4. PRIVATE PRAYERS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH
The apostolic guidance in prayer extends even to those private prayers which no one hears except God. In this field, the epistles of Paul are of special value. More fully than any other one man of the apostolic age, Paul has revealed the very secrets of Christian experience; and that experience is rooted in prayer. A glance at the beginnings and endings of the epistles will be sufficient to show how fundamental prayer was in Paul's life; news of the churches was never received without issuing at once in thanksgiving or in intercession, and Paul desires, not merely the good wishes, but the prayers, of his beloved converts. Paul practiced what he preached when he urged the Thessalonian Christians to "pray without ceasing." I Thess. 5:17. Compare chs. 1:3; 2:13; Rom. 1:9; II Tim. 1:3. Evidently, moreover, he regarded prayer as something far more than an incidental expression of the Christian life; he believed in its real efficacy with the Ruler of the world.
5. "MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS"
One passage, particularly, will repay special study. In II Cor. 12:8,9, we have information about the most intimate, the most personal of the prayers of Paul. The apostle had been afflicted with a persistent illness; it had apparently hampered him in his work, and caused him acute distress. In his trouble he called upon the Lord; and by that prayer Paul's affliction has been made to redound to the lasting instruction and encouragement of the Church.
(1) Prayer Concerning Physical Ills.—In the first place, the prayer concerns not spiritual matters, or the needs of the Church at large, but a simple affair of the physical life. As life is constituted here on earth, we are intimately connected with the physical world; the body is necessary to the soul. But God is Master of earth as well as of heaven; even the simplest needs of life may be laid before him in prayer. To teach us that, we have here the example of Paul, as well as the precept of the Saviour himself.
(2) The Answer.—In the second place, the prayer was answered, and answered in a very instructive way. The illness was not removed; but it was made an instrument of blessing. The purpose of it was revealed: "My power," said Christ, "is made perfect in weakness." Physical suffering is worth while if it leads to heroism and faith. Such is often the Lord's will. He himself trod the path of suffering before us, and in his case as in ours, the path led to glory.
(3) The Prayer Addressed to Christ.—In the third place, this prayer was addressed, not to God the Father, but to Christ. Compare Acts 7:59,60. Without doubt "the Lord" in II Cor. 12:8, as practically always in the Pauline Epistles, refers to Christ. Usually, in the New Testament, prayer is addressed, through Christ, to God the Father; but there is no reason why it should not be addressed to the Son. The Son as well as the Father is a living Person; and the Son as well as the Father is God. It is well that we have apostolic examples for prayer addressed directly to the Saviour. Christ, to Paul, was no mere instrument in salvation, that had served its purpose and was then removed; he was alive and sovereign, and the relation to him was a relation of love. In a time of acute physical distress, Paul turned to the Saviour. Three times he called, and then the answer came. The answer will always come in the Lord's way, not in ours; but the Lord's way is always best.
In the Library.—Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Bernard, article on "Prayer" (III). Thomas, "The Prayers of St. Paul."