By Paul Maillet, S.S.

St. Paul and Prayer

Four lessons gleaned from the Apostle of the Gentiles

Behind St. Paul's boundless energy as apostle, missionary, pastor and theologian (as well as tentmaker!) must have been an extraordinary prayer life. Indeed many references to St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles show him as a man of prayer (Acts 9:11; 13:3; 14:23; 16:13,25; 19:6; 20:36; 22:17; 28:8,15). Moreover, it is hard to exaggerate the ways in which the Apostle has enriched the prayer life of the Church.

The Pauline corpus, i.e., all 13 documents in the New Testament attributed to Paul, consists of letters, most of which were most likely proclaimed at liturgical gatherings. In addition to instruction, they contain greetings, prayers, hymns, reflections on Old Testament passages, all reflective of the worship of the early Church. For 2,000 years, they have never ceased to be incorporated into Christian liturgy.

In the Latin rite, more often than not, the priest's greeting either quotes one of the greetings from St. Paul's letters or imitates the Apostle's habitual greeting of ''grace and peace.'' In addition, frequently, a Pauline letter or an account concerning him from the Acts of the Apostles precedes the Gospel. Moreover, the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as celebrations of the other sacraments, are filled with readings from St. Paul and the canticles taken from his letters.

His effect on our prayer life through the liturgy is obvious. But what did he leave us in the way of direct teaching about prayer -- especially personal prayer? Two sets of challenges make writing about Paul's teaching on prayer difficult. On the one hand, Paul left us no systematic treatment of the topic. Nor is the intention of his letters to offer us a spiritual journal, although the rare times he does disclose details of personal prayer experiences are instructive.

His description of ''a man whether in the body or out of the body'' (2 Cor 12:2-4) and his references to his own gift of tongues (1 Cor 14:18) assure us that he had mystical experiences. But while he often reported his constant intercession and thanksgiving for others, he was reticent about revealing personal details about the depths of his personal prayer, in part because he was well aware that extraordinary graces in prayer could be occasions for pride and distraction from that most important of spiritual gifts: love.

In addition to an absence of a systematic treatment of prayer or personal details about his own prayer, a further challenge in summarizing St. Paul's teaching about prayer comes from the fact that almost everything he wrote pertains to prayer, at least indirectly. It is evident that much prayer went into his writings -- whether the topic is pastoral, ethical, theological, or spiritual. And over the course of two millennia, much prayer has come out of his writings: many passages in his letters that are not already a prayer either can be converted easily into a vocal prayer by altering a word or two. Furthermore, his letters are exceptionally conducive to meditation.

''Pray without ceasing!'' (1 Thes 5:17)

For St. Paul, the line between theology and prayer -- and indeed between all of Christian life and prayer -- was thin or nonexistent. That, in itself, is an important lesson. So close is the connection between nearly every verse in St. Paul's writing and prayer that it is nearly impossible in many cases to distinguish passages that pertain to prayer from those that do not.

It is not uncommon for Paul to erupt suddenly into prayer in the middle of a discourse (Rom 11:33-36), or to use a prayer (of his own composition or previously in use by early Christians [e.g., Phil 2:6-11], we can leave for Pauline scholars to debate) to make a theological or an ethical point (lex orandi, lex credendi).

Because of the relevance of nearly all of his writing to the topic of prayer, it is not surprising that the Pauline corpus is essential to the common teaching about prayer shared by all Christians. His influence on Catholic catechesis on prayer can be seen in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In Part Four, ''Christian Prayer,'' there are 424 footnotes. Of these, 344 refer to Scripture and of these, 87 to writings in the Pauline corpus. Beyond catechesis, the whole Christian spiritual tradition is indebted to St. Paul.

One of my favorite spiritual classics, The Way of a Pilgrim by an anonymous Russian peasant, is literally the account of a spiritual journey in which the pilgrim seeks how to put one verse of St. Paul into practice (1 Thes 5:17, ''Pray without ceasing''). St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, indeed spiritual writers from the early Church to the present, representing all the great Christian traditions make numerous references to St. Paul.

To this tradition of 2,000 years of praying with St. Paul, I will not attempt to add anything original, let alone something systematic and comprehensive. My goal is simply to use this reflection during this year of St. Paul to highlight four areas concerning his understanding of prayer in order to help stoke the fire of my own prayer life and hopefully that of deacons, fellow priests, and all who read this article.

1. ''The Holy Spirit intercedes for us!'' (Rom 8:26)

There are many ways of praying, and St. Paul seems to have experienced and to have referred to the full range. I have already mentioned his rare allusions to his own charismatic and mystical experiences. Much more common are his references to the importance of intercessory prayer, thanksgiving, and praise which St. Paul refers to as ''boasting in the Lord'' (2 Cor 10:17). In all of this Paul is deeply aware of our need for humility and recognizing the role of the Holy Spirit.

In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings'' (Rom 8:26).

As part of this series for the Year of St. Paul, the July issue of The Priest included an excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI's book, The Apostles. There the Holy Father referred to St. Paul's emphasis on the Holy Spirit in prayer.

