Supplication (also known as petitioning) is the most common form of prayer, wherein a person asks God to provide something, either for the person or who is doing the praying or for someone else on whose behalf a prayer. This because of a supplication is being made, also known as intercession.
The concept of supplication is also perfectly at home in a secular context. The supplicant may also be described as a suppliant but the former word is more commonly used. The key meaning is of a request by the lesser person in an acknowledged unequal relationship. For example, supplication is the final stage of thesis submission at Oxford University. Supplication is also closely associated with the secular notion of appeasement.
In Christianity, the prayer of supplication for health by and on behalf of the sick is referenced in early Christian writings in the New Testament, especially James 5:13-16.
One example of supplication is the Catholic ritual of novena (from novem, the Latin word for "nine") wherein one repeatedly asks for the same favor over a period of nine days. This ritual began in Spain during the Middle Ages when a nine-day period of hymns and prayers led up to a Christmas feast, a period which ended with gift giving. A contemporary Christian example of supplication is the practice of the Daily Prayer for Peace by the Community of Christ where a member prays for peace each day at a specified time. Philippians 4:6 says, "Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
In Islam, the Arabic word duʻā (plural adʻiya) is used to refer to supplications. Adʻiya may be made in any language, although there are many traditional Islamic supplications in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. In Islam, duʻā tends to mean personal prayer.