Praying Without Ceasing

Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις δυνάμεως πεπληρωμένους νομίζω τοὺς λόγους τῆς τῶν ἁγίων εὐχῆς, μάλιστα ὅτε προσευχόμενοι, πνεύματι προσεύχονται καὶ τῷ νοὶ, φωτὶ ἀνατέλλοντι ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ εὐχομένου διανοίας καὶ προϊόνται ἐκ στόματος αὐτοῦ, ὑπεκλύειν δυνάμει Θεοῦ τὸν ἐνιέμενον νουητὸν ἰὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων τῷ ἡγεμονικῷ τῶν ἀμελούντων τοῦ εὔχεσθαι, καὶ τὸ, Ἀδιαλείπτωη προσεύχεσθω, ἀκολούθως ταῖς τοῦ Ἰυσοῦ προτροπαῖς εἰρημένον παρὰ τῷ Παυλῳ μὴ φυλαττόντων. Ὡωπερ γὰρ βέλος ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ εὐχομένου ψυχῆς τῇ γνώσει καὶ τῷ λόγῳ ἢ τῇ πίστει πρόεισι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου, τιτρῶσκον ἐπὶ καθαιρέσει καὶ καταλύσει τὰ ἐχθρὰ τῷ Θεῷ πνεύματα, τοῖς τῆς ἁμαρτίας δεσμοῖς περιβαλεῖν ἡμᾶς θέλοντα. Ἀδιαλείπτως δὲ προσεύχεται, καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἢ τῶν ἐντολῶν τῶν ἐπιτελουμένων εἰς εὐχῆς ἀναλαμβανομένων μέρος, ὁ συνάπτων τοῖς δέουσιν ἔργοις τὴν εὐχὴν, καὶ τῇ εὐχῇ τὰς πρεπούσας πράξεις· οὕτω γὰρ μόνως τὸ, ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε, ἐκδέξασθαι δυνάμεθα ὡς δυνατὸν ὂν εἰρημένον, εἰ πάντα τὸν βίον τοῦ ἁγιου μίαν συναπτομένην μεγάλην εἴποιμεν εὐχήν· ἧς εὐχῆς μέρος ἐστὶ καὶ ἡ συνήθως ὀνονμαζομένη εὐχὴ, οὐκ ἔλλατον τοῦ τρίς ἑκάστης ἡμέρας ἐπιτελεῖσθαι ὀφεἰλουσιν ὅπερ δῆλοὶ ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Δανιὴλ, τηλικούτου ἑπηρτημένου αὐτῷ κινδύνου, εὐχόμενον, τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας. Καὶ ὁ Πέτρος δὲ ἀναβαίνων εἰς τὸ δῶμα τὴν ἕκτην προσεύξασθαι, ὅτε καὶ ὥρα τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καθιέμενον σκεῦος τέτρασιν ἀρχαῖς καθιέμενον,' παρίστησι τὴν μέσην τῶν τριῶν εύχὴν τὴν πρὸ αὐτοῦ καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Δαυὶδ λεγομένην· Τὸ πρωεϊσακούσῃ τῆς προσευχῆς μου· τὸ πρωϊ παραστήσομαι σοι καὶ ἐπόψομαι· καὶ τῆς τελευταίας δηλουμένης διὰ τοῦ· Ἔπαρσις τῶν χειρῶν μου Θυσία ἐσμερινή. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὸν τῆς νυκτὸς καιρὸν χωρις ταύτης τῆς εὐχῆς καθηκόντως διανύσομεν, τοῦ μὲν Δαυὶδ λεγοντος· ' Μεσονύκτιον ἐξεγειρόμην τοῦ ἐξομολογεῖσθαι σοι ἐπὶ τὰ κρίματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης σου· τοῦ δε Παύλου, ὡς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων εἴρηται, κατὰ τὸ μεσονύκτιον ἄμα τῷ Σίλᾳ ἐν Φιλίπποις προσευχομένου καὶ ὑμνοῦντος τὸν Θεὸν, ὥστε ἐπακροάσθαι αὐτων καὶ τοὺς δεσμίους. Ὠριγένης, Περὶ Εὐχὴς

And I think that the words of the prayer of the saints to be full of power, especially when praying they pray with the spirit and understanding, with a light rising from the mind of he who prays and proceeding from his mouth to gradually weaken by the power of God the mental venom injected by the adverse powers into the leading faculty of those who are careless for prayer and who fail to keep that saying of Paul's, 'Pray without ceasing.' 1' in accordance with the exhortations of Jesus. For it is like a shaft from the suppliant's soul, sped by knowledge and reason or by faith, that goes forth from the saint and wounds to ruin and dissolution the spiritual enemies of God who are eager to cast around us the bonds of sin. And who he prays without ceasing, since deeds of virtue or of the commandments is also a constituent part of prayer, combines prayer with right actions, and befitting deeds with prayer. For the when it is said 'pray without ceasing' it can only be accepted as something possible by us if we may speak of the whole life of a saint as being one great continuous prayer. Of such a prayer what is customarily named prayer is a part, and should be performed no less than three times a day, as is clear from Daniel who, despite the great danger that threatened him, prayed three times daily. 2 And Peter when he goes up to the housetop about the sixth hour to pray, on that occasion when he saw the vessel which descended from heaven let down by four corners, presents to us the middle prayer of the three 3 The first is spoken of by David: 'In the morning shall you hear my prayer; in the morning will I present myself to you and keep watch.' 4 The last is indicated in the words: 'the lifting up of my hands in evening sacrifice.' 5 But we shall not end this matter correctly without attending to the prayer of the night, of which David  says 'In the middle of the night I rose to make acknowledgment to you for your righteous judgments' 6 and of Paul it is said in the Acts of the Apostles that 'around midnight' 7 with Silas in Phillipi he prayed and offered songs to God, which was heard by the others in bondage there.  Origen, On Prayer 1 Thes 5.17 2 Dan 6.13  3 Acts 10.9-11  4 Ps 5.4  5 Ps 140.2  6 Ps 118.62  7 Acts 16.25