Article III: On the Necessity and Efficacy of Prayer

S. Th., q. 83, a. 2, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16.

676. Principle I. Prayer is necessary for all adults for salvation by necessity of means. - It is theologically certain, against the Deists and Fatalists who deny Providence.

Prayer is not necessary from the nature of the thing, but from the positive institution of God, according to the ordinary law of saving men: exceptionally, indeed, God sometimes saves those who do not pray. The reason is that God is not accustomed to grant actual graces necessary for salvation, and especially the gift of perseverance, except to those who pray. The Scriptures often inculcate this necessity, holding prayer as a condition without which necessary grace and salvation are not granted (Mt. VII, 7; XXVI, 41; Lk. XI, 9; John XVI, 24; Jas. IV, 2-3); likewise St. Augustine, St. Thomas, in IV Sent., d. 15, q. 4, a. 1, and theologians commonly; the Council of Trent hints at it, sess. 6, c. 11.

677. Principle II. Prayer is necessary by necessity of precept. - That is, there is a precept of praying, both from divine law, as is plain from Scripture: Eccli. XVIII, 22; Lk. XVIII, 1; Col. IV, 2; Eph. VI, 17-18; I Thess. V, 17; and from natural law, because, given the ordering of divine providence of which we spoke in the preceding number, prayer is a necessary means to salvation. - Moreover, it is a precept of religion: for the intrinsic and proper end of prayer is to profess our need and subjection to God, and therefore God ordained prayer as a means to salvation, so that men would be compelled in their necessities to have recourse to the worship of God.

That precept obliges under grave obligation several times in life; some determine this by saying: at least once in a year; others, in individual months, or even weeks; finally, others more probably: at least several times in a year.

Per accidens, by reason of a special circumstance or of another precept, we are also obliged to pray: 1. when a temptation arises which is not hoped to be overcome otherwise; 2. when one must rise from the state of mortal sin, for example, in order to receive a sacrament or at the moment of death; 3. if charity toward neighbor requires it, for example, if a grave necessity urges, especially a public one; 4. when someone wishes to pray vocally, or is bound to this by an ecclesiastical precept, for example, in the canonical hours; otherwise he would be a hypocrite. In these cases, if prayer is omitted, it is not a sin against the precept of praying, but against another precept or virtue, for the fulfilling of which, or for the exercise of which, prayer was necessary.

678. Observations. - 1. Prayer ought to be assiduous or continual, not considered according to itself, because sometimes one must be occupied with other works; but a) according to the power of the cause from which it ought to proceed, namely, the desire of charity, which ought to be continuous in us according to its power, insofar as we ought to do all works from the power of this desire, and the desire of eternal life, which is the principle of prayer, should remain in all good works (a. 14); b) also in this sense, that someone should not omit praying at the appointed time. And therefore he always, that is, often and frequently, prays, so that prayer perseveres morally through his whole life (ad 4).

2. Prayer commanded by precept ought to be at least internal; public vocal prayer is also prescribed, so that what is done for all may be known to all, but private vocal prayer is not prescribed (a. 13).

3. Per se he does not sin who omits morning prayers, evening prayers, or prayers before principal meals; in practice, however, this omission, made without a sufficient reason, often includes some venial fault of negligence, sensuality, sloth, or fear or human respect. But if someone often or always neglects them, it will frequently be a sign that he omits all prayer, or lives in an evil state.

4. We ought to pray for others, that is, for all wayfarers and the souls of purgatory, in the same way as we ought to love them, namely, in general, so that we exclude no one from prayer; in particular, we are not bound to pray for others unless there is grave necessity, or a special conjunction with them (a. 8).

5. It is not proved that there is a strict precept expressly of invoking the saints: for the Council of Trent says only that "it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them" (sess. 25); nevertheless, in practice, one who never prayed to them, and especially to the B. M. V., would deprive himself of an excellent means and would not seem easily to be excused from every venial fault of sloth; indeed, one who studiously excluded the B. V. from prayer would rightly be judged to act from grave contempt or heretical error.

