Great Expectations

Church Family: Consider a child who goes to her dad for help. She holds a sure conviction that her dad will give the help she needs, even if he is busy attending to important matters and does not respond immediately. Confident in her father’s love and care for her and knowing that her need will be seen, heard, and understood, she waits with eagerness. When her father finally breaks free from his duties, her need is not ignored but instead met with all the power, wisdom, care, and love of her father. In fact, he will make sure that his child has even more than she requested. Now, if this is how an earthly father responds to his beloved child, how much more does our Heavenly Father promise to respond to our petitions? As God watches us make requests of Him and hears our petitions, and as we wait and follow up with our requests, He promises to respond to us with exactly what we need.

God, your Heavenly Father, wants you to be assured that He will respond. He wants you to boldly and freely come into His presence to make requests of Him according to His will. He wants you to be undeniably sure that He listens to you in love and wisdom and care. When you are confident that He hears you, you can also be confident that what you ask for, according to His will, will be yours (1 John 5:14–15). Do you believe this?

Often, we knock on our Heavenly Father’s door, yet quickly run away, not waiting for or even expecting a response. That would be disrespectful, even if you did this to your closest friend. You cannot expect an answer to such prayers. The Lord wants you to ask and to wait with great expectation for His response. He promises that He will speak to you from deep love and with great care for you, all with ultimate wisdom. When we pray with this type of expectation of an answer, our faith engages directly with God, which proves the sincerity of our prayer, rather than it being a mere formality. Faith trusts in God while it waits, and it watches with patience knowing that God's blessings will come soon.

Very often when we pray, our flesh says, or Satan whispers to us, “God is not listening to your frivolous prayers.” To this, God desires for us to respond: "I have made the request to my loving and caring Heavenly Father, and I am waiting for Him to deliver it to me personally when He believes that the time is best.” Engaging in prayer without anticipating a response undermines its eternal value; however, believing that God hears your prayers while you wait with great expectation and assurance for answers is true worship of your Heavenly Father.

What will you pray for with great expectation and assurance, knowing that your Heavenly Father has promised to give you what you request?

PS: Every Sunday morning at 9:05am you are invited to meet for prayer in the back section of the library.

See you Sunday, with great expectation: Steve