Sophia Scriptura

On the Lord's Prayer 3

Cyprian of Carthage · On the Lord's Prayer · ca. 252 · Carthage · Read in context

Summary: Praying Christ's own words is most effective, since he is our advocate with the Father.

Latin text · CSEL 3.1:268

Oremus itaque, fratres dilectissimi, sicut magister Deus docuit. amica et familiaris oratio est Deum de suo rogare, ad aures eius ascendere Christi orationem. agnoscat pater filii sui uerba, cum precem facimus: qui habitat intus in pectore ipse sit et in uoce, et cum ipsum habeamus aput patrem aduocatum pro peccatis nostris, quando peccatores pro delictis nostris petimus, aduocati nostri uerba promamus. nam cum dicat: quia quodcumque petierimus a patre in nomine eius dabit nobis, quanto efficacius impetramus quod petimus Christi nomine, si petamus ipsius oratione?

English · Claude translation

Let us pray, then, dearest brothers, as God our Master taught. It is a friendly and intimate prayer to ask God with his own words, to let the prayer of Christ rise to his ears. Let the Father recognize his Son's words when we make our petition; let him who dwells within in our heart be also in our voice; and since we have him as our advocate with the Father for our sins, when we sinners ask on behalf of our offences, let us bring forth the words of our advocate. For since he says, "Whatever we ask of the Father in his name, he will give us," how much more effectively do we obtain what we ask in Christ's name if we ask in his own prayer?

About this passage

Source
CSEL 3.1:268 · Wilhelm von Hartel, ed., S. Thasci Caecili Cypriani Opera omnia, Pars 1, CSEL 3.1 (Vienna: Gerold, 1868), 265–294 · Latin text: W. von Hartel (CSEL 3.1, 1868), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in CSEL 3.1. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 3.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5 (1886) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Scripture
Topics
Prayer

Notes

Translation notes

  • The advocate is 1 John 2:1; the quotation is John 16:23 (in the first person plural).

Cite this passage

Cyprian, Dom. or. 3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/cyprian-dominica-oratione/3/).

Plain text
Cyprian, Dom. or. 3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/cyprian-dominica-oratione/3/).

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