Author: Paul, William
Biography:
PAUL, William (fl 1797)
Paul’s Treatise on Prayer first appeared c. 1796 in West Springfield MA. It is a small tract addressed to the Christian who is reluctant to pray; each short chapter includes a prose argument and a suitable original hymn. The author’s preface does not give very much away about his identity, though it conveys the convert’s conviction about the value of his experience and declares that there has never been a written account of prayer like his. It was included without revision in subsequent editions—really reprintings—of the work, and it is possible that Paul was an itinerant preacher who made it his mission to travel the country encouraging followers to adopt his methods of prayer and his insistence on “the sanctification of the Sabbath.” But it is also possible that some follower or followers arranged publication, or that opportunistic printers simply adopted the work on their own account. In the absence of other clues or newspaper references, no public records have been found to identify him with any certainty. HJ