Good morning! I have a question for you this morning – when you pray about something specific, do you expect God to move? Hopefully the answer is yes, or else why would you pray? Praying is probably the spiritual discipline that takes the most effort for me. I am so easily distracted by things that I often don’t even realize that I stopped praying. But when I pray, I am expecting God to move!
As I have grown in my conversations with God, I try not to tell God what He is supposed to do and how He is supposed to do it. Isn’t that what we tend to do sometimes? We think about the best way a situation can work out that makes sense to us and expect God to do it that way – after all, why wouldn’t He?
David wrote many of the Psalms we find in the Bible and they are full of raw emotion, passion, and honesty. David doesn’t hold anything back – if he is hurting, he looks to God to be His comforter and protector; if he is happy, He pours out his thankfulness and praise to God. Whatever David was going through, He went to God and waited expectantly!
“In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly.”
Psalm 5:3
The Hebrew word that is translated into “wait expectantly” carries a profound meaning that I believe will be a game changer in the way we look at this verse. To “wait expectantly” displays a picture of looking into the distance with expectation as a watchmen would look out over the horizon and keep watch for enemies coming their way.
When we pray, we should look out and keep watch for the answers to our prayers. In my minds eye, I’m picturing being in a boat on the water looking out for those familiar landmarks that guide your way. If you have ever tried to navigate on the water (and I’m not claiming to be an expert), you know that it is important to have buildings, land formations, buoys, or any type of landmark to look for when you are trying to find your way.
As you are moving across the water, you are scanning the shoreline, expecting to see your familiar landmark. When you finally see it, it brings you confidence that you know where you are and will make it back safely.
Similarly, when we pray, we should be looking out, scanning our days expecting to see the answer to our prayers. The answer is not always what we expect or even want, but we can expect an answer.
When my parents moved out of my childhood house, I went to help get them situated in the new house. We rented a moving truck for obvious reasons and made a couple trips back and forth before finally finishing up for the day. Wanting to get home at a decent hour and having a two hour drive ahead of me, my brother told me he would make sure the moving truck was returned.
I was on the Garden State Parkway when I received a call from my brother. He stopped at the gas station to fill up the truck before he returned it and it would not start when he tried to turn it on. In our conversation it sounded like it was battery related, but he could not find the battery to even check it.
After giving him a couple different locations of where to possibly look, he couldn’t find it. We hung up and I immediately began to pray, asking God to show us where the battery was and to help us resolve the problem.
As I was driving on the highway, I saw a truck that was very similar to the moving truck and almost as if a light was shining on it, I saw the battery underneath the steps to get up to the driver side door. I called my brother and he confirmed that the battery was there and a battery cable had fallen off one of the terminals. He was able to put it on, get it started, and return the truck.
I thanked God for His faithfulness and immediate answer to our prayer! In that moment, had I not been “scanning the horizon” for His answer, I may have missed it! There are other prayers that God has not answered yet, but I am still waiting expectantly for the answer!
What have you prayed for and have stopped “scanning the horizon” because of the amount of time that has passed with still no answer? Be encouraged today that God hears you and there is nothing He can’t do! Remain faithful and diligent in continuing to pray for the people in your life and the situations that need to be changed. Let God answer how He wants and when He wants.
Heavenly Father, thank You for listening to us when we pour out our hearts to You. Thank You for letting us bring our emotions, passions, and honest reactions to You. Help us to not lose hope when our prayers are not answered in the way or time we expect. Give us the strength we need to continue scanning the horizons with anticipation for what You will do! Thank You ahead of time for the answers that we are still waiting for! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 