(“Communicating Petitions”)^1**

11“Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, “With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth”? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.”’ 14So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.” (Exodus 32:11-14, NASU)

(A) THE REQUEST LIST METHOD OF PRAYER

(1) A pastor once asked for prayer requests during a Sunday worship service, hoping a few people would share their needs so he could remember them in the pastoral prayer. To his surprise people began sharing one need and/or problem after another. ‘This is wonderful,’ he thought¹ – until he glanced at his watch and realized time was short, and the list of requests was long. Not knowing what else to do, he simply read through the prayer list: ‘Lord, take of care this problem … bless so and so … meet this need … help these people … etc.’”²

(2) We’ve all prayed like that – especially in prayer groups where we can spend more time sharing requests than we do actual praying. Even our personal prayer lists often grow so long we’re unable to give adequate time to each item. In the back of our minds we know prayer ought to be more than a recitation of a long list of names and items. Surely there are better ways to communicate our needs to God than this! The question is, what can we do differently?²

(B) PERSUASIVE URGENCY²

(1) First, we need to realize it’s not wrong per se to make numerous, brief requests in prayer. The Lord’s Prayer, for instance, contains five petitions in just five verses (Matthew 6:9-13) – while Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple has an even longer series of appeals (I Kings 8:22-53). However, if this is the primary way we pray, we need to consider some biblical alternatives to the “request list” method of praying.²

(2) Jesus’ teaching indicates prayer may be much more urgent and persuasive. In fact, He once told a parable in Luke chapter eleven to illustrate this point:

“… ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him

In this passage Jesus describes a man who had unexpected guests. So he went to his neighbor in the middle of the night to ask for some food – but the neighbor and his family were in bed, and he refused to get up. However, the first man was so persistent his neighbor finally got up and gave him what he wanted. Then Jesus made this application:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek,

(Luke 11:9-10).

While the parable teaches us God is concerned with the needs of His children (Matthew 6:25-33), it also indicates we have a responsibility to be urgent and/or persistent when we pray.³

(3) Many of the Psalms confirm this point as well. For example, when the psalmists faced difficulties, they often expressed very intense feelings in prayer. In Psalm Sixty-Nine, for example, David, who had been judged unfairly, says of himself in verse four:

(Psalm 69:4d, NIV)

In the midst of this troubling situation, he continued to trust in God’s love and perfect timing, saying in verse thirteen:

“But I pray to You, O LORD,

(Psalm 69:13, NIV).

Despite his confidence, though, there was an urgency in David’s petition. He didn’t simply pray, “Lord, please take care of my problem” – instead, he urgently made his petition known, saying in verse fourteen:³

“Rescue me from the mire,

(Psalm 69:14, NIV).⁴

Likewise, in Psalm One Hundred Forty-Four, David again expressed his confidence in God’s love, saying:

“He is my loving God and my fortress,

(Psalm 144:2, NIV).

Even so, an intense request accompanied this confidence, for he went on to say in verse seven:

“Reach down Your hand from on high;

(Psalm 144:7, NIV).

So we see, then, that the Psalms are filled with urgent pleas. Indeed, the psalmists seldom told God what they needed in a few words. More often, they elaborated on their requests, thereby demonstrating the intensity of their feelings.⁴

(4) Jesus Himself is a model of urgency in prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, for example, He turned to His heavenly Father with such an intense request that Luke chapter twenty-two says:

“And being in agony He was praying very fervently;

So we see, Jesus not only taught us the importance of urgency in prayer, He also modeled what it means to pray with urgency.⁴

(5) You and I familiar with expressing the intensity of our desires in ordinary conversations. For example, Pratt writes: “One evening I received a call from some friends whom I hadn’t seen in two years. They wanted me to come for a visit, and I was eager to see them, but the trip involved a cross-country flight and would have interrupted my busy schedule. So initially I declined the invitation. However, they kept insisting, saying, ‘You simply must come.⁴ We have something very important to talk over with you.’ Finally, I realized how urgently they wanted to see me – so I boarded a plane and went to visit them.”

