Faith and Expectations

Pray with expectations. It's okay to expect God to move, in fact, if we aren't expecting God to work, we might be lacking in faith.

Hebrews 11:1 says that "Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Are you confident when you pray that God is going to move? Are you confident that when you work in the Kingdom of God you are part of something far greater than you know? Are you sure of the truth that God can move in miraculous ways?

I know I go through the motions quite often. I pray and think well God COULD do something. Far too often I think God COULD move instead of knowing He WILL move. What's the point of those prayers if I'm not even really expecting it to work?

Be honest with yourself! How often do you pray because that's just what you do but its really just another prayer?

Faith moves mountains. But genuine faith is more than just hoping and throwing up a prayer. It is more than just believing that God can do something, it is actually expecting God to move in ways that seem impossible.

When we start expecting God to really move a few things happen:

1-    God will move and work miracles.

2-     God will move and work miracles in ways we don't notice or understand.

3-    God will move in different ways than we were expecting, maybe even different ways than we wanted, but He is still moving all the same.

4-     God will move when, where, and how He sees fit. 


Even when our faith isn't there, the mercy and grace of God moves. God moves and can move despite our lack of faith and expectations. He isn't dependent on our faith to move. So then why have expectations and faith? Because it is part of a real relationship. In any kind of relationship, you will naturally have expectations. You have faith in your friends, that they'll be there for you. In the same way, we should have faith and expectations as part of our relationship with Christ. 

What happens when expectations seem to go unmet? The truth is we disappoint ourselves. We get disappointed because we set terms and conditions and imagine God will work in those ways. Just because God does things in His own way according to His plan, doesn't mean He isn't working. It doesn't mean He isn't moving mountains. So expect God to move even when you don't see it happening. Expect that God is working even if you don't understand the ways in which He is doing it. Expect that God will move even if it is on His own timing. This week expect God to do great things. Pray in hope and expectations that God will fix what is broken, He will bring healing, He will bring peace, He will restore relationships, He will redeem and save souls, and He will continue working in amazing ways through the lives of His children.

Hope anchors the soul, and praying with expectations is having faith in God as our anchor.