Tag Archives: prayers of petition

Prayer (eleventh in a series)

For the past ten weeks I’ve been writing about components of prayer: praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and when needed, complaint. In the prayer Jesus taught his disciples, commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer, we see all but one of these elements. This leads me to conclude that genuine prayer almost always includes several components, not just one. Here is a brief summary of each: Continue reading

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Prayer (ninth in a series)

Although intercessory prayer is something every Christian is called to do we are not necessarily called to pray, on an ongoing basis, for every person who asks us for prayer. It may be that God prefers someone other than you to pray for a particular person. Perhaps he has someone else in mind for whom he wants you to intercede. However, if the Lord keeps placing that person on your heart, in a way that does not feel like an unpleasant burden, then he’s probably calling you to pray. Continue reading

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Prayer (eighth in a series)

Praying about anything and everything teaches us to depend on God for all our needs and concerns, not just the ones we think we cannot handle. I try to pray this way myself – petitioning God as needs arise – on the spot. I no longer wait until I can fit prayer into my schedule because my schedule has a way of expanding unexpectedly, squeezing out time for prayer. So now I pray in the car, as I’m at my desk working on sermons or articles, while I’m taking a walk, cleaning the house or cooking dinner. As needs arise, I pray. Continue reading

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