Prayer (2)

Course:  Different Forms of Prayer

Lesson 2

Lesson Title:  Supplication (Greek - Deesis)

 

Lesson Goal:  The student will understand the importance of supplication and will learn to cry out to God in faith.

 

Text:  1 Timothy 2:1  'I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;'

 

Introduction: Supplication is the Greek word 'Deesis' meaning ‘to call in time of need’.

  • This kind of prayer comes first in the list in this verse, ’supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men', 1 Timothy 2:1. 
  • It is the form of prayer that calls upon the Lord to help in a time of need.
  • It is a very powerful form of prayer because it is the cry of desperation to God who answers.

 

Introductory illustration:  Supplication is the desperate cry to God for salvation, see Acts 16:29-31. 

  • Consider your own personal testimony of salvation when you cried out to the Lord for forgiveness and salvation.
  • Compare the cry of the leper in Matthew 8:2 'If you are willing, you can make me clean'.  

 

Exposition:

1.      Supplication is the cry of desperation.  

  • It is the cry of the Israelites in Egyptian slavery. Exodus 2:23 ‘And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.’

   

  • It is the cry of Ishmael when cast out with Hagar.  Genesis 21:15-17,  ‘And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.  And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.’

 

  • It is the cry of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 64:1, ‘Oh that You would rend the heavens, that You would come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence’.

 

  • It is the cry of the saints in the book of Revelation.  Revelation 6:10,  ‘And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’

 

  • It is the cry of Peter, 'Lord save me'.  Matthew 14:30, ‘But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.’

 

2.      Supplication is the cry of salvation.  'Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved' (Rom.10:13)   

·        Supplication is best described by Psalm 34:6,  'This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.'  

 

·        Poor man - the cry of supplication must be from a sense of need.  In Hebrew the word is ‘qara’.

 

3.      Supplication is the cry that the Lord hears.  The Lord's ear is open to the cry of His people.  Jeremiah 33:3  ‘Call unto me, and I will answer you’.  

·        In Psalm 107 the cry of supplication is the same even though the circumstances are different. ‘Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble', Psalm 107:6; 13; 19; 28.  

1.      Desperate in their search for truth, Psalm 107:4-9;

2.      Bondage Psalm 107:10-16; 

3.      Sickness, Psalm 107:17-22; 

4.      At their wits end (hearts failing for fear), Psalm 107:23-32.

 

·        James 5:16 ‘The effectual fervent prayer (deesis - supplication) of a righteous man avails much’.  Elijah prophesied to King Ahab that it would not rain but it was the supplications of Elijah that made it happen.

 

·        Supplication is an essential part of the victorious Christian life.   Prophecy without supplication will not be effective.

 

4.      Supplication is the cry the Lord offered, Hebrews 5:7 

·        Christ offered (deesis) 'supplications' and (hiketerias) 'entreaties'.  

 

·        In Gethsemane the Lord made 'strong crying and tears'.

 

·        The Greek word 'hiketerias', signifies branches of olive trees that were covered with wool.  They were carried in the hand by a person who sought to make terms for peace, and so came to be associated with making supplications for peace.  ‘Hiketerias’  is a word that describes a person who approaches God with great urgency to be heard in a time of need. 

 

Conclusion: 

Supplication is

  1. The urgent cry to the Lord from a heart that is desperate.
  2. The cry of those who cannot save themselves.
  3. The cry that the Lord will hear and answer. 
  4. It was the cry that the Lord also made for His people.

 

 

Lesson Outline

 

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