House of Prayer - Petition (Iain Neill)

``Because Jesus isn't just telling us to knock harder or knock louder. He tells us what the father gives when the door opens. The greatest gift isn't the answer. It's the Holy Spirit. Simply put, the Holy Spirit is God with you, God close, God helping. Not just God shouting instructions from a distance, but God present in the asking. [00:09:15] (27 seconds)  #GodWithYou

The silence that followed after that wasn't a lack of love. Jesus wasn't last loved because the cup wasn't removed and neither are you. Jesus didn't just teach us how to knock, he became the one who stayed at the door. And because Jesus didn't walk away, the door to the father is now open to all of us. You never pray alone. [00:22:18] (24 seconds)  #NeverPrayAlone

So what does showing up actually sound like when you really need God? It sounds like asking. It sounds like petition. You see, Pilates exposes muscles you didn't know you had, but petition, it exposes dependence we didn't know we needed. And that's where we're going today. Petition. The please part of the prayer, the heart on the line that says, father, I need you. Petition is asking God for what we cannot provide for ourselves. And usually, this is where prayer starts to unravel for us. [00:02:15] (40 seconds)  #AskBoldly

You see, that season of waiting didn't just shape my circumstances, it shaped me. While I wore that suit of disappointment, God was forming something underneath. Petition wasn't just about a job, it was about my heart because God used prayer to answer the question I was really asking. What does that say about me? Am I good enough? And he said this, I don't rank you. I never put you on a waiting list. You're mine. And the right job and when the right job came, it was healing because God wasn't late. He was forming me. [00:22:57] (41 seconds)  #FormedInWaiting

Let's be honest. Not every prayer lands the way we hope. Some are answered slowly. Some are answered quickly, and some feel like silence. And some of that silence sometimes lasts longer than you think it's fair. That isn't spiritual failure. Often, that's where God does his deepest work in us. And if there are prayers that still hurt that me that that still hurt, that doesn't make you weak. That just makes you human. [00:06:32] (31 seconds)  #SilenceIsNotFailure

For some of you, petition is big and obvious. Healing, breakthrough, provision. But for others, petition sounds very ordinary. Lord, help me get a parking space. I've been running around for an hour here. Lord, help me be patient with my kids. That's when I pray a lot. And somewhere along the way, many of us have have learned to rank those prayers. Big prayers for big moments, small prayers for those ones where you're a bit stuck. And so we hesitate, but Jesus has never taught us and never does it say in the Bible, filter your prayers or filter your request. He's taught us to knock. Same door, same father, same invitation, ask. [00:10:54] (48 seconds)  #NoSmallPrayers

It's an invitation to stay at the door. We keep asking not because we're guaranteed every outcome, but because we know who's on the other side. So Jesus doesn't just invite us to knock. He shows us what knocking actually does to us. Let's start here. Petition fuels. You see, petition fuels faith and courage because it connects us to a God who actually acts. A father who opens the door. [00:10:21] (33 seconds)  #PrayerFuelsFaith

But the key part to all of that story is this, prayer didn't just change the outcome. It changed what I thought the outcome needed to be. Because while we ask God to change situations, he's often doing his deepest work in the one who keeps asking. And if petition fuels our faith, the next part is about what prayer quietly builds over time. [00:17:25] (23 seconds)  #PrayerChangesYou