Sophia Scriptura

On Prayer 5.2

Origen · On Prayer · ca. 233–234 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: The first objection: God already knows what we need and cares for us like a father, so prayer seems unnecessary.

Greek text · Koetschau 2:308–309

εἶεν δʼ ἂν οἱ λόγοι τῶν ἀθετούντων τὰς εὐχὰς οὗτοι (δηλονότι θεὸν ἐφιστάντων τοῖς ὅλοις καὶ πρόνοιαν εἶναι λεγόντων· οὐ γὰρ πρόκειται νῦν ἐξετάζειν τὰ λεγόμενα ὑπὸ τῶν πάντῃ ἀναιρούντων θεὸν ἢ πρόνοιαν)· „ὁ θεὸς“ οἶδε „τὰ πάντα πρὸ γενέσεως αὐτῶν, “ καὶ οὐδὲν ἐκ τοῦ ἐνεστηκέναι ὅτε ἐνέστηκε πρῶτον αὐτῷ γινώσκεται ὡς πρὸ τούτου μὴ γνωσθέν· τίς οὖν χρεία ἀναπέμπεσθαι εὐχὴν τῷ καὶ πρὶν εὔξασθαι ἐπισταμένῳ ὧν χρῄζομεν; „οἶδε γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὁ οὐράνιος ὧν χρείαν“ ἔχομεν „πρὸ τοῦ“ ἡμᾶς „αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν, “ εὔλογον δὲ πατέρα καὶ δημιουργὸν αὐτὸν ὄντα τοῦ παντὸς, ἀγαπῶντα „τὰ ὄντα πάντα“ καὶ μη(δὲν) βδελυσσόμενον ὧν πεποίηκε, σωτηρίως τὰ περὶ ἕκαστον καὶ χωρὶς τοῦ εὔξασθαι οἰκονομεῖν δίκην πατέρος, νηπίων προϊσταμένου καὶ μὴ περιμένοντος ἐκείνων τὴν ἀξίωσιν, ἤτοι μηδʼ ὅλως δυναμένων αἰτεῖν ἢ διὰ ἄγνοιαν πολλάκις τὰ ἐναντία τοῖς συμφέρουσι καὶ λυσιτελοῦσι θελόντων λαβεῖν. ἀπολειπόμεθα δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι πλεῖον τοῦ θεοῦ ἤπερ τὰ κομιδῇ παιδία τοῦ νοῦ τῶν γεγεννηκότων.

English · Claude translation

The arguments of those who set prayers aside (that is, of those who set God over the universe and say there is providence; for it is not our present task to examine what is said by those who do away with God or providence altogether) would be these: “God” knows “all things before they come to be,” and nothing becomes known to him for the first time from its coming to be when it comes to be, as though it were not known before. What need is there, then, to send up a prayer to one who, even before we pray, knows what we need? For “the heavenly Father knows what” we “need before” we “ask him.” And it is reasonable that, being the Father and Creator of the universe, who loves “all things that exist” and abhors nothing he has made, he should arrange everything concerning each one for its salvation even without prayer, like a father who cares for infants and does not wait for their request, since they are either not able to ask at all, or through ignorance often wish to receive the opposite of what is good and profitable for them. And we men fall short of God further than very young children fall short of the mind of their parents.

About this passage

Source
Koetschau 2:308–309 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 2: Buch V–VIII gegen Celsus, Die Schrift vom Gebet, GCS 3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899), 297–403 · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 2 (GCS 3, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Koetschau, GCS 3. 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 Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 3; made independently of existing English translations. No public-domain English translation exists; reviewed against the Greek.
Scripture
Extrabiblical texts
  • Sus 42 (Susanna) · quotation, high confidence
  • Wis 11:24 (Wisdom of Solomon) · quotation, high confidence
Topics
Prayer

Notes

Translation notes

  • This and the following sections state the objections, not Origen's own view. The quotations are Sus 42 (Theodotion), Matt 6:8 (with “heavenly” added), and Wis 11:24.

Cite this passage

Origen, Or. 5.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/5/2/).

Plain text
Origen, Or. 5.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/5/2/).

Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)

Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text

Report an error in this passage