Paul teaches us ... that there is no true prayer without the presence of the Holy Spirit within us ... It is as if to say that the Spirit of the Father and the Son, is henceforth, as it were, the soul of our soul, the most secret part of our being, from which our impulse of prayer rises ceaselessly to God, whose words we cannot even begin to explain ... [Prayer involves] a great and vital communion with the Spirit. It is an invitation to be increasingly sensitive, more attentive to the presence of the Spirit in us, to transform it into prayer, to feel this presence and there to learn to pray, to speak to the Father as children in the Holy Spirit...'' (The Priest 64.7, July 2008, pp. 37-45, here p. 42).

2. ''Lord, what would you have me do?'' (Acts 22:10)

St. Paul models for us the integration of prayer and life. One of the very first prayers that St. Paul ever addressed to Christ became his life's quest, a quest that we do well to imitate. Dietrich von Hildebrand in Transformation in Christ (Sophia, Manchester, N.H., 1990,p.9) speaks of this quest as ''an unquenchable thirst for regeneration in all things ... the bliss of flying into Christ's arms who will transform us by His light beyond any measure we might ourselves intend. We must say, as did St. Paul on the road to Damascus: 'Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?'''

In Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul often refers to Christ's answers to this ongoing prayer in terms of being guided by the Spirit of Christ (e.g. Acts 16:7) as he decides the best course in his missionary journeys and indeed the beginning of what was probably the final journey. So docile had St. Paul become to the will of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that in his farewell discourse to the Ephesian elders at Miletus he refers to himself as ''bound by'' or ''a captive of'' the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:22).

St. Paul teaches that prayer is invaluable not only for discernment of Christ's will in our lives, but also for growing in the virtues needed to carry it out. Galatians 5:22 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 remind us that contemplation, a gift of the Spirit, burns away faults and produces virtues (Thomas Dubay, The Fire Within, pp. 64 and 183). And it works both ways. The more we grow in both discerning and doing the will of God, the deeper, in turn, our prayer life becomes.

3. ''Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!'' (Phil 4:4)

Prayer of the heart or contemplation can be a ''thirsting for the Lord,'' a quiet peace, or, when God sees fit, it can be deeply affective. But St. Paul reminds us that, although contemplation, in which we are consumed with love for God, is rightly considered a higher form of personal prayer, we never outgrow vocal prayer. Why does vocal prayer, all too often, seem to be a duty or a chore?

A Chinese proverb says that when emotions are too deep for ordinary words, we turn to poetry and song. The affectivity that is sometimes missing when we pray in forms of poetry and song such as psalms, canticles, or hymns was evidently not missing in St. Paul's prayer life. For St. Paul, verbal prayer, far from being mechanical, is a way to express our deepest feelings to God: groaning at times, yes, but mostly rejoicing in thanksgiving for the salvation Christ offers us.

And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another (in) psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father (Eph 5:18).

4. ''My grace is sufficient for you!'' (2 Cor 12:7-9)

One of the rare passages in which St. Paul reveals details of his own personal prayer teaches us two valuable lessons for the battle against discouragement.

That I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me: ''My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness'' (2 Cor 12:7-9).

The first lesson to be learned is that St. Paul was convinced that God always answers prayer. St. Paul does not suggest that God did not answer his prayer. In fact, St. Paul uses the perfect active of the verb ''to say'' which indicates the continuing present result of a past actions. Not only did Jesus answer his prayer but what he said has remained with St. Paul. Even though the response was answered contrary to his hopes, it exceeded his expectations.

In this case, the answer was itself a lesson invaluable not only to St. Paul but also to Christians throughout the centuries. This second lesson is that the Lord's power is made perfect in our weakness. He can work through us despite all our limitations. Although St. Paul's ''thorn'' may well have been an illness or other hardship, St. Thérèse does not hesitate to apply this second lesson to moral imperfections as well.

When I think of the time of my novitiate, I see how imperfect I was. I made so much fuss over such little things that it makes me laugh now. Ah! How good the Lord is in having matured my soul. Later on, no doubt, the time in which I am now will appear filled with imperfections, but now I am astonished at nothing. I am not disturbed seeing myself as weakness itself. On the contrary, it is in my weakness that I glory, and I expect each day to discover new imperfections in myself (St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul, Manuscript C, 14vo).

While it would distort St. Thérèse's words to suggest that she is encouraging laxity, she certainly is drawing us away from the discouragement to which we may be tempted in battling and confessing the same sins over and over. Elsewhere, she also draws upon St. Paul to remind us of a corollary of this lesson: to use a popular expression, ultimately ''it's not about us.''

God ''does not call those who are worthy but those whom He pleases. God will show mercy on whom He will have mercy and he will show pity to whom He will show pity. So then here is question not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God showing mercy (Rom 9:13 and 16).

Conclusion

Although there are many other lessons to be gleaned from St. Paul on prayer, I have focused on four aspects that I have found most helpful. May we all use this Year of St. Paul to renew our prayer lives by a deepened awareness of the Holy Spirit active within us, greater emphasis on integrating the way we live with how we pray, engaging our deepest feelings in prayer, and never giving in to discouragement: God always answers prayer and is able to transcend all of our limitations.

As fellow priests and deacons, let us never cease giving thanks for each other and remembering each other in our prayers (Eph 1:16) asking that God grant us that same boundless energy, charity, wisdom and zeal exhibited in the life of St. Paul that the Lord may work wonders through our ministry as we work and pray for the New Evangelization.

Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21).

St. Paul, pray for us! TP

FATHER MAILLET, a Sulpician, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and a doctoral student in biblical studies at The Catholic University of America.