Monday, September 14, 2020 –
Happy Monday! Welcome back to the beginning of week 27 of our pandemic learning series. I am your hostess and teacher, Mrs. Flusche, and I am slowly losing my mind…
Anyhoo, back to our FORMS OF PRAYER. Today we will be talking about PETITION, or as it is known in the $5 words: SUPPLICATION.
A petition means to ask for something, and that is exactly what a prayer of petition is: asking God for something. In times of need or when you sin, you ask God for help or forgiveness. A prayer of petition is a request for something that you want or need.
Now, this does NOT mean we treat God like a magic genie who grants our every whim, nor does it mean we greedily ask the Lord to give us the winning lottery numbers. Rather, with prayers of petition we acknowledge God’s power over His creation, our relationship to the Almighty, and our absolute need for Him in our lives. It is acknowledging that because I am human, I must turn to God with my every need and trust in His mercy.
That sounds a lot like asking for forgiveness. YES! That is a huge part of petition. We know we have turned away from God, so we ASK for His forgiveness and help. The Catechism’s In Brief section puts it best:
2646 Forgiveness, the quest for the Kingdom, and every true need are objects of the prayer of petition.
And for those of you who like lists, here are some examples of PRAYERS OF PETITION:
- Act of Contrition
- Lord, help me with…
- Jesus, I am sorry for…
- Holy Spirit, guide my life so that I may…
Side note: we will be discussing Confession by itself as a form of prayer in a few days.
And, all y’all who like citing the Catechism, the section on Petition is 2629 – 2633. Here are the easiest paragraphs:
II. PRAYER OF PETITION
2629 The vocabulary of supplication in the New Testament is rich in shades of meaning: ask, beseech, plead, invoke, entreat, cry out, even “struggle in prayer.” Its most usual form, because the most spontaneous, is petition: by prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not our own last end. We are sinners who as Christians know that we have turned away from our Father. Our petition is already a turning back to him.
…
2631 The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that “we receive from him whatever we ask.” Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer.
…
2633 When we share in God’s saving love, we understand that every need can become the object of petition. Christ, who assumed all things in order to redeem all things, is glorified by what we ask the Father in his name. It is with this confidence that St. James and St. Paul exhort us to pray at all times.
Tomorrow’s discussion will build on what we learned today because INTERCESSION is a type of petition, but one where you ask God for someone else’s needs.
Mother most pure, pray for us!
