The Rhetorical Function of Petitionary Prayer in Revelation

This article examines petitionary prayer in Revelation 5:8; 6:10; 8:3–4; and 22:20 for the purpose of ascertaining its rhetorical function with respect to the vindication of the martyrs, the judgment of the wicked, the coming of Jesus, and the completion of God's mission in the earth. This analysis also places Revelation in conversation with prayer passages within the Fourth Gospel in order to discern how these documents, read on their own terms and then taken together, provide a fuller picture concerning the function of Johannine prayer.