Jeff Russell

Just an addendum to the above to clarify that I did not mean to imply that this was the only such prayer: I meant merely that there is an ontological/metaphysical aspect to any "true" prayer that ought to be considered (you touch on this in your August 5 post). Regarded from a (Neo)Platonic perspective, the early part of the prayer effectively invokes the divinity, with the supplicant asking to "participate" in the divinity's will; as Iamblichus might note of any effective ritual, this would develop resonance between the divinity in question and the soul of the supplicant, from whence action can be taken to put the divine will into practice. This is, admittedly, my personal view, but such a theurgic quality, I would argue, needs to be weighed considerably, at least if one accepts the Platonist outlook. In some cases, it may indeed require, first of all, a theophany to convey the divine intent to the supplicant, although I believe a person adequately attuned to their particular deity can uncover said resonances...