Article September 19, 2011 Issue

Prayers of petition and praise

Whether it’s a humble asking or a joyful celebration, each prayer is unique.

By S. P. James

Prayer is a great way to get close to God. I have seen how a growing understanding of the way I pray, raising my thoughts higher and higher with every step, helps me reach many vistas where I can see above valleys of despair. In my journey of studying different ways of prayer, I have realized that each prayer is unique: Jesus’ prayers were probably different than Moses’, different than Elisha’s, and different than Mary’s. 

Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy has a whole chapter titled “Prayer.” As a young pupil attending a Christian Science Sunday School and learning of God’s love for His children, I became very familiar with this text early on in my life. I started filling my “spiritual backpack,” by studying the ideas in the chapter and keeping them with me as I went about each day. I soon discerned that Mrs. Eddy discusses many forms of prayer, and in fact states that “desire is prayer; . . .” (p. 1). I saw this definition as a call for God’s children to desire that which is good far more than what is in opposition to good. And to pursue good is to embrace a natural desire to obey the moral law, set out in the Ten Commandments.

When I read in the Bible, “Ask, and ye shall receive,” (John 16:24) I discovered that one form of prayer is “asking,” or the prayer of petition. After contemplating this second definition I took a step higher in my spiritual climb by understanding the importance of asking instead of demanding. I then found, in James 4:3, what not to ask for, and learned how to not “ask amiss.” 

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