y 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