679. Effect of prayer. - Prayer, besides the spiritual consolation or refreshment which it procures for one praying devoutly and attentively, and which wandering of mind impedes, has a threefold force or efficacy: meritorious, satisfactory for sins, and impetratory. This last is proper to prayer, and is the force inherent in it of moving God to grant the benefits which are asked, not on account of merits, but solely on account of the mercy of God, because it is consonant with the divine goodness to give to those who ask. Nevertheless, that force from the dignity of prayer alone does not necessarily and infallibly produce the effect; but infallibility comes from the divine promise (Mt. VII, 7, 8; Lk. XI, 9, 13; John XIV, 13-14; XVI, 24; I John V, 14; Ps. XLIX, 15).

But that prayer may efficaciously obtain, four conditions are required:

1. that it be pious, that is, that it proceed from faith, lean upon hope, and be made with humility accompanying it, from the intention of worshiping God (Jas. I, 6; Mt. XXI, 22; Mk. XI, 24; Rom. X, 13; Heb. IV, 16);

2. that things necessary for salvation be asked (Mt. VII, 11; Lk. XI, 13), which however is probably to be understood of all things useful for salvation (I John V, 14);

3. that one ask for oneself, for if he asks for another, the latter can be badly disposed and place an impediment to the benefits asked from God (John XVI, 23; I John V, 16; Is. I, 15); besides, from its nature and from the divine promises, prayer tends to obtaining for those who ask. But whether prayer made for another who is well disposed is infallible is disputed;

4. that it be persevering, so that meanwhile through prayer we may be better disposed to receive those things which we ask, or especially that our dispositions may be tested; according to Lk. XI, 5; XVIII, 1, and Mt. XV, 22 (a. 15 and ad 2; a. 7, ad 2 and 3).

Some add: that it be made in the state of grace, but undeservedly. For such a condition is opposed to the universality of the promises which God has made to prayer, and would render the prayers of sinners inefficacious.¹

¹ St. Thomas openly teaches that even the prayers of sinners are infallibly heard, given the required conditions: "In a sinner two things are to be considered, namely, the nature which God loves, and the fault which He hates. Therefore if a sinner by praying asks for something insofar as he is a sinner, that is, according to the desire of sin, in this he is not heard by God from mercy, but sometimes he is heard unto vengeance, while God permits the sinner to fall still more deeply into sins... But God hears the prayer of a sinner proceeding from a good desire of nature (under the influence of actual grace, as is said in a. 15, ad 1), not as from justice, because the sinner does not merit this, but from pure mercy, yet with the four conditions mentioned above observed, namely, that he ask for himself, things necessary for salvation, piously and perseveringly" (a. 16).

For prayer to be meritorious or satisfactory, there are required the conditions necessary for every meritorious or satisfactory work, among which is the state of grace; as respectively is usually explained in the treatise on Human Acts, and in the treatise on Penance.

From these things it is plain that prayer can be impetratory without being meritorious or satisfactory, as in a sinner; or contrariwise, as in a just man asking for what would not profit salvation (a. 15, ad 2, and a. 16).

680. Objection: God cannot acquiesce in our prayers unless by changing His counsels or by performing miracles. But the divine counsels are immutable; indeed, all things happen from necessity.

Resp. God, by hearing prayers, in no way changes His counsel. From eternity He disposes that certain effects should be obtained through our prayers, and should happen dependently upon them. Namely, He foresaw and ordained prayers as means by which we would obtain His graces, or as a condition that second causes should produce effects consonant with our prayers at the due times. Therefore by praying we do not ask that the dispositions of the divine counsel be changed, but that the counsel be fulfilled, and that what God from eternity disposed to be fulfilled through prayers may happen. A fortiori, we do not ask for a miracle; but that God should will to lavish His graces according to the ordinary rules of His providence, and procure for us temporal goods, such as health, but dependently upon their natural causes.

Fittingly St. Thomas, a. 2: "For the evidence of this, therefore, it must be considered that by divine providence not only is it disposed what effects should happen, but also from what causes and in what order they should proceed. Now among other causes human acts also are causes of certain things. Hence it is necessary that men do certain things, not that by their acts they may change the divine disposition, but that by their acts they may fulfill certain effects according to the order disposed by God; and the same is also true in natural causes. And it is similar also concerning prayer: for we do not pray for this, that we may change the divine disposition, but that we may obtain that which God disposed to be fulfilled through prayers; namely, that men by asking may merit to receive what almighty God disposed before the ages to give them."