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The Power of Petition: An Outline for Prayer

ByMarques Clark

Petitioning is having a heart-to-heart conversation with God where you openly share your specific needs, worries, and desires, asking Him to step into your situation. It’s a desperate plea, acknowledging that you need His power and guidance to make a difference in your life. Whether you’re seeking help in a crisis, asking for wisdom, or looking for peace, petitioning is your way of inviting God to take action and trusting that He will respond with care and power.

The Petitioning Outline

Across Scripture, we find that many who petitioned God followed a similar outline:

  1. Acknowledged God’s Sovereignty and Power
  2. Recalled God’s Past Faithfulness
  3. Claimed God’s Promises
  4. Communicated a Specific Need

Biblical Examples of the Petitioning Outline

This formula is seen in the prayers of several key figures in the Bible:

1. Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)

  • Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” (2 Chronicles 20:6, NIV)
  • Recall God’s Past Faithfulness: “Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?” (2 Chronicles 20:7, NIV)
  • Claim God’s Promises: “They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’” (2 Chronicles 20:8-9, NIV)
  • Communicate Your Need: “Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12, NIV)

2. Moses (Exodus 32:11-14)

  • Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty: “But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?'” (Exodus 32:11, NIV)
  • Recall God’s Past Faithfulness: “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’?” (Exodus 32:12, NIV)
  • Claim God’s Promises: “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” (Exodus 32:13, NIV)
  • Communicate Your Need: “Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.” (Exodus 32:12, NIV)

3. Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:5-11)

  • Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments.” (Nehemiah 1:5, NIV)
  • Recall God’s Past Faithfulness: “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations.’” (Nehemiah 1:8, NIV)
  • Claim God’s Promises: “But if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” (Nehemiah 1:9, NIV)
  • Communicate Your Need: “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” (Nehemiah 1:11, NIV)

4. Daniel (Daniel 9:4-19)

  • Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments.” (Daniel 9:4, NIV)
  • Recall God’s Past Faithfulness: “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.” (Daniel 9:7, NIV)
  • Claim God’s Promises: “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.” (Daniel 9:17, NIV)
  • Communicate Your Need: “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act!” (Daniel 9:18-19, NIV)

5. David (Psalm 86:5-16)

  • Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty: “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.” (Psalm 86:5-6, NIV)
  • Recall God’s Past Faithfulness: “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15, NIV)
  • Claim God’s Promises: “Turn to me and have mercy on me; show your strength in behalf of your servant; save me, because I serve you just as my mother did.” (Psalm 86:16, NIV)
  • Communicate Your Need: “Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me—they have no regard for you.” (Psalm 86:14, NIV)

6. Isaiah (Isaiah 64:1-9)

  • Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!” (Isaiah 64:1, NIV)
  • Recall God’s Past Faithfulness: “For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.” (Isaiah 64:3, NIV)
  • Claim God’s Promises: “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8, NIV)
  • Communicate Your Need: “Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.” (Isaiah 64:9, NIV)

If these key figures in the Bible followed this structured outline in their petitions and saw such powerful results, it’s clear that they understood the importance of approaching God in this way. By using this same outline, we too can approach God with confidence, knowing that we are following a biblical pattern that has been proven to move the heart of God and bring about His intervention in our lives. This method isn’t just a formula, but a demonstration of trust in God’s character and His commitment to His people— an example we can use as we bring our own petitions before Him.

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