(deēseis) brings out a clearer sense of need than prayers (proseuchai), which represents the more general word for prayer (in the New Testament used only of prayers to God), while intercession (enteuxeis) is a regular term for petition to a superior. The very variety of terms serves to emphasize the richness of this spiritual exercise. Thanksgiving, as in Paul’s earlier Epistles, is regarded as an integral part of prayer, yet it is an element which has been too often in the background in modern Christian