Biblical Prayer

Prayers of Supplication and Petition with the Help of the Holy Spirit

Review: Various Kinds of Prayer

Praying always with all kinds of prayers and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. — Ephesians 6:18

We come to God in prayer for a variety of reasons—to worship Him, to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, to thank Him for His blessings, to ask for things for ourselves, and/or to pray for the needs of others.

Example:

Prayer of Faith

Prayer of consecration & repentance

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Prayer of Praise and Worship

Prayer of Intercession

Prayer of Agreement

Corporate Prayer or United Prayer

Prayer of Supplication and Petition

Praying in the Spirit

Supplication & Petition

Pray According to the Word:

Fight the Good Fight of Faith:

It takes a little time sometimes to build the Word into your spirit so you can stand in faith for an answer to prayer.

The Bible says, “Fight the good fight of faith …” (1 Tim. 6:12).

If there weren’t any hindrances to faith, there wouldn’t be a fight.

We know that faith begins where the will of God is known. And we know that God’s Word is His will. So find scriptures that definitely promise you the things you are asking for.

Many believers are trying to pray beyond their faith. But it’s the Word that gives you faith. The reason many people are not praying with confidence and faith is that they are not finding Scripture that proves that God wants them to have those things they are desiring

JOSHUA 1:8 8

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt MEDITATE therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for THEN thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and THEN thou shalt have good success.

Another translation says, “. . . that you may be able to deal wisely in the affairs of life”

Success in life comes by meditating on God’s Word.

If whatever you’re praying about is in the Word, then it is the will of God

The Prayer of Supplication/Petition

Supplication (also known as petitioning) is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks another party to provide something, either for the party who is doing the supplicating (e.g., “Please spare my life.”)

By far the most frequent prayer of Christians is the prayer of supplication/petition.

We always are petitioning or asking God to do something for us. This is scriptural, of course, because He told us in Matthew 21:22, “… ask in prayer, believing.”

The prayer of petition must be a prayer of faith. It primarily concerns an individual’s desires, needs, and problems. It is you praying for yourself or another believer making petition of the Lord.

Bible Text:

MATTHEW 21:22, And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

MARK 11:24, Therefore I say unto you, Whatsoever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

JOHN 16:24, until now you have asked nothing in my name: ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE, that your joy may be full.

1 JOHN 5:14-16, And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ASK any thing ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he hears us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ASK, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

JOHN 15:7,8, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you

James 1:6-7, But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

EXAMPLES: FOCUS FOR PRAYERS OF SUPPLICATION, FAITH & PETITION

Personal Healing

Finances, Employment, Education

Wisdom and Direction (Life, Relationships, Moves, Jobs, Family)

Confirmation of God’s will (unrevealed)

Prayer for help in Faith (Lord, help my unbelief)

Prayer for Forgiveness of Sin and toward others

Phil 4:6-7

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication (petition) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - NASU

The Bible includes many prayers of supplication.

The Psalms are filled with supplication for mercy in Psalm 4:1, for leading in Psalm 5:8, for deliverance in Psalm 6:4, for salvation from persecution in Psalm 7:1, and so on. When Daniel learned that King Darius had issued an edict prohibiting prayer to any god but the king, Daniel continued to pray to God with prayers of thanksgiving as well as prayers of supplication for His help in this dire situation.

JOHN 16:23,24

23 And in that day ye shall ASK me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

MATTHEW 7:7,8

7 ASK, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that ask receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

MARK 11:23,24

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. So ask God for the things you want and need, and then believe that you have them. In other words, when you pray, believe you receive what you asked for

Examples of Biblical Supplication in the Psalms:

Ps 4:1

Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

Ps 5:8

Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow

Ps 6:4

Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love.

Ps 7:1

I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!

Ps 119:170

May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.

Ps 119:94

I am Yours, save me!

(Jesus’ Teachings - KEEP ON ASKING)

Luke 11:5-10 (Jesus teaching on being Persistent in Prayer)

Then Jesus, teaching them more about prayer, used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,

6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’

7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’

8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 18:1-7 (NLT) – Parable of the Persistent Widow

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.

2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people.

3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ’I don’t fear God or care about people,

5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.

