<p>13:18 <em>Pray for us. For we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to live honourably in all things</em>- The prayer was for Paul's from prison (:19). Paul's sense of injustice at his incarceration comes through so often, and again here. His conscience had been cleansed in Christ, as he had previously taught in this letter; he felt no guilt over his sins as they had truly been dealt with. A lesser faith in the Lord's sacrifice would have surely led him to consider his imprisonment as a just reward for the bad life he had previously lived, involving as it did torture and murder of civilians.</p><p>The argument seems to imply that the more they prayed, the sooner he would be released from prison. Thus prayer can hasten things, given certain preconditions are fulfilled. So it is in our experiences, and so it may be with the Lord&rsquo;s return.<br />It was accepted in Judaism, as well as in many other contemporary religions, that faithful saints e.g. the patriarchs, Moses, the prophets etc, in Judaism&rsquo;s case could intercede for the people. Yet in the New Testament, <em>all</em> believers are urged to intercede for each other, even to the point of seeking to gain forgiveness for others&rsquo; sins (1 Thess. 5:25; Heb. 13:18; James 5:15). They were <em>all</em> to do this vital work. The radical nature of this can easily be overlooked by us, reading from this distance.</p>