Petition & Repentance

From a young age, we are told to mind our manners–more specifically, to say our pleases and thank yous. When it comes to prayer, many of us can get caught up in two types of prayer: petition and repentance. While both are wonderful in the eyes of our Lord, they should not be where we place our main focus.

Prayers of Petition

Petition is probably the most common type of prayer among the broader Christian faith. This is when we ask God to do things for us or point us in the direction of His divine will. This type of prayer is also the most commonly depicted in television shows and movies. We see a protagonist approaching their character arc and pleading to God that if He does something for him or her, then he or she will change. Petition prayers are often combined with intercession prayers as prayers to the saints and Mary. They are often asking those heavenly souls to pray on our behalf for a specific end. We ask God for good health for ourselves and loved ones, for shelter, for our basic needs to be met, for a job opportunity to open itself to us, for our vocation to be revealed to us, and the list goes on and on. These prayers are beautiful, but they should not be where we put all of our focus when it comes to an intimate relationship with our Creator.

Prayers of Repentance

The next most common type of prayer is repentance or reconciliation. These prayers aim to apologize to God for where we fall short. Most often, these prayers are said in the confessional and during Holy Mass. Those who do a daily examination of conscience also pray to make up for their shortcomings during the day. Prayers of repentance are beautiful and vulnerable, and are very pleasing to God, but putting one’s entire focus here can easily become a path to despair and prideful feelings of unworthiness of God’s unconditional love. 

Picture the most important person in your life. Imagine if all your conversations involved were apologizing for wrongdoing and asking for favors. The relationship would probably falter in many ways and become exhausting. The same goes for our relationship with God. While He loves when we rely on Him and present Him with our failures, He also should not be the only one giving, just the same as any of our human relationships. 

Because we receive our entire existence from God and all of our blessings, it is of the utmost importance to take time each day to thank God for everything that we have, even our suffering. Say thank you for suffering? That seems counterintuitive, especially with society’s constant message to do whatever is pleasurable in the moment. Our suffering is one of the best gifts God can allow for us because it gives us the chance to grow and to love others in a more empathetic and profound way. Suffering also gives us the opportunity to unite ourselves to Christ’s passion and ultimate sacrifice for us. Eucharist literally translates to “Thanksgiving” because in celebrating the memory of Christ’s torment, we are in fact celebrating our chance at eternal salvation because of His love for us, despite our failures. 

Without the Eucharist and without thanksgiving to God, prayers of petition are meaningless, for without them, we would be dead and have nothing to live or ask for. Prayers of repentance without thanksgiving become endless litanies of our failures with no focus on God’s mercy which we should be endlessly thankful for. Make it a point to not only say your pleases, but to also intentionally express your thank yous to our loving God and His fathomless Divine Mercy.