11 - Concluding statement

Summary

At the beginning of this study we set out to examine Paul's intercessory prayer passages so as to discover not only their function within his letters, but also how important a rôle intercessory prayer played in his pastoral and priestly office and in his total apostolic strategy, and how far he relied upon a widespread practice of mutual intercessions among his churches. From time to time answers have been suggested throughout the work. Thus only a brief review is needed.

In an attempt to isolate the intercessory passages and describe their formal characteristics, we understood that within the dynamic activity of prayer there could be no hard and fast line between thanksgivings, intercessions, and representative corporate supplications. Nevertheless we argued for the significance of intercessory prayer as a recognizable type of prayer, in which the one who prays is concerned as mediator and intercessor before God, principally for the needs of others.

As our examination progressed we found a remarkable consistency in the functioning of the prayer passages in each letter. As far as the wish-prayers and prayer-reports were concerned, each in its own way epitomized the dominant message of the letter and underlined its central concerns. In Paul's hands the conventional usages of ancient letter style turned out to be weighted with new meaning and the prayers were found to give concentrated living expression to his deeply responsible love, his vital anxieties and burning hopes.