Liturgy and Worship Commons^™

The Baffling Blessing Of Petitionary Prayer, James M. Ennis

Religious & Theological Studies Student Work

Petitionary prayer can be characterized as many things. On one end of the spectrum, it holds out tremendous hope full of promise and potential, but on the other end, it can also be puzzling and problematic. Bewildered by lingering questions and doubts, at times we experience prayers of petition as precarious and paradoxical, and at other times, powerful and prevailing. Petitionary prayer requires persistence, patience, and persuasiveness. Depending on how some of Jesus’ parables are interpreted, it can even be reduced to pestering an indifferent God until he reluctantly responds and acts on our behalf.

There is a fairly common …