I suppose there are hundreds of principles of petitionary prayer.  I have brought as many of them together as I could find from my study, and have condensed them into twenty principles. In future blog posts I will present each of them separately, but for this post I want to show you all of them together in this acrostic.  Notice that in each of the  headings the first letter spells out the words APPROACHING HIS THRONE.  This acrostic is the whole idea of petition—that we approach His throne to try to get Him to hear us so that He will give us what we desire (Heb. 4:16).

TWENTY PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER

A ttentiveness to God.  If we want God to answer our prayers we must be attentive  to Him.

P riorities of Prayer.  God’s will should always take first place in prayer over our own needs.

P ower in Prayer. Every believer can have incredible power in prayer if he abides in Christ.

R esponsibility to Intercede. Every believer has a grave responsibility to intercede for others.

O nly to God. When we pray we should take the focus off of ourselves and pray to Him alone.

A nswers to Prayer. God wants us to know that we can pray to Him and receive answers.

C onfidence in Prayer. True prayer is always in faith, that is, with confidence in God.

H ear us. All true prayer is an attempt to get God to hear us.  It is the very nature of prayer.

I mportunity. True prayer is made with importunity—with a bold, intense persistence.

N ecessity of the Word. The Word teaches us to pray and gives us power to pray.

G od. The focus of prayer must always be God.

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H is Desires and Burdens. His desires and burdens must be the central force of our prayers.

I n His Name. Jesus empowers our prayers when we pray in His name.

S pecific Prayer. Faith filled, effective prayer is always specific.

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T ransparency in Prayer. True prayer is pray that is open, honest, genuine, and true.

H indrances to Prayer. Many things may hinder prayer, all of which have a root in pride.

R esisting. When we pray we are always standing against and fighting against the enemy.

O bey Him. True prayer is prayer that obeys God.

N eed for Unity. God established that believers would pray together in unity.

E arnestness. When we have urgent needs God wants us to pray with earnestness.