From the early Church Fathers to now.
13 Patristic · 1 Orthodox · 1 Catholic
“I will therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger and contention.”
“But what reason is there in going to prayer with hands indeed washed, but the spirit has become fouled?—inasmuch as to our hands themselves spiritual cleansing is necessary, that they may be "lifted up pure" from falsehood, from murder, from cruelty, from poisonings, from idolatry and all the other blemishes which, conceived by the spirit, are effected by the operation of the hands.”
“Shall it be granted possible for human ingenuity to summon a spirit into water, and, by the application of hands from above, to animate their union into one body with another spirit of so clear sound; and shall it not be possible for God, in the case of His own organ, to produce, by means of "holy hands," a sublime spiritual modulation? But this, as well as the former, is derived from the old sacramental rite in which Jacob blessed his grandsons, born of Joseph, Ephrem and Manasses; with his hands laid on them and interchanged, and indeed so transversely slanted one over the other, that, by delineating Christ, they even portended the future benediction into Christ.”
“Touching times of prayer nothing at all has been prescribed, except clearly "to pray at every time and every place."”
“Now concerning the place, let it be known that every place is suitable for prayer if a person prays well. For "in every place you offer incense to me … says the Lord" and "I desire then that in every place men should pray," But everyone may have, if I may put it this way, a holy place set aside and chosen in his own house, if possible, for accomplishing his prayers in quiet and without distraction.”
“Certainly, the Lord gives the authority for praying in every place, in the words: "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father." And the words of the apostle are legitimate, because the word every does not include places designated for human usage or for unclean or shameful human deeds, but it does take in the regions from the confines of Jerusalem to every place in the world duly appointed, in conformity with the prophecy of sacrifice, that is, consecrated to God, for the celebration of the glorious mystery.”
“"When thou prayest," saith Christ, "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." What then says Paul? "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." This is not contrary to the other, God forbid, but quite in harmony with it. But how, and in what way? We must first consider what means, "enter into thy closet," and why Christ commands this, if we are to pray in every place? or whether we may not pray in the church, nor in any other part of the house, but the closet? What then means that saying? Christ is recommending us to avoid ostentation, when He bids us offer our prayers not only privately, but secretly. For, when He says, "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth," it is not the hands that He considers, but He is bidding them use the utmost caution against ostentation: and He is doing the like here; He did not limit prayer to one place, but required one thing alone, the absence of vainglory.”
“The object of Paul is to distinguish the Christian from the Jewish prayers, therefore observe what he says: "In every place lifting up holy hands," which was not permitted the Jews, for they were not allowed to approach God, to sacrifice and perform their services, elsewhere, but assembling from all parts of the world in one place, they were bound to perform all their worship in the temple. In opposition to this he introduces his precept, and freeing them from this necessity, he says in effect, Our ways are not like the Jewish; for as Christ commanded us to pray for all men because He died for all men, and I preach these things for all men, so it is good to "pray everywhere." Henceforth the consideration is not of the place but of the manner of the prayer; "pray everywhere," but "everywhere lift up holy hands." That is the thing required. And what is "holy"? Pure. And what is pure? Not washed with water, but free from covetousness, murder, rapacity, violence, "without wrath and doubting."”
“What means this? Who is angry when he prays? It means, without bearing malice. Let the mind of him that prays be pure, freed from all passion. Let no one approach God in enmity, or in an unamiable temper, or with "doubting." What is "without doubting"? Let us hear. It implies that we should have no misgiving but that we shall be heard. For it is said, "whatever ye ask believing ye shall receive." And again, "when ye stand praying forgive, if ye have aught against any one." This is to pray without wrath and doubting. But how can I believe that I shall obtain my request? By asking nothing opposed to that which He is ready to grant, nothing unworthy of the great King, nothing worldly, but all spiritual blessings; if you approach Him "without wrath," having pure hands, "holy hands": hands employed in almsgiving are holy. Approach Him thus, and you will certainly obtain your request. "For if ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" By doubting he means misgiving.”
“Whenever we lift up pure hands in prayer, without diverting distractions or contention, we are playing to the Lord with a ten-stringed instrument. We play, as the psalmist wrote, "with ten-stringed instrument and lyre, with melody upon the harp." Our body and soul and spirit—our harp—are all in harmony, all their strings in tune.”
“But the good farmer also, when he prepares to turn the soil in order to plant life-sustaining foods, undertakes to do this by nothing other than the sign of the cross. For when he sets the share beam on the plough, attaches the earthboard and puts on the plowhandle, he imitates the form of the cross, for its very construction is a kind of likeness of the Lord's suffering. Heaven, too, is itself arranged in the form of this sign, for since it is divided into four part—namely, east, west, south, and north—it consists in four quarters like the cross. Even a person's bearing, when he raises his hands, describes a cross; therefore we are ordered to pray with uplifted hands so that by the very stance of our body we might confess the Lord's suffering.”
“He must be quite cognizant, certain and confident of his own innocence who stretches out and extends his hands to God. Hence the apostle says, "I wish then that men pray everywhere, lifting up pure hands." He rightly lifts his hands to God, he pours forth prayers with a good conscience, who can say, "You know, O Lord, how holy, how innocent, how pure from every fraud, injury and plunder are the hands which I lift up to you; how unstained and free from all deceit are the lips with which I pour forth prayers to you so that you may have pity on me." Such a person deserves to be heard quickly and can obtain what he asks even before he has finished his prayer.”
