duty to thank God. We have enjoyed His grace and love, and then we should go straight to sleep.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: The Christian prays in their thoughts during every hour because love joins them to God. First, they will ask forgiveness for sins. After that, they will ask that they may sin no more. Next, they will ask for the power to do what is good. They will also ask for the power to understand the whole creation and how the Lord governs it. Then, by becoming pure in heart through the knowledge that comes through the Son of God, they may be brought into the blessed vision, face to face. This is after hearing the scripture that says, "Fasting with prayer is a good thing."

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: and always giving thanks to God for all things—by righteous listening and divine reading, by true investigation, by holy offering, and by blessed prayer; by honoring, singing hymns, blessing, and praising—such a soul is never separated from God at any time.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Now we are commanded to respect and honor the same One. We are convinced that He is the Word, Savior, and Leader, and through Him we honor the Father. We do this not only on special days like some others do; we do it continually, all through our whole life and in every way. Certainly, the chosen people, made right by the command, says: "Seven times a day have I praised you." This is not only in a certain place, or in a chosen temple, or at certain festivals, and on appointed days. Instead, during His whole life, the Christian honors God in every place. He does this even if He is all alone, and wherever He is with any who have practiced the same faith. He honors God; that is, He shows His gratitude for knowing the way to live.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Prayer is, then, to speak more boldly; it is to talk with God. Even if we whisper and do not open our lips, we still speak in silence, yet we cry out inside. God continually hears all this inner conversation, in the same way we raise our head and lift our hands to heaven. At the closing words of the prayer, we also move our feet. We do this because of the eagerness of the Spirit, which is directed toward the intellectual essence. We try to pull the body away from the earth along with our words; we lift the soul upward. The soul is like it has wings, because it longs for better things. In this way, we push it forward to the place of holiness. We do this with courage, looking down on the chain of the flesh. Now, some set fixed hours for prayer, for example, the third and sixth and ninth. Yet the Christian prays through his whole life; he tries, by prayer, to have fellowship with God. And, in short, when he reaches this point, he leaves behind everything that is of no use. He does this because he has now received the perfection of the person who acts by love. But the dividing of the hours into a three-part pattern, honored with that many prayers, is known by those who know the blessed triad of the holy abodes.

HIPPOLYTUS: Let all believers, whether men or women, when they get up early in the morning from sleep and before they start any tasks, wash their hands and pray to God; then they may go to their duties.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Prayer should be free not only from anger but from all mental disturbances. It should be spoken from a spirit that matches the spirit to whom it is sent. A Holy Spirit cannot accept a defiled spirit. A joyful spirit cannot accept a sad spirit. A free spirit cannot accept a spirit that is chained. No one welcomes an enemy. No one lets someone in except an equal. So what is the point of going to prayer with hands that are washed, but with a spirit that is filthy?

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian, but we commend our prayers to God even more when we pray with modesty and humility. We should not lift our hands too high, but raise them in a calm and proper way. We should not lift up our face in an overbold way either. For that tax collector who prayed with humility and sadness, not only in his request but also in his face, went away more justified than the shameless Pharisee. In the same way, the sound of our voice should be quiet. Otherwise, if we were heard because of our noise, how large would our windpipes need to be? But God hears not the voice, but the heart. Do God's ears wait for sound? How, then, could Jonah's prayer make its way to heaven from the depth of the whale's belly, through the insides of such a huge beast? How could it rise from the very deepest places, through such a great mass of sea? What extra advantage do people gain by praying too loudly, except that they annoy their neighbors? No, by making their requests loud enough for others to hear, what smaller mistake do they make than if they were praying in public?

