by Susan Litwiller, MNC., Ed.S., MBA, CCNI Director of n
Last month I began a seven-part series on prayer. As I mentioned, I have committed each Monday for 2022 to pray for 30 minutes for each of our mEducatioembers as well as CCNI as a global organization. There are a couple of other prayer warriors who join me in prayer when they can. We are seeking the Lord for breakthroughs, healings, business ideas and growth, provision, and community. It’s an absolute honor and joy. We are expecting miracles beyond all we can hope, think, or imagine.
In the last newsletter, we explored the Prayer of Consecration and how the word for Consecration (proseuchomai) suggests that prayer is intended to bring us into a place of divine intimacy and we commit ourselves and pledge ourselves to God and ask Him to do something in our life
The next type of prayer to share is The Prayer of Petition. The word Petition is derived from the Greek word deesis, which literally describes a need or a want. It appears in various forms and is used more than 40 times in the New Testament. It is the second most common word for prayer in Scripture.
As we read Ephesians 6:18, Paul said, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication….” The word “supplication” is deesis. This word deesis is derived from the verb deomai, which literally describes a person with some kind of urgent need or desire in his or her personal life. Deesis is the basic needs, not wants or desires for more things. This type of prayer is a cry out to our Heavenly Father to fulfill a need we are not able to attain in our own insufficiency.
Jesus prayed this prayer of petition in the Garden of Gethsemane as He understood in His humanity He could not carry the plan of redemption without the Father’s intervention. While the desire of Jesus was to have the cup taken from Him, the answer granted was to help Him endure. Jesus prayed (deesis) deeply from His heart and soul, asking the Father to move in His life at that moment and give Him the supernatural strength to endure the scourging and the crucifixion that was ahead of Him.
The word deesis translated as “prayers” portrays a faith-filled cry for help. Praying this kind of prayer appeals to God from a position of humility as we ask God to grant a special petition such as a request for spiritual power to minister, for strength to resist temptation, or to be sustained in a crisis, etc. The prayer of petition (deesis) has to do with humility. This is when we recognize our complete dependence on God, therefore, acknowledging our own inability to meet our needs. Relying completely on God’s ability to meet this need — whether it be spiritual, mental, or emotional — we pray earnestly and sincerely, beseeching God from the depths of his spirit and soul to graciously move on his behalf.
And we know Him to be faithful.
Please send along any prayer requests as well as praise reports for your coaching practices to direducation@christiancoaches.com. I’d be delighted to link spiritual arms with each of you. And, if you happen to be near your computer at 9:30 am EST on Monday mornings, I will meet you there. Every week for the year, you are being covered in prayer.
Bless you,
Susan
(editor’s note: the prayer room is open to all members of CCNI. Simple login at christiancoaches.com. Scroll just a little on the page to find “Weekly Prayer” and click on the link to join.)
Susan Litwiller, Ed.S, MBA is a Certified Master NeuroCoach, Strengths Champion Coach, and a John Maxwell Team Training Coach. She is the Director of Education for CCNI and facilitates our Evening Women in Coaching Community group which meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 8pm EDT. She can be reached at direducation@christiancoaches.com