7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

Supplication often expresses strong emotion:

(Hannah’s Supplication & Petition) - 1 Samuel 1:9-13

A passionate zeal, hunger and desperate need or desire fuels the prayer of supplication.

9. Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

11 She made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”

12 Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

The Holy Spirit and our Prayer Life (NLT)

Rom 8:26-27 (Pray in the Spirit – A lot!)

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Eph 6:13-18 (Standing Until You Get Your Answer!)

13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition (supplication) pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and (supplication) petition for all the saints!

Examples of Biblical Prayers of Supplication, Faith and Petition:

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom – When informed by the Lord in a dream to ask for something (1 Kings 3:5-14), Solomon didn’t ask for riches or treasures, but requested an understanding mind so that he could discern good from evil. Pleased by this noble plea, God also granted him riches and honor. We often have our priorities in the wrong order and pray solely for temporal (or temporary) things. If we learn to focus more on spiritual goods, we’ll find that the Lord will also provide for our material needs.

Prayer of Desperation – Found in Psalm 22 and later repeated by Jesus as He died on the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is a prayer familiar to many. It is a desperate plea for the Lord’s assistance when all seems hopeless. We should not be ashamed to use these words, but rather look at them as a cry for help. Those who are prone to anxiety should become familiar with this prayer and not hesitate to use it when necessary. We all encounter those times when it feels as if we’re facing our problems alone. Calling out to the Lord will allow us to experience His presence and feel the peace that only He can give.

The Tax Collector’s Prayer – One of the simplest, but most eloquent expressions of true contrition can be found in the Lord’s parable of the “Pharisee and the Tax Collector” (Luke 18:9-14). Praying in the temple, without lifting his eyes, this humble sinner prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner”. Direct and to the point, we should make these words our own and pray them every day!

Prayer of Abandonment to God’s Will – When He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before He died, Jesus gave us a perfect example of abandonment to God’s Will (Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:40-46). Even though it’s not always possible to know God’s Will with certainty, appending the phrase “but not as I will but as You will” to our petitions ensures that we are submitting to His will where the will of God is unrevealed by His word.

Examples of Biblical Types of Prayer:

Main types of prayers in the Bible:

  1. The prayer of faith: James 5:15 says, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” In this context, prayer is offered in faith for someone who is sick, asking God to heal. When we pray, we are to believe in the power and goodness of God (Mark 9:23).

  2. The prayer of agreement (also known as corporate prayer): After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples “all joined together constantly in prayer” (Acts 1:14). Later, after Pentecost, the early church “devoted themselves” to prayer (Acts 2:42). Their example encourages us to pray with others.

  3. The prayer of request / petition (or supplication): We are to take our requests to God. Philippians 4:6 teaches, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Part of winning the spiritual battle is to be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:18).

  4. The prayer of thanksgiving: We see another type of prayer in Philippians 4:5: thanksgiving or thanks to God. “With thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Many examples of thanksgiving prayers can be found in the Psalms.

  5. The prayer of worship: The prayer of worship is similar to the prayer of thanksgiving. The difference is that worship focuses on who God is; thanksgiving focuses on what God has done. Church leaders in Antioch prayed in this manner with fasting: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:2-3).

  6. The prayer of consecration: Sometimes, prayer is a time of setting ourselves apart to follow God’s will. Jesus made such a prayer the night before His crucifixion: “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39).

  7. The prayer of intercession: Many times, our prayers include requests for others as we intercede for them. We are told to make intercession “for everyone” in 1 Timothy 2:1. Jesus serves as our example in this area. The whole of John 17 is a prayer of Jesus on behalf of His disciples and all believers.

  8. The prayer of imprecation: Imprecatory prayers are found in the Psalms (e.g., 7, 55, 69). They are used to invoke God’s judgment on the wicked and thereby avenge the righteous. The psalmists use this type of appeal to emphasize the holiness of God and the surety of His judgment. Jesus teaches us to pray for blessing on our enemies, not cursing (Matthew 5:44-48).

  9. Praying in the Spirit: (1 Corinthians 14:14-15) and prayers when we are unable to think of adequate words (Romans 8:26-27). In those times, the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.

Prayer is conversation with God and should be made without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). As we grow in our love for Jesus Christ, we will naturally desire to talk to Him.