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The Didache gives Christians rules on how to fast and how to pray, set against the practice of the hypocrites. In the Gospel of Thomas the disciples ask Jesus for these same rules, much as a disciple in Luke asks Jesus to teach them to pray.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Didache 8:1
Early Christian
1 Don't fast like the hypocrites, who fast on Mondays and Thursdays. Instead, you should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. 2 Also, don't pray like the hypocrites. Instead, pray as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, saying: 'Our Father in Heaven, may your name be honored; may your kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the power and the glory forever.' 3 Pray in this way three times a day.
Luke 11:1
New Testament
1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 So he said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, may your name be honored; may your kingdom come.
Gospel of Thomas 1:6
Nag Hammadi
5 Jesus said, “Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.” 6 His disciples questioned him and said to him, “Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give alms? What diet should we observe?” Jesus said, “Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are disclosed before heaven. Nothing hidden will fail to be revealed, and nothing covered will remain undisclosed.” 7 Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion that the man will eat, so that the lion becomes a man. And cursed is the man whom a lion will eat, and the lion will become a man.”
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Notes and References
“... 6.1 How shall we (Co: Do you want us to) fast? Here the disciples’ question reflects diversity of opinion about fasting (cf. Did. 8.1; see further discussion in GTh 27). In Hermas, the procedure for fasting is quite complex (Herm. 54 [Sim. 5.1].5–8; 56 [Sim. 5.3]). As noted above, the Coptic has probably made the disciples’ question more radical. 6.1 And how shall we pray? The disciples’ question here might reflect the question that triggers the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11.1 (‘Lord, teach us to pray …’), as well as questions about frequency and contents of prayer e.g. in Didache 8.2–3; Hermas 9 [Vis. 3.1].6–7. The shocking response given to this question later in GTh 14 is that prayer leads to condemnation. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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