Chapter VII: Ought We To Pray for Others?

S. James, in his Epistle, says[150]: _Pray for one another that ye may be saved_.

As we said above, we ought in prayer to ask for those things which we ought to desire. But we ought to desire good things not for ourselves only but also for others, for this belongs to that charity which we ought to exercise towards our neighbour. Hence charity demands that we pray for others. In accordance with this S. Chrysostom says[151]: "Necessity compels us to pray for ourselves, fraternal charity urges us to pray for others. But that prayer is more pleasing before God which arises not so much from our needs as from the demands of fraternal charity."

Some, however, urge that we ought not to pray for others, thus:

1. We are bound in our prayer to follow the norm which our Lord delivered to us; but in the _Lord's Prayer_ we pray for ourselves and not for others, for we say: _Give us this day our daily bread_, etc.

But S. Cyprian says:[152] "We do not say _my_ Father, but _our_
Father, neither do we say Give _me_, but give _us_; and this
because the Teacher of Unity did not wish prayer to be made
privately, viz., that each should pray for himself alone; for He
wished one to pray for all since He in His single Person had
borne all."

2. Again, we pray in order to be heard; but one of the conditions for our prayer to be heard is that a man should pray for himself. Thus on the words: _If ye ask the Father anything in My Name He will give it you_,[153] S. Augustine says:[154] "All are heard for themselves, but not for all in general, hence He does not say simply: _He will give it_, but _He will give it you_."

But to pray for oneself is a condition attaching to prayer; not
indeed a condition affecting its merit, but a condition which is
necessary if we would ensure the attainment of what we ask. For
it sometimes happens that prayer made for another does not avail
even though it be devout and persevering and for things
pertaining to a man's salvation; and this is because of the
existence of some hindrance on the part of him for whom we pray,
as we read in Jeremias[155]: _If Moses and Samuel shall stand
before Me, My soul is not towards this people_. None the less,
such prayer will be meritorious on the part of him who prays,
for he prays out of charity; thus on the words, _And my prayer
shall be turned into my bosom_,[156] the Interlinear Gloss has:
"That is, and even though it avail not for them, yet shall I not
be without my reward."

3. Lastly, we are forbidden to pray for others if they are wicked, according to the words: _Do not thou pray for this people ... and do not withstand Me, for I will not hear thee_.[157] And, on the other hand, we ought not to pray for them if they are good, for in that case they will be heard when they pray for themselves.

But we have to pray even for sinners, that they may be
converted, and for the good, that they may persevere and make
progress. Our prayers for sinners, however, are not heard for
all, but for some. For they are heard for those who are
predestined, not for those who are foreknown as reprobate; just
in the same way as when we correct our brethren, such
corrections avail among the predestinate but not among the
reprobate, according to the words: _No man can correct whom He
hath despised._[158] Wherefore also it is said: _He that knoweth
his brother to sin a sin that is not unto death, let him ask,
and life shall be given to him who sinneth not to death._[159]
But just as we can refuse to no one, as long as he liveth on
this earth, the benefit of correction--for we cannot distinguish
between the predestinate and the reprobate, as S. Augustine
says[160]--so neither can we refuse to anyone the suffrage of
our prayers.

And for good men we have to pray, and this for a threefold reason: firstly, because the prayers of many are more easily heard; thus on the words: _I beseech ye therefore, help me in your prayers for me_,[161] the Ordinary Gloss of S. Ambrose says: "Well does the Apostle ask his inferiors to pray for him; for even the very least become great when many in number, and when gathered together with one mind; and it is impossible that the prayers of many should not avail" to obtain, that is, what is obtainable. And secondly, that thanks may be returned by many for the benefits conferred by God upon the just, for these same benefits tend to the profit of many--as is evident from the Apostle's words to the Corinthians.[162] And thirdly, that those who are greater may not therefore be proud, but may realize that they need the suffrages of their inferiors.

"Father, I will that where I am they also whom Thou hast given
Me may be with Me; that they may see My glory, which Thou hast
given Me: because Thou hast loved Me before the foundation of
the world."[163]