The Prayers of St. Paul — Edition Insights

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In Category - Theology

Authors: Thomas, W. H. Griffith (William Henry Griffith), 1861-1924 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2009 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible. Epistles of Paul -- Prayers Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 24,233

Reading time 106 min

Text sections 4

The source record for The Prayers of St. Paul — Edition Insights measures this digital text at 24,233 words, 1 hr 46 min estimated reading time, and 4 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 17.4 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible. Epistles of Paul -- Prayers,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #30389

An examination of the language and structure of Paul's prayers in his epistles, focusing on how the apostle's petitions for spiritual strength, unity, and certitude reveal his pastoral voice and theological priorities.

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This thought is brought before us very clearly in the Revised Version: "_To which end we also pray_." In the Authorised Version it is: "_Wherefore also we pray_." Following the original, the R.V. refers definitely to what has preceded. The whole context is a reason for the prayer which now follows.

The _Triumphant Future_ is part of the reason of his prayer. "When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believe in that day." The Apostle looks forward to "the crowning day" that is coming, and bases upon this glorious hope the prayer that follows.

The _Testing Present_ is another part of the reason for this prayer. The Church of Thessalonica was suffering persecutions and afflictions, and was passing through the fire of testing (vers. 4-7); and it was this fact--their then-existing severe experiences--that prompted the Apostle to pray for them, as well as to express the hope concerning their deliverance from the furnace of affliction.

Thus present and future are blended in his thought, and form the ground or reason of his intercession.

2. THE NATURE OF THE PRAYER.

Two elements sum up this beautiful prayer.

He asks for the _Divine Approval_ on their life: "That God may count you worthy of your calling." God's "calling" is His summons into His kingdom. The kingdom may be regarded both as present and future. In the Gospels it would seem as though the "calling" were limited to His invitation or appeal, while in the Epistles it appears to include the believer's response to the call. For this reason it is sometimes spoken of as God's "calling," and at others, as in this case, as "your calling." The thought of a Divine calling responded to by the believer is prominent in the teaching of St. Paul, and should be carefully studied. Even in these Epistles to the Thessalonians, the idea is frequently found (1 Thess. ii. 12, iv. 7, v. 24; 2 Thess. ii. 14).

"Count you worthy" is a notable phrase repeated from verse 5: "Counted worthy of the kingdom of God." Seven times this verb is used by St. Paul. As we ponder it we catch something of the wondrous glory of our life as contemplated by the King of Kings. Surely, it may be said, the believer can never be "worthy"; and this is true if he is considered in himself. But just as it is with justification, which means "accounted just," so with sanctification--by the unspeakable grace of God we are actually "counted worthy." Hooker's well-known words about justification may be quoted in this connection as illustrating the thought of worthiness in sanctification. "God doth justify the believing man, yet not for the worthiness of his belief, but for His worthiness Who is believed." So we may say, God doth count the believing man worthy, yet not for any personal worthiness, but for the worthiness which is wrought by grace. We must, however, not fail to notice that the believer is responsible for his use of grace, and that the very thought of God counting us worthy has included in it the thought of scrutiny with a view to decision.

He seeks the _Divine Blessing_ on their life: "And fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith with power." This, which is the rendering of the R.V., seems, on the whole, the more intelligible and appropriate. It means, "all that goodness can desire, and all that faith can effect." It blends together the two ideas of _aspiration_ and _activity_--the aspiration of goodness and the activity of trust--and it prays that God would fulfil _with power_, or powerfully, every aspiration that comes from goodness, and every activity that springs from faith. Just as in the familiar words of the Collect for Easter Day, God first puts into "our minds good desires," and then by His "continual help" we are enabled to "bring the same to good effect." By "His holy inspiration we think those things that are good, and by His merciful guiding we perform the same."

3. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE PRAYER.

Notice the twofold consequence here stated.

