Lift up your hearts
Cyprian, On the Lord’s Prayer, section 31
St. Cyprian urges Christians to stand in prayer with watchfulness and wholehearted attention. He recalls the liturgical call to lift up the heart and the people’s response toward the Lord. The words are meant to prepare the intention of those praying. Prayer involves the person’s mind and heart as well as the voice. Cyprian, On the Lord’s Prayer, section 31
His concern is that speech addressed to God should not be accompanied by a heart given elsewhere; he calls it carelessness to be carried away by other thoughts while praying. The exhortation should not be used to declare every involuntary distraction hypocrisy. It calls for willing attention and a sincere direction toward God, while we continue to learn how to pray. Cyprian, On the Lord’s Prayer, section 31
Christ warns about honoring God with lips while the heart is far away. In Matthew the warning addresses hypocritical devotion and human commandments imposed as divine teaching. That context matters: the passage is a serious call to truthful allegiance, rather than a diagnosis of every passing difficulty with concentration. Matthew 15:7-9
A present application begins with the meaning of the words actually being prayed. Attend to whom they address and what they ask. When you notice that attention has wandered, return to that meaning. The aim is to join the heart to the prayer received, without demanding a performance of uninterrupted emotional intensity. Cyprian, On the Lord’s Prayer, section 31
The liturgical invitation Cyprian recalls belongs to prayer with the Church. We can receive it as a summons to offer ourselves sincerely to the Lord. The words already on our lips can become the place where attention begins again. Faithful participation asks for that willingness, while keeping God as the One whom the prayer addresses. Cyprian, On the Lord’s Prayer, section 31
For prayer, use the Lord’s Prayer given by Christ in Matthew 6:9–13.
Sources and edition notes
- Cyprian, On the Lord’s Prayer. Source. Translated by Robert Ernest Wallis. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050704.htm.
Scripture references link to these comparison editions: NKJV. Biblical passages are paraphrased. Biblical language within a patristic quotation follows the identified historical English translation.