Prayer

Prayer (from Medieval Latin: precaria; Vulgate Latin oratio; Greek: προσευχή proseukhḗ; Hebrew: תפילה tfiˈla) is a supplicatory, but not egoistic, turning to God or other higher spiritual beings, speaking only inwardly or also outwardly, and at the same time a preliminary stage of mystical immersion, in which the I-consciousness is not extinguished but strengthened.

In worship or adoration (Latin: adoratio), the request as such recedes and the pure adoration and praise of God comes to the fore. However, the boundaries between prayer and worship are fluid and every genuine prayer must be carried by the mood of genuine worship.

The early Christians still prayed primarily in the orant posture adopted from the Orient, standing confidently before God with arms outstretched at shoulder height, their gaze raised to heaven in supplication or also humbly lowered. More rarely, people prayed with their hands crossed in front of their chest. The folding of the hands with open palms placed together (Gothic prayer posture), as was also customary when paying homage to the feudal lord in the medieval feudal system, became widespread around the 11th century. It was not until the Reformation that people prayed with their fingers intertwined. The touching of the two hands together promotes selfconfidence (Lit.:GA 158, p. 113ff).

Literature

• Rudolf Steiner: Ausgewählte Gebete, Meditationen und mantrische Sprüche, BOD, Norderstedt 2012
• Rudolf Steiner: Metamorphosen des Seelenlebens – Pfade der Seelenerlebnisse. Zweiter Teil, GA 59 (1984) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Das christliche Mysterium, GA 97 (1998) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Der Zusammenhang des Menschen mit der elementarischen Welt, GA 158 (1993) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Sprachgestaltung und Dramatische Kunst, GA 282 (1981) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.