Psalms 106:44: “He saw their distress when He heard their supplications.
The value and efficacy of prayer are common knowledge among all of us. Despite this, the practice of praying with supplication is addressed in several chapters of the Bible, and we are taught how deeply it moves God’s heart when we do so. Have you ever been in this situation before? Have you ever been in a position where it appeared impossible to overcome without the assistance of a higher power while having the finest counsel and all the wealth in the world at your disposal?
A prayer of supplication is a petition to God, and it is concerned with the many requirements of our day-to-day existence and the unavoidable circumstances that come up along the way. The following qualities distinguish this kind of prayer:
The pouring out of one’s soul before God
1 Samuel 1:15 “Hannah answered, No, my Lord, I am a woman of trouble in heart, and I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink; but I poured out my soul before the Lord.
The narrative of Hannah, her husband Elkanah, and their adversary Peninnah is told in the Bible and is quite well known. One of the Bible’s stories illustrates God’s greatness and the tenderness with which he treats those who serve him. Hannah endured a terrible amount of pain due to her inability to have children, as well as the callous behaviour of her competitor, who was able to have a large family. As she poured forth her soul, Hannah prayed to God in supplication. Because she was so concentrated on her worship, the priest Eli mistook her for being intoxicated.
Exposing one’s innermost thoughts and feelings to God means letting go of control and communicating one’s anguish openly and honestly. After all, He is aware of every detail of our predicament. It is important to let go of the idea of formality and the discipline of prayer in which we take satisfaction in the presence of others. It is still forgetting what is around us to focus on His Presence completely. The act of pouring out one’s soul may take place in the quiet of our hearts by moving our lips as Anne did, or it can take the form of calls for help that include cries coming straight from our hearts.
The act of humbling oneself completely before God
In a prayer of supplication, one asks God, with various supplications, to take a favourable look at both themselves and the current circumstances. This prayer is offered with humility and tenderness. It is to illustrate to God that He is the only one with the ability and authority required to take action and that we wholly rely on Him for our survival. Because of this, we do not rely on either ourselves or any other third party.
Daniel 9:3“I turned my face to the Lord God, to resort to prayer and supplications, to fast and to take sackcloth and ashes.
Our humility and our supplications move the heart of God. Our God is strong, powerful and full of authority, but He is also a God of compassion. When we realize that we can do nothing without Him, when in our difficult moments we call on Him with our supplications, and we humble ourselves before Him, He hears us, and He acts on our behalf.
2 Chronicles 33:11: “And as soon as he was in trouble, he entreated the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
1 Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God; so that He may lift you in due time.
The fact of persevering despite the circumstances
Luke 18: 3-5: “There was also a widow in this city who came to say to him, Do me justice from my adversary. For a long time, he refused, but then he said to himself: Although I fear not God and have no regard for anyone, nevertheless, because this widow bothers me, I will avenge her, that she doesn’t come and break my head all the time.
Jesus told us this parable so we would be encouraged never to give up praying. When faced with persistently challenging circumstances in our lives, we tend to cease praying and begin to believe that God is unresponsive to our supplications. However, this is not the case; instead, the fact that we continue to pray to God about a need demonstrates how much we care about it. And God is responsive to the longings of our hearts so long as those longings are rooted in His will.
Psalms 37:4: “Delight in the Lord, and He will give you what your heart desires.
Suppose an unfair judge who does not care about the problems of others can bring justice to this widow because of her insistence. How likely is it that our God, who is so good, so wonderful, and who loves us with infinite love, will do justice and grant us what we ask for through supplications and in accordance with His holy will?
