What is the power of the prayer of the mind?

First: Prayer, according to St. Clement of Alexandria , is an essential element in the life of the “gnostic” (the lover of true knowledge); who, even if he regularly prays the canonical hours, ought to be aware that his prayer is limited by time, nor is it limited to a certain place. His entire life is prayer.²⁴⁹ It is powerful and effective even though it is silent. It revolves around constant thanksgiving to God and intercession for others, in the likeness of the Savior.

Second: God shows His acceptance of the prayer of the mind by sending an angel in the form of fire that consumes the sacrifice that is offered through the prayer of the mind by the pure hearts of the righteous people of God. This same fire, however, does not come near any offerings of the wicked.

Here is a sample of excerpts from St. Aphrahat’s Demonstrations:

246 See also Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Patrology: St. Aphrahat the Persian Sage , 2003 (Arabic).

247 Translators’ Note: the name in English is spelt Aphraphat or Aphrahat by different authors and translators.

248 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.1: p. 76.

249 St. Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, or Miscellanies 7.7 (ANF 2:533–534).

• a. The offerings of Cain and Abel: “First of all, the offering of Abel was accepted indeed before God through his purity of heart, and that of Cain was rejected (Gen. 4:3–5). And how was the matter known to us that the offering of Abel was accepted and that of Cain was rejected? … For when Abel and Cain offered their offerings together, living fire that was ministering before God (Ps. 104:4) came down and licked up the pure offering of Abel, and (since) that of Cain was impure it did not touch it. From there Abel understood that his offering was accepted, on the other hand Cain also realized that his was rejected. The fruits of Cain’s heart demonstrated and witnessed about him that he was full of treachery when he killed his brother (Gen. 4:8). For to what his mind conceived, his hands gave birth. And the purity of the heart of Abel is his prayer.”250

• b. Abraham: “Also Abraham, when God asserted to him the promise that a son would be born to him, saying to him, ‘Take for yourself a three year old calf, a three year old goat, a pigeon and a young dove’ (Gen. 15:9), and when Abraham sacrificed them and cut (them) into pieces, placing a member against its companion, there fell upon him a deep sleep: darkness came and fire descended, and passed between the divisions and it devoured the offerings of Abraham (Gen. 15:17) … But hear my beloved about this pure prayer that how many powers were revealed by means of it. For when Abraham prayed, he brought back the booty, which the five kings (had captured) (Gen. 14:16). Again, through his prayer a barren woman gave birth (Gen. 21:2). Similarly, through the power of his prayer he received the promise that in his seed the nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:18). Isaac also demonstrated the power of prayer when he prayed over Rebecca and she gave birth (Gen. 25:21); and for Abimelech, and the anger (of God) was withheld from him.”251

• c. Manoah, father of Samson: “For when Manoah, the father of Samson offered up an offering, the living fire descended and licked it up (Judg. 13:20), in the same flame the angel who spoke with him ascended to heaven.”252

• d. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron: “Also with Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, when they despised the administering of the offering, fire descended as usual at the time of the offering, but it found their offerings not pure, and it did not touch them. When they saw that their offering was not consumed, they brought strange fire to consume it, so that they would not be censured by Moses, (asking) for what cause was the offering not consumed? The strange fire consumed the offering but this (fire)

250 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.2: pp. 77–78.

251 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.3–4: pp. 78–79.

252 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.3: p. 78.

from heaven devoured them (Lev. 10:2; Num. 3:4, 26:61). The Lord sanctified himself over them, over those who despised his ministry.”253

• e. The two hundred fifty who rebelled against Moses: “Also when two hundred and fifty men were divided against Moses and offered incense without authority, fire was commanded to come in from before Lord and it devoured them (Num. 16:35).”254

• f. Moses’ prayers from a pure heart: “What we should say then about the limitless power of the prayer of Moses? His prayer rescued him from the hands of Pharaoh, and it showed him the shekinah of his God (Ex. 3:2). Through his prayer he brought the ten plagues on Pharaoh (Ex. 7:8–12). It was again his prayer (that) divided the sea (Ex. 14:21) and made the bitter water sweet (Ex. 15:23–25), it caused manna to come down and the quails to come out (Ex. 16:1–35), it broke the rock and supplied water abundantly (Ex. 17:1–7), it conquered Amalek and strengthened Joshua (Ex. 17:8– 13), it routed Og and Sihon in the war (Num. 21:21–35), it brought the wicked ones down to Sheol (Num. 16:33), it changed the anger of his God from his people and shattered the calf of sin (Ex. 32:20), it brought down the tablets from the mountain and made his (Moses’) face shine (Ex. 34:29).”255

