public function getRequest($deflate = null)
    {
        $subject = $this->_authnRequest;

        if (is_null($deflate)) {
            $deflate = $this->_settings->shouldCompressRequests();
        }

        if ($deflate) {
            $subject = gzdeflate($this->_authnRequest);
        }

        $base64Request = base64_encode($subject);
        return $base64Request;
    }