Petition
During the first month of 2013 there was, as with prior
years, a flurry of ministries who invited everyone to fast and pray for the
first 21 days, to set the tone for the year and dedicate the year to the Lord.
Our prayer group do a “Daniel’s – fast” and in the past I have participated in
it. This year while praying about my participation; -- I can only fast if God
is giving me the grace, -- I heard the Holy Spirit say “No”. I still felt a desire to set aside extra time
to pray… As I was reading through the story of Daniel the words: “he
kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before
his God,” jumped off the page
at me. The Holy Spirit whispered: “What is there that you feel strong enough
about, that you will petition Me about it, three times a day for 21 days?”
I had to sit back and ponder this. There are many concerns, many people’s pain that lies on my heart. It took me ten days to sift through it all and come up with a short list.
As I started doing
this, my God-mother mentioned “Petitioning God” to me in relating how a mutual
friend took time out to petition God concerning her children. This underlined
the word I received.
Petition is NOT a
casual word. It is right up there or rather down, deep down, with words like “burden”,
“supplication”, “mourning”, “groaning”. It is an intense, focused request. It
is a legal term. A term that says, this far we have come and we cannot go any
further without the intervention of someone or something outside of ourselves;
of a higher authority. Petition belongs to those who have such intense,
motivation about something that they will stand in the cold, rain, snow,
scorching sun or what else to gather signatures to change something. It is an
appeal to a Higher Authority.
Petition often
concerns desperate situations. I can think of people in the United States that
petition to save a species from extinction. That made me think of Queen Ester
and her petition to safe her people; or Zachariah, the old priest, that cried
out to God for many years concerning the barrenness of his wife, Elizabeth. It
is the cry of a people or person that has come to realize that I/we need help. It
is Hannah crying for a son. It is Jeremiah asking for his life. (Jer 42:9) It
is also Daniel opening his window toward Jerusalem and petitioning the Lord of
heaven and earth about the state of the nation of Israel.
Daniel mourned for
his people. The 9th chapter records one of his prayers and the
reason behind it and the first few verses of chapter 10 says that he was in
mourning. When I read these chapters, I see a man with a burden for a people
who do not deserve any mercy, yet he asked for it. He ask forgiveness, like
Nehemiah does, for the sins of his people. (Dan9:17-19) “So
now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications,
and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. O
my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and
the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our
supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of
Your great compassion. O
Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake,
O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your
name.”
Can you feel his angst, his cry, his desperation? “If You, O
Lord, do not help us, we have no other place to go!!”
Now I can re-iterate the Holy Spirit’s question: “What is there that you feel strong enough about,
that you will petition Me about it, three times a day for 21 days?”
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Luke 1:13 But the angel said to
him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has
been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John;
Luke 2:37 (Anna) and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four . She never left the temple, serving night andday with fastings and prayers.
Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
Translated as prayer Romans 10:1 Brethren, my
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.,
(Paul’s petition)
Heb 5:7 who, in the
days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with
vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was
heard because of His godly fear; (speaking of Jesus)
James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and
he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for
three years and six months.;
1 John 5:15…
And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we have asked of Him.
___________________________________
Petition:
Dictionary Definition: pe·ti·tion[ pə tísh'n ]
1. demand for action with signatures: a written request
signed by many people demanding a specific action from an authority or
government
2. appeal or request to higher authority: an appeal or
request to a higher authority or being
3. something requested: something requested or appealed
for
HEBR: sheh a la. =request,
thing asked for, demand
a) request,
petition
b) thing
asked for
1 Sam 1; 1 Kings 2; Esther 5 and 7; Jer (32) 37, 42; Daniel
6;
GRK: Deesis 1) need, indigence, want, privation,
penury
2) a
seeking, asking, entreating, entreaty to God or to man
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