Many Bible students turn to the Psalms for inspiration, comfort, and guidance. Often the beautiful truths recorded there become a foundation for prayer for oneself or for others. Not long ago, I decided to once again study all the psalms, reading one or two each morning. As I began this study, I became aware, as never before, how often the psalms are in the form of a petition.
Many of them open with a fervent appeal to God. For example: “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: . . . have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer” (Ps. 4:1). The Psalmist was very confident that God would hear his petitions, that the divine ear would be open to his pleas. It wasn’t an appeal to a distant Deity. God was understood to be a very present help who would respond to earnest requests for strength, protection, wisdom, and deliverance from evil.
I also began to take note of petitions in other parts of the Bible and throughout Mary Baker Eddy’s writings.