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. About kneeling, prayer is practiced in different ways. This is because a few people do not kneel on the Sabbath. Since this disagreement is now being tested before the churches, the Lord will give His grace. Then those who disagree may either give in or else keep their opinion without offending others. We, however, just as we have received, should avoid not only kneeling but also every posture and task that shows worry. Only on the day of the Lord's resurrection, we even put off our business so that we do not give any place to the devil. The same is true during the season of Pentecost; we set that season apart with the same joyful celebration. But who would hesitate to bow down before God every day, at least in the first prayer by which we begin the day? Also, at fasts and stations, no prayer should be made without kneeling, along with the other usual signs of humility. For then we are not only praying; we are also begging for mercy and making satisfaction to God our Lord. About times of prayer, nothing at all has been commanded, except clearly, to pray at every time and every place. But how can it be "in every place" since we are forbidden to pray in public? He means in every place that opportunity or even necessity has made suitable. What the apostles did is not seen as against the command. In jail, with the prisoners listening, they began praying and singing to God. Also, what Paul did is not seen as against the command. On the ship, with everyone present, he made thanksgiving to God. About the time, however, it will not be useless to keep the outward practice of certain hours. I mean the common hours that mark the parts of the day: the third, the sixth, and the ninth. In the scriptures, we can find that these were treated as more special than the rest. The first giving of the Holy Spirit to the gathered disciples happened at the third hour. Peter, on the day he had the vision of universal community, shown in that small vessel, went up to the higher part of the house to pray at the sixth hour. The same apostle was going into the temple with John at the ninth hour when he healed the paralyzed man. Even though these practices exist without any direct command to keep them, it can still be a good thing to set a clear rule. This can make the call to pray more serious. It can also, like a law, pull us away from our business to do this duty. Then, like what we read Daniel also did, in line with Israel's discipline, we pray at least no fewer than three times in the day. We owe this to the Three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is, of course, in addition to our regular prayers, which we owe without any reminder, at the coming of daylight and of night. Also, believers should not eat food and should not go to the bath before saying a prayer. The refreshment and nourishment of the Spirit should come before that of the body. Things heavenly should come before things earthly.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. In the commentary on Luke, the third hour is shown to be an hour of prayer. It was about that hour that those who had received the first gift of the Holy Spirit were called drunkards. The sixth hour is the time when Peter went up on the roof. The ninth hour is the time when they entered the temple. So why should we not understand that, with completely perfect indifference, we must pray always and everywhere and at every time? Yet these three hours have also always had special seriousness in prayers to God. This is because they stand out more in human life. They divide the day. They separate different kinds of work. They are talked about in public. This belief is also supported by the confirming fact that Daniel prayed three times in the day. Of course, except for certain set hours, there were no other hours besides the ones that stood out and later became apostolic hours: the third, the sixth, and the ninth. And so, I will say that Peter too was led by ancient custom to keep the ninth hour. He prayed at the third specific interval, the interval of final prayer.