(6) While we know how to relate our urgent desires to others, the same cannot always be said of our prayers. We often face situations that need God’s intervention – like family problems or sickness – and yet, all too often we pray as if these matters were trivial to us. Pratt says: “We pray the same way whether we’re talking about international conflict or getting good grades in school. We spend more time in prayer about a job promotion than we do about a neighbor’s life-threatening illness. As a result,” he says, “our petitions often lack a sense of urgency.”⁵

Obviously there are times when a simple sentence or two will suffice – however, we must be careful not to formulate all our petitions that way. Jesus’ example, as well as that of David, indicates there are times when we need to know how to communicate urgently with God in prayer.⁵

(C) BUILDING A CASE⁵

(1) In ordinary conversations, we often communicate urgency by laying out reasons why our requests should be met.⁵ For example, the story is told of two boys who wanted to hike up a mountain near their home, but they suspected their parents wouldn’t let them to go. So they spent an entire morning creating a list of twenty-five reasons why they believed they should be allowed to climb the mountain. Later, they presented their argument to their parents.⁵ When they heard the boys respectfully but fervently presenting each of their arguments, their hearts melted and they permitted them to go. The boys wanted to take that hike, and they supported their request with some carefully thought out reasons.⁶

(2) In a similar way, God invites us to build a case before Him in prayer. Instead of simply asking for things as fast as possible, biblical figures frequently took time to create a rationale for their requests.⁶

(a) Consider the example of Abraham. When he learned God was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, he didn’t simply pray, “Lord, please don’t do it.” Instead, he accompanied his request with persuasive reasoning, saying (in part) in Genesis chapter eighteen:

“ … would You also destroy the place and not

Abraham built a strong case for his request, and the Lord listened. He offered his petition with humility, but also with a determination to support his desire as well as he could. As such, his prayer stands as an example for us.⁶

(b) We can also find this sort of reasoning in many psalms. In Psalm Sixty-Nine, for example, David combined his requests with supporting reasons. In fact, in verses sixteen through eighteen we find three closely related petitions, each accompanied by a supportive remark:

“Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of

(Psalm 69:16-18, NIV).

In verse sixteen, David asked God to answer “out of the goodness of (His) love” (v 16)⁶ – thereby making God’s loving character a support for his petition. In verse seventeen, he asked God to answer quickly because, he said: “I am in trouble” (v 17) – i.e. David’s personal situation was another solid reason for his request. In verse eighteen he cried out for rescue “because of my foes” (v 18) – thereby making his enemies yet another reason for God to answer. Supporting one’s petitions appears repeatedly throughout the Psalms. In fact, it’s unusual to find a psalmist asking for something without also offering at least one reason why his request should be granted.⁷

(c) Even the laments found in many psalms are, in effect, another way of building a case before God. In Psalm Twenty-Two, for example, David said:

“But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach

(Psalm 22:6-8, NASU).

These words don’t simply express a trouble spirit – they offer a reason why God should come to David’s aid. In effect, he was saying, “Will You continue to allow wicked people to mock Your child and Your Word?” Whenever psalmists raise a lament, they are demonstrating a sense of urgency by building a convincing case for their petitions.⁷

(d) A word of caution needs to be added, however. We must be careful not to turn a legitimate dimension of prayer into an occasion for arrogance or accusation. When we build a case in prayer, we’re not telling God anything He doesn’t already know – nor are we trying to make Him do something He doesn’t want to do. On the contrary, when we turn to God in prayer, it must be as creatures speaking to the Creator. Giving reasons for our requests should never become an excuse to call His wisdom or sovereignty into question – on the contrary, we should always treat Him with the highest regard and/or respect.⁷

(e) Moreover, once God acts, we must humbly accept His decision. When the first child born to Bathsheba was on the verge of death, David prayed diligently for him. Yet, once the child was dead, David told his servants:⁷

“While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept;

In this instance, David humbled himself before God’s sovereign will, even in face of a grievous loss. Likewise, Paul continued to pray for relief from his thorn in the flesh until God’s will was made plain – at which point he said:

“Concerning this I implored the Lord three times

(II Corinthians 12:8-9, NASU).⁸

Like David and Paul, we too need to recognize building a case before God must be balanced with respect for Him as our sovereign Lord.⁸

(3) Nevertheless, we cannot overestimate the value of learning how to support our petitions in prayer.

(a) For one thing, it provides a way of communicating with God when we have little or no idea what to say. Pratt writes: “One evening I received a message by phone that the daughter of some good friends had been diagnosed with spinal meningitis. The doctors gave her only a short time to live. The church immediately organized prayer meetings all over town. When my group assembled later that evening, everyone was terribly upset. We wondered what we should do. God already knew we wanted her to be well. But how could we pray when all we could say was, ‘Please, please, please …?’ What words could possibly convey our feelings? Then someone suggested we offer to God all the reasons we could think of for Him to show mercy to the child. The idea was well received, and the whole group began mounting one reason upon another. Afterwards, we felt a sense of relief knowing we had done our best to offer persuasive prayers – which was the only action we could take for the sick child. Happily, a few weeks later God miraculously restored the little girl’s health, and today she lives a perfectly normal life.⁸ That event,” says Pratt, “convinced me of the importance of building a case before God. It allows us to express ourselves when simple requests seem to be inadequate.”⁹

