Pray With Expectation

Kids ask the best questions. Do you remember the show, "Kids Say the Darndest Things"? Well, I submit that "Kids Ask the Darndest Questions." They ask why the sky is blue, why they have to eat their dinner, and why Jonah was able to live in the belly of a whale. They are inquisitive; no question is off limits. Kids ask questions without hindrance or fear. They ask whatever comes to mind, and they expect a response.

I love this about kids. I love that they aren't ashamed or worried about what people may think. They just ask the question that pops into their head and they wait for the answer.

Our church has been going through a series on being "Changed By Prayer." As we have journeyed together through what it looks like to live a life of prayer, I have thought, 

"Why am I afraid to pray and ask God tough questions? Why am I afraid to ask God for big things?"

I do not think that I am alone in this. I think many of us have been followers of Jesus, but yet we are afraid to truly take Him at His word. Personally, I have lost my some of my child-like innocence and faith. I have become worried that I will not get a response (or the response I desire), so I just don't ask. I have believed the lie that I am safer that way. 

Yet, as I have been processing what it looks like to pray, I have realized that prayer must be coupled with faith. Prayer must be coupled with belief. Prayer must be coupled with expectation.

I have heard these verses since I was a child, but it wasn't until lately that I really grasped the promises in Jesus' words:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will opened." (Matt 7:7-8)

Asking puts us in a position to receive. In our human relationships, we do not ask a question thinking that we will be left with no response. We ask a question, expecting a response. If we expect that people here on earth will respond to our inquiries, we can expect that our Heavenly Father will respond. Why should we expect anything less? 

Asking questions and waiting for a response puts us in a vulnerable position. We no longer have control of our "what ifs." Instead, we have put the ball in God's court and we wait on Him for an answer. Yet, the great thing is, when we trust in God, He promises to never leave us or forsake us (Joshua 1:5). 

Our loving Heavenly Father is beckoning us to come to Him with child-like faith. He is calling us to stand on His promise that if we "knock the door will be opened." God is asking us to approach prayer with expectation and trust that He will respond. 

Will you join me in praying with expectation and a heart ready to receive?

- Carly