the significance of the intercessory prayer passages in the letters of St Paul /
Gordon P. Wiles.
Cambridge [England] :
Cambridge University Press,
1974.
1 online resource (xii, 351 pages)
Society for New Testament Studies. Monograph series ;
24
Based on the author's thesis presented to the Yale University faculty in 1965, entitled The function of intercessory prayer in Paul's apostolic ministry with special reference to the First Epistle to the Thessalonians.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Introductory -- Intercessory prayer material in Paul's letters -- Intercessory wish-prayers: their background and form -- Function of the wish-prayers in I Thessalonians -- Function of the wish-prayers in Romans, I Corinthians, and Philippians -- Blessings and curses -- Intercessory prayer-reports: their form and function -- Function of the prayer-reports in the thanksgiving periods -- Function of the prayer-reports in the body of the letters -- Requests and exhortations about intercessory prayer -- Concluding statement.
2
A study of the communal worship and private prayers of the early Christian Church, in particular the intercessory prayer passages in Paul's seven epistles. Professor Wiles is concerned to discover what these prayers reveal about Paul's ministry and his apostolic strategy. Were his assurances that he was praying continually for his readers merely polite expressions? Were his requests for their prayers sincere and serious? How did this affect his relations with the churches and his influence on them? To answer these questions the book makes a thorough analysis of the prayer passages in the light of ancient epistolary and liturgical style. It places the passages within the structure of each letter, and relates them to the dynamic situation for which each was written.