Pray in the Spirit . . . with all kinds of prayers.
—Ephesians 6:18
Three-part prayer includes prayer, petition, and thanksgiving.
Prayer is approaching God with reverence, devotion, and praise, recognizing his omniscience and omnipotence—acknowledging that he is all-knowing and all-powerful.
Petition is approaching God with your needs. Some translations call it “supplication.” It is intense appeal, nothing halfhearted. J.B. Phillips translated it: “When you pray, tell God every detail of your needs.”
Thanksgiving is approaching God with gratitude for what he has done, is doing, and will do.
The apostle Paul advised all three in a single sentence: “In everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6).
The power of prayer is in the one who hears it, not in
the one who says it. But God can’t hear it if you don’t say it.