The Prayer of Petition
The Prayer of Petition
My first job after leaving school was working in a Solicitors office as a typist. I typed many petitions for court cases etc. The one thing I noticed was that every petition was written according to actual law, which had to be correct. Another part of my job was to file every new, updated or amendment schedules to the many files of laws. I enjoyed the typing but wasn't so fond of the filing especially because there were so many amendments and so many files. And I was fully aware that there was no room for mistakes, so I was always extra careful.
I'm very grateful that God NEVER changes, he has no amendments or new laws - we don't have to keep updating our Bible or making changes to it. We can rest assured that there is so much more to discover from God's Word but what we do discover will never change. In Matthew 24v35 it is written that Jesus Said "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away". So we can have confidence when we find the precious jewels of God's written promises that they will never fade away or fail us.
You see God gave us his Word so that we could know Him and know His Will. We can say that the Word of God is The Law of God, the Law of His Kingdom which we are part of once we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. His Word is His Will, and His Covenant to His people.
1 John 5 v 14-15 tells us "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
So we can say that the key to having our prayers answered is to pray according to the Will of God, which remember is the same as the Word of God.
The Word 'PETITION' here is very important, it is not just a prayer or request asking for something but it is much stronger - it is defined as "a formal written request addressed to a sovereign superior for a particular right or grace".
So how do we begin?
1. Go to the written Word of God -
The Word of God is given to us so that we can know the Will of God. First we take the time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to the scripture and examples in the Bible which apply to our situation. When you discover a scripture, write it down, take note of it and meditate upon it and ask for insight and revelation.
2. Talk to the Holy Spirit
Ask him to help you write your petition in detail. Listen and follow as he guides you. Don't worry if you don't know how to pray, because in Romans 8 v 26-27 we are told "the Spirit also helps our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." We call this praying in the Spirit, yielding or laying down our own understanding and asking for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us with heavens understanding and truth. This is where praying in tongues is very important, because we are speaking spirit to Spirit. This is one of the reasons the devil has worked so hard to keep the teaching of being Baptised with the Holy Spirit and Fire with the evidence of speaking in tongues from the people, because if he can keep us praying in our own understanding he can keep us from entering into the FIRE - which is God's Word made ALIVE in and through us.
3. Write your Petition
Just like any legal petition it must be written, addressed and presented to the Authorities. When we write our petition we present it to the Lord dated and signed as a formal request, using his Word which is our greatest weapon. The Bible says "the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God". You see in the old testament, God used the 'Sword' to destroy his enemies BUT in the new testament - The 'Sword' became an even greater weapon through his WORD. Because the Old Covenant or Testament was only a shadow of that which was to come. Jesus came and became the fulfillment of the old through his death, resurrection and completion of Salvation. We do not fight flesh and blood but our battle is a spiritual battle. Which Jesus already gave us the victory through his blood and his intercession for us.
4. Pray the prayer of Petition
With God's promises in front of you, pray the answer through the prayer of petition. Petition Him with these promises from His Word. When you do, you are praying with precision, rather than around and around in circles. Imagine a soldier going into a battle and just swinging his sword about aimlessly - he would become exhausted very quickly, but now imagine a trained warrior using his sword with precision, direction and skill, He will have strength and endurance to see victory.
5. Have Confidence
God always backs his Word. You can be confident that God will answer your prayer because it is based on his promises that he has spoken. Part of being confident is refusing to think or speak anything to the contrary. When you walk away from your prayer, your countenance should be different than when you first came to the Lord, because you know that what you have asked will come to pass. Please note - You may not know HOW he will do it - but you will know THAT he will do it.
6 - Praise God for the answer
Thanking and Praising God is faith in action. Praise says I believe before I see, this is the God kind of faith. Praise keeps a clear path between you and God so that you can receive from Him.
I have personally written prayers of petitions in my own life for situations that seemed impossible. I have on my bedside locker a prayer of petition that was written, dated and signed at a prayer meeting in 2017. A situation in a family which had been tormenting them for a long time and seemed to be relentless and unending and the courts of this land had failed them - BUT GOD heard our prayer and answered. Not only was the case dismissed, but the person causing the trouble was completely removed.
As we prepare to enter a 3 day fasting and praying for our nation - I wanted to bring to your remembrance and knowledge about what I will be doing regarding the prayer of petition. It is not a religious ritual it will not just be a piece of paper. But I take the Word of God very seriously and what is written on the piece of paper will only be a point of contact in the natural - but the reality of the Words are LIFE and LIFE GIVING. We take a stand together on God's Word and as we speak his Word - It will not return unto him void.