ORIGEN: about those who seem to do good to their neighbor for human praise, or who pray in synagogues and on street corners, he says, "Truly I tell you, they have received their reward." For just as the rich man in Luke had good things in his human life and was no longer able to get them after this life because he had already had them, so the person who has his reward will not reap eternal life in his giving or in his prayers. This is because he has sown not to the spirit but to the flesh; he will reap corruption. There are always many who, in their so-called prayer, love pleasure more than they love God. They ruin prayer by mixing it with feasting and wild partying. In truth, they are standing on street corners and praying, for everyone who has made pleasure the rule of life has, because of his desire for what is wide and spacious, fallen out of the narrow, tight way of Jesus Christ. That way has not even one bend, and it has no corner at all.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. But when we pray, let our words and our requests be disciplined. Let us keep quiet and be modest. Let us remember that we are standing in God's sight. We must please God's eyes, both by how we carry our bodies and by how we use our voices. It is typical of a shameless person to be loud with cries, but it fits a modest person to pray with calm and measured requests. In His teaching, the Lord has commanded us to pray in secret. That means in hidden and quiet places, even in our own bedrooms. This fits faith best. Then we will know that God is everywhere present. He hears and sees everything. In the fullness of His majesty, He reaches even into hidden and secret places. As it is written, "I am a God at hand, and not a God afar off. If a man will hide himself in secret places, will I not then see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth?" And again, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. And when we meet together with the brothers and sisters in one place and offer divine sacrifices with God's priest, we should remember modesty and discipline. We should not throw out our prayers carelessly, with uncontrolled voices. We should not pour out a request to God with noisy, rushed wordiness. A request should be offered to God with modesty. God listens, not to the voice, but to the heart. He does not need to be loudly reminded because He sees people's thoughts. The Lord shows this when He says, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" And in another place, "And all the churches shall know that I am He that searches the hearts and minds." Hannah in the first book of Kings was a picture of the church. She shows and keeps this same practice. She prayed to God, not with loud requests, but silently and modestly, deep within her heart. She spoke with a hidden prayer, but with clear faith. She did not speak with her voice, but with her heart, because she knew that God hears in this way. She received what she asked for, because she asked with belief. Holy Scripture says this when it says, "She spoke in her heart, and her lips moved, and her voice was not heard, and God did hear her." We also read in the Psalms, "Speak in your hearts, and in your beds, and be pierced." The Holy Spirit also teaches the same things through Jeremiah, saying, "But in the heart ought God to be adored by you." And do not let the worshipper, beloved brothers and sisters, be unaware of how the tax collector prayed with the Pharisee in the temple. He did not boldly lift his eyes to heaven. He did not proudly raise his hands. Instead, he beat his chest. He admitted the sins locked up inside him. He begged for the help of God's mercy. The Pharisee was pleased with himself. But this man, who asked in this way, deserved to be made holy instead. He did not place his hope of salvation in confidence in his own innocence, because no one is innocent. Instead, he confessed that he was sinful. He prayed humbly, and the one who forgives the humble heard the one who prayed. The Lord records these things in His gospel, saying, "Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not as other men are: unjust, extortioners, adulterers, even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'" But the publican stood afar off, and would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat upon his breast, saying, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." I say to you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone that exalts himself shall be abased, and whosoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

CYPRIAN: When we carry out the duties of prayer, we find that the three children with Daniel—strong in faith and victorious even in captivity—kept the third, sixth, and ninth hour. It was like a sign of the Trinity, which had to be revealed in the last times. The first hour, moving toward the third, shows the complete number of the Trinity. The fourth hour, moving toward the sixth, shows another Trinity. And when the ninth is completed from the seventh, the perfect Trinity is counted every three hours. Long ago, worshippers of God spiritually chose these spaces of hours. They used them as set and lawful times for prayer. Later, it was made clear that these things were ancient sacraments because righteous people long ago prayed this way. At the third hour, the Holy Spirit came down on the disciples and fulfilled the grace of the Lord's promise. Also, at the sixth hour, Peter went up to the rooftop. There he was taught, both by a sign and by the word of God warning him to welcome all people into the grace of salvation. Before that, he had doubted whether Gentiles should be received to baptism. And from the sixth hour to the ninth, the Lord was crucified. He washed away our sins by His blood, and so that He might redeem and give us life, He then completed His victory by His suffering. But for us, beloved brothers and sisters, besides the hours of prayer kept long ago, both the times and the sacraments have now increased in number. We must also pray in the morning so that the Lord's resurrection may be honored by morning prayer. The Holy Spirit pointed this out in the Psalms, saying, "My King and my God, because to you will I cry. O Lord, in the morning will you hear my voice; in the morning will I stand before you and will look up to you." And again, the Lord speaks through the prophet, "Early in the morning shall they watch for me, saying, Let us go and return to the Lord our God." Also, at sunset and as the day fades, we must pray again. Since Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, when the earthly sun and earthly day pass away, we pray and ask that light may return to us again. In doing this, we pray for the coming of Christ, which will give us the grace of everlasting light. Also, the Holy Spirit in the Psalms shows that Christ is called the Day. The stone, He says, which the builders rejected, is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us walk and rejoice in it. Also, the prophet Malachy says that he is called the Sun. When he says, "But to you that fear the name of the Lord, shall the Sun of righteousness arise, and there is healing in His wings." But if in the Holy Scriptures the true sun and the true Day is Christ, then there is no hour that should be left out for Christians. God should be worshipped often and always. So we, who are in Christ, that is, in the true Sun and the true Day, should be ready all day long with requests, and we should pray. And when, by the order of this world, the turning night comes again in its changing cycle, the darkness of night cannot harm those who pray. That is because the children of light have the day even in the night. For when is someone without light who has light in his heart? Or when does someone not have the Sun and the Day, whose Sun and Day is Christ? So let us not, who are in Christ, that is, always in the light, stop praying even during the night.