(b) Building a case also helps us spend longer periods of time in fruitful prayer. Many Christians wish they could spend more time praying effectively, but find their minds wander and/or their hearts grow weary after a few minutes. Besides, how long can you keep lifting up one request after another (using the prayer list method) without succumbing to meaningless repetition?⁹

Many factors explain why some Christians can pray longer than others. Undoubtedly, some are more adept at praying, just as some are more adept at singing or teaching. Even so, learning how to build a case can contribute significantly to every believer’s ability to spend longer periods of time in effective prayer.⁹

Pratt writes: “When I pastored a church, the ordained leaders customarily met for a time of extended prayer on Friday night and Saturday morning about once every three months. We usually focused our attention on one or two needs in the church. For one, two, or even three hours at a time, we concentrated on a few specific items of prayer. How were we able to pray for so long without resorting to innumerable lists of concerns? How could we pray for hours about one or two requests without falling into mindless repetition? The answer is – we spent time developing and presenting extensive support for our petitions. One after another, the leaders built their cases before God. We never became bored or weary because we were communicating effectively with God by explaining and supporting our requests.”⁹

Here, then, is one way Christians can demonstrate urgency in prayer. As we bring our requests to God, we should frequently fill our prayers with extensive reasoning and support in favor of our petitions. As this becomes more and more a part of our regular prayer practice, our communication with God will benefit in countless ways.¹⁰

(D) KINDS OF SUPPORT¹⁰

(1) But, what specific kinds of support can we legitimately offer to God? From what resources may we draw? How can we order our thoughts in ways that will please Him? While no one particular scheme will suffice for every situation, there are some general observations that may be helpful.¹⁰ For example, we can back up some of our requests by reflecting on God’s people – or, we may base them on considerations from the world around us – or, we may support our petitions by appealing to the character and/or Word of God. These three foci – God’s people, the world, and God and His word – can provide support for many or our petitions.¹⁰

(2) We find an example all three elements in Exodus chapter Thirty-Two. After seeing the golden calf, God said He was going to destroy the people of Israel – but Moses intervened, by offering an urgent and persuasive prayer that focused on three concerns. First, Moses reflected on God’s people, saying:

“O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your

Note the phrase “Your people”. Moses knew the Israelites were not ordinary people – indeed, they were the apple of God’s eye. Therefore, Moses built a case for why God should forgive their sin by focusing on the special character of their relationship with Him.¹⁰

(3) The second way Moses supported his request was by drawing attention to the world around him – hence, he said in verse twelve:

“Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With

Moses’ point is clear – God’s destruction of His people would produce an unacceptable result in the world – namely, the Egyptians would mock and scoff at the Lord and His people. Moses knew God did not deliver Israel just so the Egyptians could laugh at what He had done. On the contrary, God had performed His signs and wonders to bring glory to Himself. So, Moses based his appeal, in part, on the negative effect the destruction of Israel would cause in the world around them.¹¹

(4) Third, Moses turned to God and His Word as a basis for his request, saying in verse thirteen:

“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants

Here Moses supported his plea by recalling the promises of God to the patriarchs. He knew God would be true to His covenant promises. So Moses cited God’s own Word as a final appeal.¹²

(E) CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY

(1) In this chapter, then, we have seen that we are to offer urgent and persuasive petitions to God. (2) We can do this by building our case in three ways – by focusing on God’s people – by focusing on the external world around us – and/or by focusing on God and His Word. (3) When Moses availed himself of these resources, he received a wonderful response from God:

“So the Lord changed His mind about the harm

(Exodus 32:14, NASU).

As we increasingly make use of these divinely ordained means, we too will find our communication with our God and Savior growing in effectiveness.¹³

**THIS MESSAGE IS BASED ALMOST ENTIRELY ON THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF THE BOOK BY RICHARD PRATT, JR. ENTITLED, “PRAY WITH YOUR EYES OPEN.” IT WAS PRESENTED TO THE CONGREGATION AT WESTMINSTER PCA IN ALAMOGORDO, NM ON APRIL 17^TH FOR THEIR INSTRUCTION AND EDIFICATION, AS PART OF THE CHURCH’S EMPHASIS ON PRAYER IN 2005. A DISCUSSION OF THE QUESTIONS FOUND AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER FOLLOWED. THE CONGREGATION WAS FULLY AWARE OF WHERE THE MATERIAL CAME FROM, AND MANY HAVE PURCHASED A COPY OF THE BOOK FOR THEIR OWN USE.