2. Petition Prayer
The petition prayer is probably the best known type of prayer. It consists of a “pleading vocabulary” with which “to ask, to claim, to call with insistence, to invoke, to cry out, to shout, and even to ‘fight in prayer'” (2629). It is a prayer that recognizes the power and majesty of God and asks for his mercy for our lives.
This type of prayer should first include a prayer of forgiveness , such as the parable of the “publican: ‘Oh God have compassion on this sinner.’ It is the beginning of a just and pure prayer. The humility entrusted us back to the light of communion with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and with one another, then ‘whatever we ask we receive from Him’. Both the celebration of the Eucharist and personal prayer begin with the request for forgiveness “(2631).
God always responds to our prayers of petition, although they may not be answered the way we expect.