“Whatever the mind has been thinking about before it prays will certainly come to it while it is praying. Therefore, before we begin to pray, we ought to be trying to be the kind of people whom we wish God to find when we pray. The mind is conditioned by its recent state. In prayer, the mind remembers recent acts or thoughts and experiences, sees them dancing before it like ghosts. And this annoys us, or depresses us, or reminds us of past lust or past worry, or makes us (I am ashamed to say) laugh like fools at some absurdity or circumstance, or go over again some recent conversation. Whatever we do not want to creep into our time of prayer, we must try to keep out of the heart when we are not praying. St. Paul's words were, "Pray without ceasing," and "In every place lifting up pure hands without wrath or controversy." To obey this is impossible, unless the mind is purified from sin, is given to virtue as its natural good and is continually nourished by the contemplation of God.”
“But how does Christ forbid praying in every place? Does He advise against doing this in public squares, and command entering a room for prayer (Matt. 6:6)? No, Christ does not forbid praying in every place, but teaches not to do so out of vainglory, for show. He mentioned only the room, just as in the saying "let not your left hand know what your right hand does" (Matt. 6:3), He speaks not of hands, but points to the exceeding importance of giving alms without vainglory. Therefore Paul also desires that men pray in every place, since Christ did not forbid this. And he said this in contrast to the Jewish manner of prayer. For prayer among them was performed in one place, that is, in the Temple of Jerusalem. But with us it is not so: grace is boundless, and just as a Christian prays for all, so also in every place. One ought not to deliberate with all carefulness about the place of prayer, but about the manner of it. For he requires hands clean from covetousness, robbery, murders, and wounds — hands full of almsgiving. That is, without bearing grudges or harboring hostility against one's brother. The Apostle teaches that the one who prays should pray without doubt or wavering in his thoughts as to whether or not he will receive what he asks. How then does this happen? He answers: if you ask nothing contrary to His will—nothing unworthy of the King—but ask for everything spiritual, with pure hands and without anger.”
“Then when he says, I will, therefore, he comes down to the specific types of men. In regard to this he does two things: first, he instructs the men about prayer; second, the women, at in like manner, women also. He says, I will, therefore, that men pray. And he requires three things of men in prayer: that it be assiduous, pure and quiet. Assiduous, because it should take place at all times and in every place. And he says, I will, because it is good for a man to pray; and I, your teacher, will that men pray in every place and not only at Jerusalem, as the Jews, or not only on Mount Garizim, as the Samaritans (John 4:20-21). For a man can pray spiritually and mentally everywhere: they shall adore him, every man from his own place, all the islands of the gentiles (Zeph 1:11). But why does the Lord rebuke the Pharisees for praying as they stood on the street corners? (Matt 6:5). The answer is that mental prayer can be performed anywhere; but the external signs of prayer should not be performed everywhere, because a man should not appear singular in his outward actions because of the danger of doing them out of vain glory. But why do people build churches? I answer that it is not because the place is necessary for prayer, but for the convenience of the one who prays, i.e., to have solitude and quiet. Prayer should be pure; hence he says, lifting up pure hands. As Augustine says: whatever we do externally when we pray is done for the sake of stirring up our affections. For genuflections and the like are not of themselves pleasing to God, but only because by them, as by signs of humility, a man is internally humble; just as lifting the hands indicates that the heart has been lifted up: let us lift up our heart with our hands to the Lord in the heavens (Lam 3:41). Lifting up pure hands, i.e., praying with a devout heart: yet if you will arrive early to God and will beseech the Almighty; if you will walk clean and upright, he will presently wake unto you and will make the dwelling of your justice peaceable (Job 8:5). Prayer should be quiet, i.e., without anger and contention. And he mentions these two things: first, that the mind be without anger which disquiets the soul to inflict harm upon one's neighbor, whereas the mind of the one praying should be free of this: man to man reserves anger, and does he seek remedy of God? (Sir 28:3). Prayer should be free of contention which can mean two things: first, according to a Gloss, that we not contend against God, disbelieving his words and murmuring against his commandments: O man, who are you who replies against God (Rom 9:20). Second, that we not contend against our neighbor, or break the peace with him through contention; for peace is necessary to the man who prays: if two of you shall consent upon earth concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father (Matt 18:19).”
“Then Simon, enraged that he was not able to tell the secret of the apostle, cried out, saying: Let great dogs come forth, and eat him up before Caesar. And suddenly there appeared great dogs, and rushed at Peter. But Peter, stretching forth his hands”
“Therefore I want the men to pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. How then did Christ forbid praying openly? "For He says, 'Go into your room.'" (Matt. 6:6) Christ did not forbid praying in every place, but He said this to turn away from praying for show; just as in "Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing," (Matt. 6:3) He does not speak about hands, but about doing good deeds without empty glory and not for display. It is not the place that makes the difference, but everywhere He cared that we do not show off. Furthermore, the Apostle also makes this clear: Just as it was not permitted for the Jews to offer sacrifices outside the temple, so it is also with us to pray. For He says that every place is suitable for us, only if we lift up holy hands, that is, hands cleansed from impure grasping, greed, and murder, purified through almsgiving. without anger. Without bitterness, without cursing anyone. For true anger is not even wishing harm to befall one's brother. or disputing. So will God hear me? Or do I pray simply and in vain? For one must be convinced that God will listen, if we ask Him for things dear to Him while being pure.”
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.