PAUL'S COMPLEX MINISTRY AND ITS INTERCESSORY ASPECTS

The inquiry that follows will be concerned with the communal worship and private prayers of the early Christian church. In particular we shall consider the intercessory prayer passages in Paul's epistles. The question will be asked as to what these reveal about the apostle's intercessory ministry, and what he expected in the way of intercessions from the churches to whom he was writing. Were his frequent claims to be praying continually for his readers merely epistolary cliches, polite exaggerations to be expected in an ancient letter? Were his requests for their prayers merely incidental afterthoughts, quite secondary to his main intent in writing?

Our investigations will be focused upon the practical ministry of the apostle Paul as a central figure in the New Testament, whose vibrant letters may be expected to reveal much about the hidden springs of prayer behind his own apostolic life and the life of the early Christian community. To extend our purview to the intercessory prayers throughout the New Testament would broaden our understanding of the early church as a whole, but preclude the detailed attention needed to arrive at solidly based conclusions. So we shall restrict ourselves to the prayers in Paul's epistles. What do these reveal about his own image of his apostleship, especially with regard to the purpose and strategy of his mission, and his relationship with the members of his churches?