The Prayer Principle of Expectation
Principle: Believing prayer is characterized by a childlike expectancy that is based on a complete trust in a loving Father.
Luke's account reveals that Jesus believed that His prayers would be heard. Not only did He expect them to be heard, He had great confidence that His Father would answer them. He fully believed that God was not holding out on His children, but longed to give them "much more" than they could ever comprehend.
Jesus referred to the Person of The Holy Spirit as, The Promise of The Father. He wanted His followers to know that His Father was the ultimate promise keeper. The unbroken relationship that Jesus had with His Father would be offered to His followers and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus wanted His followers to pray to His Father with a childlike, "much more" expectancy. The Holy Spirit would interpret their prayers to God, and Jesus would intercede for them at the right hand of God. The child of God could expect an answer from the heavenly Father that would have their best interest at heart.
Believing prayer approaches God with the expectation of receiving an abundant response to a personal request. A childlike expectancy accompanies believing prayer. It places trust in a loving Father who longs to give what is best to His children.
Nothing is too small or too great for a child to bring to a parent. Almost everything looks too big to them, so they are accustomed to asking for help. Little children cannot discern what they need, from what they want. They need a loving parent to equip them with the value system and the problem solving skills that enable them to cope with the issues that they face in life.
Believing prayer does not try to determine if a request is valid or not. The childlike prayer warrior leaves that in the hands of The One who will make the decision. Believing prayer rests on the lap of God, and simply asks. The judgment of the request is placed in the hands of God for Him to determine whether the request is a need or merely a want.
Most of the time, life is filled intimidating circumstances and irritating people. It can be overwhelming to the most seasoned prayer warrior. Prayer is not the time to "MAN UP!" It is the time for a child of God to "Climb Up!" into the lap of God, and look to Him for the Promise of His Presence.
The Practice of Prayer: Is there any problem you are trying to solve without asking God to help you? Let go and let God take over. Write it down on paper, to get it off of your shoulders and into God's hands. You never know how "much more" God can do, until you pray.
Thought for the Day: What sounds mature to prayerless people is really childish gibberish to God. Only a fool would say, "I can do it myself!," when God is ready and willing to respond to his cry for help.
"Believing prayer transfers a promise of God into the middle of your problem." Don Miller
Great thoughts Gary. Sometimes my expectations are way too low because I fear God won't deliver. Other times they are too high because I don't ask for much since I dont want to be disappointed. I always think about the verse in James. "You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3). Too often, that is the case with me.
ReplyDeleteKen, if that is your real name, I know how you feel. I guess I have given up expecting completely pure motives from myself. I am glad that God just answers as He wills. I get alot of No! and Wait! and You have to be kidding! answers to my prayers. All in all, His grace is sufficient, and I have to admit, He has given me more than I deserve,...a sense of His Presence! Thanks for the encouragement bro.
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