I wrote this song a few years ago, but haven't had the opportunity to use it. I feel now is the time to release it. I recorded it very quickly yesterday in 5 mins or so, while Richard was distracted on a phone call, so not a good recording but if you are coming to agree in prayer, you can learn it and sing it with me.
My first job after leaving school was working in a Solicitors office as a typist. I typed many petitions for court cases etc. The one thing I noticed was that every petition was written according to actual law, which had to be correct. Another part of my job was to file every new, updated or amendment schedules to the many files of laws. I enjoyed the typing but wasn't so fond of the filing especially because there were so many amendments and so many files. And I was fully aware that there was no room for mistakes, so I was always extra careful.
I'm very grateful that God NEVER changes, he has no amendments or new laws - we don't have to keep updating our Bible or making changes to it. We can rest assured that there is so much more to discover from God's Word but what we do discover will never change. In Matthew 24v35 it is written that Jesus Said "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away". So we can have confidence when we find the precious jewels of God's written promises that they will never fade away or fail us.
You see God gave us his Word so that we could know Him and know His Will. We can say that the Word of God is The Law of God, the Law of His Kingdom which we are part of once we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. His Word is His Will, and His Covenant to His people.
1 John 5 v 14-15 tells us "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
So we can say that the key to having our prayers answered is to pray according to the Will of God, which remember is the same as the Word of God.
The Word 'PETITION' here is very important, it is not just a prayer or request asking for something but it is much stronger - it is defined as "a formal written request addressed to a sovereign superior for a particular right or grace".
So how do we begin?
1. Go to the written Word of God -
The Word of God is given to us so that we can know the Will of God. First we take the time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us to the scripture and examples in the Bible which apply to our situation. When you discover a scripture, write it down, take note of it and meditate upon it and ask for insight and revelation.
2. Talk to the Holy Spirit
Ask him to help you write your petition in detail. Listen and follow as he guides you. Don't worry if you don't know how to pray, because in Romans 8 v 26-27 we are told "the Spirit also helps our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." We call this praying in the Spirit, yielding or laying down our own understanding and asking for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us with heavens understanding and truth. This is where praying in tongues is very important, because we are speaking spirit to Spirit. This is one of the reasons the devil has worked so hard to keep the teaching of being Baptised with the Holy Spirit and Fire with the evidence of speaking in tongues from the people, because if he can keep us praying in our own understanding he can keep us from entering into the FIRE - which is God's Word made ALIVE in and through us.
3. Write your Petition
Just like any legal petition it must be written, addressed and presented to the Authorities. When we write our petition we present it to the Lord dated and signed as a formal request, using his Word which is our greatest weapon. The Bible says "the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God". You see in the old testament, God used the 'Sword' to destroy his enemies BUT in the new testament - The 'Sword' became an even greater weapon through his WORD. Because the Old Covenant or Testament was only a shadow of that which was to come. Jesus came and became the fulfillment of the old through his death, resurrection and completion of Salvation. We do not fight flesh and blood but our battle is a spiritual battle. Which Jesus already gave us the victory through his blood and his intercession for us.
4. Pray the prayer of Petition
With God's promises in front of you, pray the answer through the prayer of petition. Petition Him with these promises from His Word. When you do, you are praying with precision, rather than around and around in circles. Imagine a soldier going into a battle and just swinging his sword about aimlessly - he would become exhausted very quickly, but now imagine a trained warrior using his sword with precision, direction and skill, He will have strength and endurance to see victory.
5. Have Confidence
God always backs his Word. You can be confident that God will answer your prayer because it is based on his promises that he has spoken. Part of being confident is refusing to think or speak anything to the contrary. When you walk away from your prayer, your countenance should be different than when you first came to the Lord, because you know that what you have asked will come to pass. Please note - You may not know HOW he will do it - but you will know THAT he will do it.
6 - Praise God for the answer
Thanking and Praising God is faith in action. Praise says I believe before I see, this is the God kind of faith. Praise keeps a clear path between you and God so that you can receive from Him.
I have personally written prayers of petitions in my own life for situations that seemed impossible. I have on my bedside locker a prayer of petition that was written, dated and signed at a prayer meeting in 2017. A situation in a family which had been tormenting them for a long time and seemed to be relentless and unending and the courts of this land had failed them - BUT GOD heard our prayer and answered. Not only was the case dismissed, but the person causing the trouble was completely removed.
As we prepare to enter a 3 day fasting and praying for our nation - I wanted to bring to your remembrance and knowledge about what I will be doing regarding the prayer of petition. It is not a religious ritual it will not just be a piece of paper. But I take the Word of God very seriously and what is written on the piece of paper will only be a point of contact in the natural - but the reality of the Words are LIFE and LIFE GIVING. We take a stand together on God's Word and as we speak his Word - It will not return unto him void.
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