The Concept The word “pray” means “to request,” and Petitionary Prayer is exactly that. God knows what we need, but he delights in us seeking him for what we think we need. He wants us to share our desires with him because he wants us to share every last part of ourselves with him. To find this basic type of prayer too simple or even too selfish is to dangerously cling to a false humility. Truly we depend on the Father for every breath, for every morsel of food, for every noble thought, for every single thing.
There is Intercessory Prayer which is seeking God to fulfill the needs of others, but Petitionary Prayer specifically lifts up our own personal requests. Because these requests are so near our heart, it is difficult to find objective clarity about them. We are masters of self-deception (Jer. 17:19). But even though we may miss the mark in our prayers, it is better to err than not to pray at all. P.T. Forsyth observes “Petitions that are less than pure can only be purified by petition.” We learn our own hearts and – even better! – the heart of the Father by asking.
Like Simple Prayer, the Petitionary Prayer is not a crude form of prayer we will one day grow out of to make way for “more advanced” prayers like eloquent adoration or mystical contemplation. We are forever dependent on God, and there is nothing base about expressing this dependence. The Lord's prayer is a series of petitions (three of which, Give/Forgive/Deliver, Foster delves into as key categories of this type of prayer). By asking the Father for our daily bread, the trivialities of the every day are lifted up and consecrated. When we come to him for everything, we will find that every meal is a heavenly gift, every stumble is quickly redeemed and forgiven, every temptation is identified and resisted through the strength of Christ. What joy it is to thank him for the gifts he gives, especially when it is something we have asked for!
The Experience
I found this exercise indulgent because it is so me-focused, but also easy because it is a form of prayer naturally injected in most of my prayer times. In fact, I find Petitionary Prayer hard to isolate; it ebbs and flows into intercession and praise and confession organically.
In a specific moment, I invited the Lord into my eating habits. I know my base desire is rooted in pride and body image, but I also know that there are health benefits and the spiritual fruit of self-control as a result of dieting. By inviting God into this basic and often profane part of my life, my hope is that all my eating moments will be full of the awareness of God's presence and his intentions towards my health and a life of moderation.
In another specific moment, I prayed for forgiveness for squandering a book idea the Lord had given me over a year ago. I have recently felt God's favor for that particular idea withdrawn after an outright rebellion of refusing to start writing. I realize I am afraid to fail, a fear rooted in pride. I have prayed for a return of his creative inspiration and his blessing to start anew. This prayer is not yet answered, but I am no longer sullenly hiding behind excuses and inaction.
Those are just two examples, tiny droplets in a river of lifetime prayer. But through this exercise, I ultimately learned that ignoring personal desires – keeping them shamefully from the light and God's influence – can lead to festering sin. By offering my needs and desires through prayer – by openly acknowledging my dependence on his providence and his will in my life – the dusty corners of my prideful heart will one day be swept clean.