• g. Jonah and his pure heart: “Again Jonah prayed before his God from the depths of the sea (Jonah 2:2-4), it was heard and was answered, and he was saved without any harm. For, his prayer pierced the depths, overcame the waves, overpowered the storms, pierced the cloud (Sir. 35:17), flew through the air and opened the heaven, and came near before the throne of the Most High by means of Gabriel who brings prayers before God. The depths threw up the prophetic man, and the fish brought forth Jonah to the dry land.”256

• h. Hezekiah: “Hezekiah also prayed, and his prayer cast down one hundred and eightyfive thousand men through an angel, the leader of the army (2 Kings 19:14–19).”257

• i. The prayer of the three pure-hearted youths: “Let us then understand from the three righteous men, Hananiah, Azariah and Misael (Dan. 3:21) who were cast into the fire, but were not burned, the fire had no power over them because they had built a firm

253 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.3: p. 78.

254 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.3: p. 79.

255 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.7: p. 82.

256 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.8: p. 83.

257 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.8: p. 83.

building and rejected the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar, the king; they did not worship the image which he made.”258

• j. The prayer of the pure-hearted Daniel: “Daniel also prayed, and his prayer shut the mouth of the lions (Dan. 6:17–24). The devouring mouth was shut before the flesh and bones of the just man. Lions extended their hands and received Daniel so that he would not fall down on the earth. They embraced him in their arms, and they kissed his feet. When Daniel stood up in the pit to pray, they also spread out their hands to heaven like Daniel. He who receives the prayers descended to them and shut up the mouth of the lions. For Daniel said to Darius, ‘My God has sent his angel and has shut the mouth of the lions and they have not hurt me’ (Dan. 6:22). For the pit was closed and sealed, and light shone forth inside it. Lions were then happy, that they saw the light because of Daniel. For when Daniel wished to sleep, the lions laid themselves down flat so that he might sleep on them and not on the ground. For that pit was illumined more than an upper room with its many windows (Dan. 6:10). There his prayers were many more than in his upper room where he prayed only three times (in a day) (Dan. 6:11). When Daniel came up victorious, his slanderers fell (into the pit) instead of him and the mouths of the lions were opened and they devoured them, reducing to powder their bones. Again his prayer caused the captivity to return from Babylon after the completion of seventy years (Dan. 9:23–27).”259

Third : Pure prayer and the open heavens: “Our father Jacob also prayed at Bethel and saw the gate of heaven opened, and a ladder leading up to the height (Gen. 28:12). This is a symbol of our Savior which Jacob saw (Gen. 28:12–15). The gate of heaven is Christ, as he said, ‘I am the gate of life, everyone who enters through me shall live forever’ (John. 10:9). David also said, ‘This is the gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter’ (Ps. 118:20). Again, the ladder which Jacob saw, is a symbol of our Savior that through him the righteous people ascend from below to above. Again, it is a symbol of the cross of our Savior which was raised in the form of a ladder, our Lord standing above from it. For above Christ is the Lord of all, as the blessed Apostle said: ‘The head of Christ is God’ (1 Cor. 11:3). Jacob called that place Bethel (Gen. 28:19), and Jacob erected there a pillar of stone for a testimony, and he poured oil in its top. Our father Jacob too did this before in symbol, that the stones would receive anointing. For the people who believed in the anointed (Messiah) will be anointed as John said about them, ‘God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones’ (Luke. 3:8). For the mystery of the calling of the Nations is manifested before through the prayer of Jacob.”²⁶⁰

258 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 1.12: p. 33.

259 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.9: p. 84.

260 St. Aphraphat, Aphrahat: Demonstrations I , trans., Kuriakose Valavanolickal (Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 2005) 4.5: p. 80.

Fourth: The silent prayer of a pure heart: “We may come to the prayer of silence which Hannah, the mother of Samuel, prayed (1 Sam. 1:13). It was acceptable before God, it opened up her barren womb and caused her shame to depart, and she gave birth to a Nazirite and a priest (1 Sam. 1:10–16).”²⁶¹