PETITION

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread’

The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" [Lk 18:13] It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that "we receive from him whatever we ask." [1 Jn 3:22; 1:7-2:2] Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer. 2631

Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ. [Mt 6;10, 33; Lk 11:2, 13] There is a hierarchy in these petitions: we pray first for the Kingdom, then for what is necessary to welcome it and cooperate with its coming. This collaboration with the mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is now that of the Church, is the object of the prayer of the apostolic community. [Acts 6:6; 13:3] It is the prayer of Paul, the apostle par excellence, which reveals to us how the divine solicitude for all the churches ought to inspire Christian prayer. [Rom 10:1; Eph 1:16-23; Phil 1:9-11; Col 1:3-6; 4:3-4, 12] By prayer every baptized person works for the coming of the Kingdom. 2632

When we share in God's saving love, we understand that every need can become the object of petition. Christ, who assumed all things in order to redeem all things, is glorified by what we ask the Father in his name. [Jn 14:13] It is with this confidence that St. James and St. Paul exhort us to pray at all times. [Jas 1:5-8; eph 5:20; Phil 4:6-7; Col 3:16-17; 1 Thes 5:17-18] 2633

As in the prayer of petition, every event and need can become an offering of thanksgiving. The letters of St. Paul often begin and end with thanksgiving, and the Lord Jesus is always present in it: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"; "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." [1 Thes 5:18; col 4:2] 2638

Forgiveness, the quest for the Kingdom, and every true need are objects of the prayer of petition. 2646

The traditional form of petition to the Holy Spirit is to invoke the Father through Christ our Lord to give us the Consoler Spirit. [Lk 11:13] Jesus insists on this petition to be made in his name at the very moment when he promises the gift of the Spirit of Truth. [Jn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13] But the simplest and most direct prayer is also traditional, "Come, Holy Spirit," and every liturgical tradition has developed it in antiphons and hymns.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. [Roman Missal, Pentecost, Sequence]
Heavenly King, Consoler Spirit, Spirit of Truth, present everywhere and filling all things, treasure of all good and source of all life, come dwell in us, cleanse and save us, you who are All Good. [Byzantine Liturgy, Pentecost Vespers, Troparion] 2671

Filial trust (relating to or befitting a son or daughter) is tested - it proves itself - in tribulation. [Rom 5:3-5] The principal difficulty concerns the prayer of petition, for oneself or for others in intercession. Some even stop praying because they think their petition is not heard. Here two questions should be asked: Why do we think our petition has not been heard? How is our prayer heard, how is it "efficacious"? 2734

In the first place, we ought to be astonished by this fact: when we praise God or give him thanks for his benefits in general, we are not particularly concerned whether or not our prayer is acceptable to him. On the other hand, we demand to see the results of our petitions. What is the image of God that motivates our prayer: an instrument to be used? or the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? 2735

Are we convinced that "we do not know how to pray as we ought"? [Rom 8;26] Are we asking God for "what is good for us"? Our Father knows what we need before we ask him, [Mt 6:8] but he awaits our petition because the dignity of his children lies in their freedom. We must pray, then, with his Spirit of freedom, to be able truly to know what he wants. [Rom 8:27] 2736

For St. Paul, this trust is bold, founded on the prayer of the Spirit in us and on the faithful love of the Father who has given us his only Son. [Rom 10:12-13; 8:26-39] Transformation of the praying heart is the first response to our petition. 2739

The prayer of Jesus makes Christian prayer an efficacious petition. He is its model, he prays in us and with us. Since the heart of the Son seeks only what pleases the Father, how could the prayer of the children of adoption be centered on the gifts rather than the Giver? 2740

Jesus also prays for us - in our place and on our behalf. All our petitions were gathered up, once for all, in his cry on the Cross and, in his Resurrection, heard by the Father. This is why he never ceases to intercede for us with the Father. [Heb 5:7; 7:25; 9:24] If our prayer is resolutely united with that of Jesus, in trust and boldness as children, we obtain all that we ask in his name, even more than any particular thing: the Holy Spirit himself, who contains all gifts. 2741