Do You Really Expect God to Answer Your Prayers?
Have you ever prayed about something, but didn’t really expect God to answer…I mean really expect it? I’ll admit I have. Sometimes I’ve prayed because I knew I should, but doubted God would truly answer.
That same thing happened to a bunch of Peter’s friends. (Acts 12)
In the early years of the church, King Herod had many Christians murdered and many more put in prison. James, the brother of John, was put to death with the sword, and Peter was thrown into prison.
The night before Peter was to be taken to trial, a group gathered at Mary’s (John’s mother’s) house to pray for him. While they were praying, there was a knock at the door. A servant girl named Rhoda went to the door but didn’t open it.
“Who is there?” she asked.
“It is Peter,” the freed apostle answered.
She knew it was Peter—she recognized his voice! God had answered their prayers! Rhoda was so excited, she didn’t even let Peter in, but ran back to tell the group that he was standing at the door.
“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. “Maybe it is his angel.”
Peter kept knocking. Finally, they opened the door and were astonished to see Peter alive and well, standing right in front of them.
Why were they surprised? Why didn’t they believe Rhoda? While they were praying for Peter’s release, they didn’t really expect God to do it. Do you see it? We can pray about a situation and miss the glory moment standing at the door because of unbelief and low expectations that God would actually answer.
Sometimes, I fear we have lowered our spiritual expectations to match the experiences of people we know, rather than what we read in the Bible. We look around and see what has occurred in the lives of other believers, and that’s where we set the bar. As a result, we lead mediocre lives, forfeiting the abundant life Jesus came to give.
Rather than lower our expectations, let’s do what David did. In the Psalms he wrote: “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3 NIV).
David expected God to answer! I want to be a person! I think you do to.
Dear Lord, I bring my prayers before You today. Forgive me for praying and not expecting You to answer. Here is my prayer: (Fill in this spot with you own prayer.) I lay my requests before you and wait in eager expectation. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
If you don’t keep a prayer journal, consider getting one. This could be a simple notebook, or a cute bound book with blank pages. The dollar store is a great place for cute little journals. Write down your prayer requests and then make a note as to how God answered and the date. His answer maybe…Yes. No. Or Wait.
If you’re believing God for a particular answer to prayer, leave a comment and say, I’m expectantly waiting for God to answer my prayer about (or for) ___________________. Then, let’s pray for the woman below your entry.
If you’ve never clicked on comment, I invite you to do so today and join the conversation. Great things are happening!
DIGGING DEEPER
Are you ready to raise your expectations in your spiritual life? God is ready for you to!!! Check out my book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More. He knows you want more in your relationship with Him. He’s just waiting for you to ask!!!
P.S. I want to say a special THANK YOU to those who order resources from my website. While we don’t accept donations, it is the sell of the resources that allows the weekly devotions to continue each week! Thank you so much!
