There are few Bible characters whose prayers and a glimpse into their contents are more frequently recorded than Paul’s.
To the saints in Rome he wrote: “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.” (Romans 1:8-10).
To the church of God in Corinth he declared: “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:4).
To all the saints at Philippi he stated: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy…I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians 1:3-4, 9).
To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae he confessed: “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints” (Colossians 1:3-4).
To the church of the Thessalonians he, Silvanus, and Timothy made known: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God…We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-4, 2 Thessalonians 1:3).
To his dearly beloved son in the faith, Timothy, he revealed: “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day” (2 Timothy 1:3).
To his dearly beloved and fellow laborer Philemon, he disclosed: “I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints” (Philemon 4-5).
Therefore, it should not surprise any recipient of his epistle to the Ephesians to read: “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:15-16).
One’s prayer closet is never to be boasted of, but—like Paul’s—it ought to be frequently occupied.