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W. H. Griffith Thomas approaches Paul's prayers not as isolated devotional texts but as carefully structured petitions that reveal the apostle's pastoral method. The book's opening chapters on 1 Thessalonians establish a pattern: each prayer is broken into discrete requests, often introduced by the phrase "He asked for" followed by a specific spiritual quality. This analytical framework allows Thomas to trace how Paul moves from grace and holiness to consecration and preservation, building a cumulative picture of the Christian life as a process of being "knit together in love."

The author's own voice is that of a teacher who expects his readers to follow close argument. He repeatedly pauses to define key terms—"comfort" as strength, courage, and consolation; "heart" as the centre of moral being—and then applies them to congregational life. This dual attention to lexical precision and practical application gives the work its distinctive expository rhythm.

The Triadic Structure of Paul's Petitions

Thomas consistently identifies three elements in each prayer passage. In 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13, he isolates requests for grace, holiness, and the parousia. In Colossians 1:9–12, the triad becomes knowledge, obedience, and strength. This pattern is not imposed; Thomas argues it is inherent in the apostle's own syntax. He notes how Paul "piles phrase upon phrase"—understanding, fulness of understanding, wealth of fulness of understanding—to create a cumulative effect. The triadic structure serves both as a mnemonic device and as a theological argument: each petition builds on the previous one, moving from inner disposition to outward conduct.

The author's method is to quote a short passage, then gloss each clause in order. He rarely strays from the text, and when he does, it is to cite parallel passages from other epistles. This disciplined focus gives the book a lecture-like clarity, though it also means the reader must supply the connective tissue between chapters.

Lexical Precision as Pastoral Care

Thomas devotes considerable space to unpacking single Greek terms. His treatment of "comfort" (paraklesis) in the Colossians passage is typical: he distinguishes three components—strength, courage, consolation—and then links each to a dimension of Christian experience. The same method recurs with "heart" (kardia), which he defines as "the centre of our moral and spiritual being." These definitions are not merely academic; they are pressed into service for congregational application. "If the heart is right, all will be right," he writes, quoting Proverbs 4:23.

This lexical care extends to the apostle's own vocabulary. Thomas observes that Paul uses wealth metaphors repeatedly, and he notes the apostle's habit of intensifying terms through accumulation. The effect is to present Paul as a precise theologian who chooses his words deliberately. Thomas's own prose mirrors this precision: he avoids vague piety in favor of concrete claims about what the text says and implies.

From Text to Congregation: The Homiletic Turn

Each chapter ends with an application to the local church. Thomas moves from exegesis to exhortation in a single paragraph, often using the phrase "It is exactly similar with a Church or a congregation." The applications are specific: disunity is a weapon of Satan; solitary Christians are weak Christians; the wedge of discord is "one of the enemy's most powerful weapons." These are not generic encouragements but pointed warnings drawn from the logic of the prayer itself.

The homiletic turn reveals Thomas's own pastoral context. He writes for ministers and lay teachers who need ready-made sermon material. The book's structure—short chapters, clear divisions, practical conclusions—reflects the "Short Course Series" design. Yet the applications never overwhelm the exegesis; they remain tethered to the specific language of the prayer. This balance between scholarship and sermonizing is the book's most distinctive feature.

Readers will benefit most by reading each chapter with the corresponding epistle open beside them. Thomas's arguments are dense but linear; skipping the lexical explanations will weaken the force of his applications. The book assumes familiarity with Pauline theology but does not require Greek. It is best approached as a companion for study rather than a devotional read, rewarding those who work through its careful distinctions between strength, courage, and consolation.

That rainy afternoon, I kept returning to the prayers of St. Paul, struck by how his pleas for strength always circled back to quiet certainty. The rain blurred the window, and I set the book down, noticing a worn spine beside it. The same patient waiting for assurance seemed to live there, in that older vision of days yet to come. Our Day In the Light of Prophecy — Inside the Classic felt familiar before I’d even opened it.