What is Your Petition?

“So the king and Haman came to the banquet with Esther the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the request of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.” – Esther 7:1-2

The word “petition” in the Bible context means “request.” We make requests because there is a need. Esther made her request to king Ahasuerus because there was a need for the children of Israel to be delivered from their enemies. There is always something we need to ask our heavenly father as believers. It may be our personal needs or the needs of loved ones. It may even be a petition for soul-winning.

We should realize that we have such a great privilege to approach God with boldness and confidence. Hebrews 4:16 Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

We should therefore explore every opportunity we have to stand before the King of kings and the Lord of lords. When Queen Esther was before King Ahasuerus, she wasted no time in placing her request before the king. Like the king asked Queen Esther for her petition, God is asking you the same question: what is your petition?

Note that the only acceptable way we can lay our petition before God is through prayer. God does not understand grumbling and complaints; He only listens to the petitions laid before Him through prayers.

To approach God in prayer, you need to observe the following:

1. Preparation of the heart—prepare your heart before meeting the Lord, Proverbs 16:1, Psalm 119:10.

2. Preclusion of Sinfulness: remove sins away from your life; God cannot behold iniquity. Psalm 66:18, Habakkuk 1:13

3. Prioritizing your demand — Esther didn’t ask the king for what she didn’t need; she presented a petition according to her priority. What are the pressing needs in your life? Lay them before God.

4. Pleasing personality – Before you can lay an acceptable petition before the king of the earth, you need to have a pleasing personality (read Nehemiah 2:1–4). When you go before God, not only should you wear a smile, you must wear a smiling heart (Psalms 16:11).

God is concerned about your present condition and wants to be involved. Unless you invite him, he will not interlope. He is asking you today – what is your petition?