TERTULLIAN: And so, blessed brothers and sisters, let us think about his wisdom from heaven. First, about the command to pray in secret. By this, he required a person's faith. He wanted the person to be sure that the sight and hearing of Almighty God are present even under roofs and reach even into the hidden place. He also required modesty in faith. Faith should offer its worship to him alone, because he is believed to see and hear everywhere. Further, since wisdom continues in the next command, let it also belong to faith and to the modesty of faith. We should not think that the Lord must be approached with a long string of words. We are sure that he provides for his own without being asked, and yet that very shortness—and let this count as the third level of wisdom—rests on the substance of a great and blessed meaning. It is as wide in meaning as it is short in words. It includes not only the specific duties of prayer, whether honoring God or asking for people, but also almost every teaching of the Lord and every record of his discipline. So, in fact, in the Lord's Prayer, there is a summary of the whole Gospel.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: God does not wait for talkative tongues, like interpreters among people. He knows completely the thoughts of everyone. What the voice shows to us, our thought speaks to God. God knew, even before creation, that this thought would come into our mind. So, prayer can be made without using your voice. You can pray by focusing your whole spiritual nature inward, and by expressing it with your mind while turning to God without distraction.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: A Christian does not use long, wordy prayers out loud. He has learned to ask the Lord for what is needed. Therefore, in every place he will pray, but not in a showy way that is obvious to the crowd. While he is walking, he prays. While he is talking, he prays. While he is silent, he prays. While he is reading, he prays. While he is doing work guided by reason, he prays. In every situation, he prays. If he only forms the thought in the secret room of his soul and calls on the Father with unspoken groaning, God is near. He is at his side, even while he is still speaking. Since there are only three goals of all action, he does everything for excellence and usefulness. But doing anything just for pleasure, he leaves to those who live the common life.

ORIGEN: When we pray, let us not babble; let us use godly speech. We babble when we speak without examining ourselves. We also babble when we do not examine the prayerful words we are sending up. Then we speak about things that are corrupt in what we do, or say, or think. These things are low and shameful. They do not fit with the Lord's purity. So the person who babbles in prayer has a synagogue-like attitude. He is worse than any already described. He is in a harder condition than those who stand at street corners. He does not even keep a trace of acting with goodness. For the Gospel passage says that only non-believers babble. They do not understand great or heavenly requests. So they send up every prayer for material and outward things. So the one who asks the Lord for things below is like a babbling non-believer. But the Lord lives in heaven, above the heights of the heavens. The person who uses too many words also seems to be a babbler. And the person who babbles seems to be someone who uses too many words. Therefore, no one escapes sin because of using too many words. And no one who thinks he will be heard because of using too many words can be heard. For this reason, we should not make our prayers like non-believers babbling, or like wordiness, or like any other practice that is like the serpent. The God of the saints is a Father. He knows what His children need because these things are worthy of a Father's knowledge. The one who does not know God does not know the things of God either. He does not know what he needs. The things he thinks he needs are mistaken. But the one who has thought deeply about the better and more divine things he needs will receive what he has been thinking about. These things are known by God. They have been known by the Father even before he asks. After these remarks about the introduction to the prayer in the Gospel according to Matthew, let us now go on to consider what the prayer sets forth.