Chapter XV: Is Prayer Meritorious?

On the words of the Psalmist, _My prayer shall be turned into my bosom_,[234] the interlinear Gloss has: "And if it is of no profit to them (for whom it is offered), at least I myself shall not lose my reward." A reward, however, can only be due to merit. Prayer, then, is meritorious.

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As we have said above, prayer has, besides the effect of spiritual consolation which it brings with it, a twofold power regarding the future: the power, namely, of meriting, and that of winning favours. But prayer, as indeed every other virtuous act, derives its power of meriting from that root which is charity, and the true and proper object of charity is that Eternal Good, the enjoyment of Which we merit. Now prayer proceeds from charity by means of the virtue of religion whose proper act is prayer; there accompany it, however, certain other virtues which are requisite for a good prayer--namely, faith and humility. For it belongs to the virtue of religion to offer our prayers to God; while to charity belongs the desire of that the attainment of which we seek in prayer. And faith is necessary as regards God to Whom we pray; for we must, of course, believe that from Him we can obtain what we ask. Humility, too, is called for on the part of the petitioner, for he must acknowledge his own needs. And devotion also is necessary; though this comes under religion of which it is the first act, it conditions all subsequent effects.

And its power of obtaining favours prayer owes to the grace of God to Whom we pray, and Who, indeed, induces us to pray. Hence S. Augustine says[235]: "He would not urge us to ask unless He were ready to give"; and S. Chrysostom says: "He never refuses His mercies to them who pray, since it is He Who in His loving-kindness stirs them up so that they weary not in prayer."

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But some say that prayer cannot be meritorious, thus:

1. Merit proceeds from grace, but prayer precedes grace, since it is precisely by prayer that we win grace: _Your Father from Heaven will give the Good Spirit to them that ask Him_.[236]

But prayer, like any other virtuous act, cannot be meritorious
without that grace which makes us pleasing to God. Yet even that
prayer which wins for us the grace which renders us pleasing to
God must proceed from some grace--that is, from some gratuitous
gift; for, as S. Augustine says, to pray at all is a gift of
God.[237]

2. Again, prayer cannot be meritorious, for if it were so it would seem natural that prayer should especially merit that for which we actually pray. Yet this is not always the case, for even the prayers of the Saints are often not heard; S. Paul, for example, was not heard when he prayed that the sting of the flesh might be taken away from him.[238]

But we must notice that the merit of our prayers sometimes lies
in something quite different from what we beg for. For whereas
merit is to be especially referred to the possession of God, our
petitions in our prayers at times refer directly to other
things, as we have pointed out above. Consequently, if what a
man asks for will not tend to his ultimate attainment of God, he
does not merit it by his prayer; sometimes, indeed, by asking
and desiring such a thing he may lose all merit, as, for
example, if a man were to ask of God something which was sinful
and which he could not reverently ask for. Sometimes, however,
what he asks for is not necessary for his salvation, nor yet is
it clearly opposed to his salvation; and when a man so prays he
may by his prayer merit eternal life, but he does not merit to
obtain what he actually asks for. Hence S. Augustine says[239]:
"He who asks of God in faith things needful for this life is
sometimes mercifully heard and sometimes mercifully not heard.
For the physician knows better than the patient what will avail
for the sick man." It was for this reason that Paul was not
heard when he asked that the sting of the flesh might be taken
away--it was not expedient. But if what a man asks for will help
him to the attainment of God, as being something conducive to
his salvation, he will merit it, and that not only by praying
for it but also by doing other good works; hence, too, he
undoubtedly will obtain what he asks for, but when it is fitting
that he should obtain it: "for some things are not refused to us
but are deferred, to be given at a fitting time," as S.
Augustine says.[240] Yet even here hindrance may arise if a man
does not persevere in asking; hence S. Basil says[241]: "When
then you ask and do not receive, this is either because you
asked for what you ought not, or because you asked without
lively faith, or carelessly, or for what would not profit you,
or because you ceased to ask." And since a man cannot,
absolutely speaking, merit eternal life for another, nor, in
consequence, those things which belong to eternal life, it
follows that a man is not always heard when he prays for
another. For a man, then, always to obtain what he asks, four
conditions must concur: he must ask for himself, for things
necessary for salvation; he must ask piously and perseveringly.

3. Lastly, prayer essentially reposes upon faith, as S. James says: _But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering_.[242] But faith is not sufficient for merit, as is evident in the case of those who have faith without charity. Therefore prayer is not meritorious.

But while it is true that prayer rests principally upon faith,
this is not for its power of meriting--for as regards this it
rests principally on charity--but for its power of winning
favours; for through faith man knows of the Divine Omnipotence
and Mercy whence prayer obtains what it asks.

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_S. Augustine:_ Men, then, love different things, and when each one seemeth to have what he loves, he is called happy. But a man is truly happy, not if he has what he loves, but if he loves what ought to be loved. For many become more wretched through having what they love than they were when they lacked it. Miserable enough through loving harmful things, more miserable through having them. And our Merciful God, when we love amiss, denies us what we love; but sometimes in His anger He grants a man what he loves amiss!... But when we love what God wishes us to love, then, doubtless, He will give it us. This is That One Thing Which ought to be loved: that we may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of our life! (_Enarr. in Ps._ xxvi.).

_S. Augustine:_ In those tribulations, then, which can both profit us and harm us, we know not what we should pray for as we ought. Yet none the less since they are hard, since they are vexatious, since, too, they are opposed to our sense of our own weakness, mankind with one consent prays that they may be removed from us. But we owe this much devotion to the Lord our God that, if He refuses to remove them, we should not therefore fancy that we are neglected by Him, but, while bearing these woes with devout patience, we should hope for some greater good, for thus is power perfected in infirmity. Yet to some in their impatience the Lord God grants in anger what they ask, just as in His mercy He refused it to the Apostle (_Ep._ cxxx. _ad Probam_).

"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication; give ear to my
tears. Be not silent: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a
sojourner as all my fathers were. O forgive me, that I may be
refreshed; before I go hence, and be no more."[243]