Kenneth Copeland - What Is a Prayer of Petition?
Let's go over here now. All manner of prayer. Now, First John 5. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, or this is loving God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous". It's why his commandment is to love one another. "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith". Now, he has established here that faith is the victory. He got that from Jesus. He said, "In the world you'll have tribulation". Now I'm paraphrasing, "Don't worry about it. I've overcome the world".
So you continue to read verse 13. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: if we ask any thing according to his Word, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him".
Let's begin talking and learning about the prayer of petition, to petition the very throne of God, to make a petition. At our Board of Directors meetings when it's determined, the financial needs of this ministry for the coming year. Then we write out a formal petition before God and our attorney Dave Middlebrook puts all the whereas if, whereas, what all... then all the board members sign it. This is our heavenly petition. Praise God. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Now let's go over... And that's all here in the Second Covenant. Let's go over to the first in First Samuel. Thank You, Jesus, praise You, Jesus.
Let's look here that the ninth verse. "So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore". The Classic Amplified says our soul was in distress. "She vowed of thou and shadow, Lord of host". Now she brought the angels into it when she prayed that way. "O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken".
Anyway, he was high priest. "Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition". There's the prayer of agreement and he's High Priest. "Grant thee that petition that thou has asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah".
Now what happened here? "It came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying", his name, ask of God, "Because I have asked him of the Lord". Now come on down here, verse 27. "For this child I prayed, and the Lord have given me my petition, which I ask of Him". Samuel went to Jessie's house, directed by the Lord, who is of the House of Judah, to anoint his sons as King of Israel. And he looked at all of them. He said, "Was this all"? They said, "No, there's one". You know, he just keeps the sheep and they called him in there and the Lord said, "This is the king of Israel. Anoint him". My God.
Now this goes all the way back to Hannah's prayer, the prayer of petition. She put it before God. And you learn to put, write the scriptures down. Now, why do you want to write the scriptures down? Well, Habakkuk 2... glory to God. Thank You, Jesus. "I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it because it will surely come".
The prayer prayed of petition can have all different kinds of aspects to it, and it may happen quickly like Hannah's did, but when we can look back on it. But a nation was at stake for what she prayed because, David of the tribe of Judah, Jesus would be known as the son of David. And I mean, this goes all the way down to the birth of Jesus, the prayer of petition. Write it down. I've told you this before. And in my bathroom I go right up there, right where I shave, right over here to the right, and attended to bring one. You know, those little little yellow tablets about. So widen they have lines. I write the scriptures down. Amen. And put them all down there. So we'll just go through these prayers here that Jesus prayed or that he gave them to pray.
Look in the 14th chapter, "Let not your heart be troubled:" There's a command. "Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. And Thomas said, What are you talking about? He said, I am the way the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me".
Now, look over here. Verse 12. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments". Love is the key issue to all of this. Because he is love. "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter".
Now I want to look this up and we're in the 14th chapter, the 16th verse, because I want to talk about this, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever- The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you". The stand by.
I once had a 1937 Ford, and when you pushed it down as far as it is go, I mean, that's it. It just grown a little. How many of you have cars now that have a passing gear? There's nobody in this house has a car. Are you that slow? How many of you have a car that has a passing gear? There's still a lot of car. Less people. Do you know anyone that has a car with a passing gear? Is it going to be like this all week where you just don't do anything I ask you to do? I have to make you stand up, walk all the way outside and come back in here and try to find a seat. Now you push it down there a little bit. Well, that's your standby power.
Now, one of my partners sowed a Bentley into my life and ministry as a seed towards his healing. Well, I was in that car and drove it from the house to the to the hangar. It just to go out there, just be by myself for a little while and was studying in there and I got in it. That's a 12 cylinder car. So I thought, I'll just see what this won't do. And I didn't jam it down there, I just eased it when it went over into that standby gear... I thought, wow... because this is truly a 200 mile an hour car. It was built in England for the Autobahn and on the Autobahn, the go slow lane is 80. That's some kind of standby power. That's the Holy Ghost in people that know what they're doing. They know the Word of God and they call on him. And his standby is more powerful than anything devil has, any kind of power he has. anything he can do, any way he can do it. It just throws him over to the side of the road. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus.
So, devil, just get out of my sight. Thank You, Jesus. Praise You, Lord. Hallelujah. The prayer of petition. I prayed it. I wrote it down and began to thank my God for it every day. And then step to cross the line of faith. There are two lines, and it's easier to demonstrate it to you than it is to tell you. Jesus said there is a straight and narrow way and few found it. That's the love walk. Walk in love. The Spirit of God said through the Apostle Paul. We walk by faith and not by sight. By faith, you walk the straight and narrow way which is the love walk, walk in love and walk in faith. So that love walk and the faith walk is here where you're here. Perfected love cast out fear. First John, because fear hath torment. And my petition is before the throne of grace. And I'm watching for this thing. And the devil starts in. You don't really think that's God... No devil, I don't. I don't think it at all. I know it.
I'm talking about a long time ago, the Word of the Lord came to me and studying and praying about prayer. And it came like this. He said, "You're struggling. Why"? Then he answered it before he let me say anything. He said, "Let the Word fight its own fight. Go back and read the full armor of God". The sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. Which is the Word of God. We're shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And the gospel is the power of God. So we're shod. We're walking in the power if we're walking in love. So he said, "Take my Word, build the prayer around my Word and promises, realizing that my blood has ratified it and it is in place in heaven and heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word will never pass away".
So you build on those scriptures and you take to them and you pray over them and you spend time on them and until they get so far down in your heart, that quality decision about which there is no argument and from which there is no retreat. I was thinking about 1981 when all of this began. My body fat percentage was probably 35, 40%, and now it's 12. So I'm in better physical condition than I was then. Hallelujah. And I'll be in better physical condition the next time you see me. Because a decision was made and there's no retreat from it. Amen. On that love walk the devil is right here. He's right there... Forget me Lord. I didn't mean to say that about him. No, no, no, no, no, no. Well, yeah, I did mean to say it, but I repent. He's lying now.
Now, this one. Well, it's done. I, like God of old and my father, Abraham call things that be not as though they were. And I will continue to call things that be not as though they were until they are, however long it takes. I pray that it won't be long. But on the prayer petition, I don't know all of the intricacies of it and just what... the little stuff. Thank You, Jesus. Now, the 50 chapter, this one, I mean, and we'll close with this, seventh verse: "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love". Abide, abide under the shadow of Shaddai. And I will say of the Lord... He is my refuge. He is my fortress. He is my God, in him I do trust.