I have a question about the "Prayer at Daybreak" by Archimandrite Sophronios, specifically about the meaning of the word "presumption." Here are a couple lines from that prayer:
Have mercy upon me.
Cast me not away from your presence because of my presumption.
Do Thee rather increase in me this presumption,
and grant unto me, the worst of men,
to love Thee as Thee have commanded, with all my heart, and with all my soul,
and with all my mind, and with all my strength:
with my whole being.
In the first part, it seems that "presumption" is something to be avoided, certainly not a virtue if God may cast one away for possessing it. But in the next part, the prayer asks for an increasing in our presumption. What does this word mean? Is it something to avoid, or to cultivate within ourselves?
Thank you.
