' ' Trust God
PETITION [Heb. ṣeʾēlâ, šēlâ]; NEB PRAYER, PRAY, REQUEST, ASK; [mišʾālâ] (Ps. 20:5 [MT 6]); NEB ASK; [nāśāʾ pānîm—‘lift (someone’s) face’] (1 S. 25:35); AV “accept thy person”; NEB “grant your request”; [Aram beʿâ, beʿāʾ—‘request, ask, pray’ (Dnl. 6:7, 11–13 [MT 8, 12–14]), bāʿû—‘petition, prayer’ (6:7, 13 [MT 8, 14])]; AV also PRAY; NEB also PRAYER; [Gk. entynchánō] (Acts 25:24); AV DEAL; NEB APPEAL. A request or appeal made to a powerful ruler or to God.
“Petition” is the language of the court. Queen Esther approaches King Ahasuerus on behalf of her people using a Persian ceremonial formula of making a petition (ṣeʾēlâ; cf. šāʾal, “ask”) and a request (baqqāšâ; Est. 5:6–8; 7:2f.; 9:12). In 1 S. 25:23–31 Abigail prostrates herself before David and intercedes with him for the life of her husband Nabal. David responds with kingly FAVOR, “I have hearkened to your voice, and I have granted your petition [lit “raised your face”]” (v 35; see also PARTIALITY). The concept of appealing to a ruler is present also in Acts 25:24, where Festus tells King Agrippa that “the whole Jewish people petitioned me” concerning the apostle Paul (see TDNT, VIII, s.v. τυγχάνω κτλ.: ντυγχάνω [O. Bauernfeind]).
Elsewhere “petition” occurs in the sense of PRAYER. King Darius issued a decree prohibiting anyone from making “petition to any god or man for thirty days,” except to Darius himself (Dnl. 6:7). Thus, for one month the king alone was to be the god to whom all religious petitions were directed (see comms, e.g., IB, VI, 440f). Because Daniel rejected this idolatry and was found “making petition and supplication before his God” (v 11 [MT 12]) three times daily (vv 12f [MT 13f]), he was thrown into the den of lions as the interdict prescribed (v 16 [MT 17]). In 1 S. 1:10f Hannah, old and barren, prayed that God would give her a child. Eli the priest blessed her, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition [Heb. šēlâ] which you have made to him” (v 17). When Hannah brought the young Samuel to Eli, she proclaimed God’s faithfulness, “For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me my petition [ṣeʾālâ]” (v 27). In the same spirit the community intercedes on behalf of the king, “May the Lord fulfil all your petitions!” (Ps. 20:5 [MT 6]). Interestingly, the only other passage that uses mišʾālâ (Ps. 37:4; RSV “desire”) also speaks of the Lord fulfilling the prayerful desires of one who trusts in Him during times of trouble (see TWOT, II, 892). D. K. McKim
A Call to Prayer
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at cthe proper time.
7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
22 It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich,
And He adds no sorrow to it.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the LORD that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”
10 Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.
prayer is based on the revelation of the nature and attributes of God. “And those who know thy name put their trust in thee” (Ps. 9:10 [MT 11]). The initiative in prayer does not lie with people but with God Himself. Prayer is a response to multiple explicit and implicit invitations of God. Confidence is possible because God desires prayer and because it is in the nature and character of God to answer prayer. Although there are certain qualifications or conditions for prayer, the effective power of prayer does not ultimately reside in prayer itself but in the One to whom prayer is made. In the same way, the purpose of prayer is not merely to bring good to people but to bring glory to God. Honoring God always brings blessings to mankind, because God desires the good of those whom He created and especially of those whom He redeemed. Jesus’ words, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt. 6:33), certainly can apply to prayer. This is clear from a survey of the great models of prayer in both the OT and the NT, including the Lord’s Prayer. Priority is always given to praise and to the goal of honoring God through the extension of His kingdom and the realization of His will on earth (see esp the comments above on Ps. 86; Dnl. 9; 2 K. 19:15–19; Acts 4:24–31; Mt. 6:5–15). God will hear a prayer that is offered on the correct basis and with a proper purpose.
D. Unanswered Prayer Believers of all ages have on occasion felt that God was not responding to their prayers; see Job 19:7; 30:20; Ps. 18:41 (MT 42); 44(esp vv 17, 20, 23f [MT 18, 21, 24f]); 60:1–3 (MT 4–7); 79 (esp vv 1–5, 9f, 13); 80 (esp vv 4–6, 18 [MT 5–7, 19]); Isa. 40:27; Lam. 3:8. The very chapter in Hebrews that speaks of the triumphs of faith tells also of those who were tortured and killed and who “did not receive what was promised” (He. 11:35b–40). Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was not removed although he prayed for that three times (2 Cor. 12:7–9). Paul’s experience is instructive. The answer to his request was not a mere No. God did answer by providing grace, and Paul learned that the “thorn” performed a necessary function, keeping him “from being too elated by the abundance of revelations” (v 7).
Prayer is not mechanical or magical. It is an appeal to an infinitely wise, loving, and powerful heavenly Father. True prayer, i.e., that in accordance with the biblical teaching discussed in V.A–C above, is always heard by God. When no answer is apparent, it is probably appropriate to speak, not of unanswered prayer, but rather of an answer that is superior to the specific petition expressed, that is delayed by God for good reasons, or that takes a negative form because a positive answer would be inappropriate, second-best, or even harmful.