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    Don’t Let Fear Take the Steering Wheel

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 5)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 4)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 3)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 2)

    The Case for Shared Leadership (Part 1)

    More of Him, Less of Me

    You’ve Got a Friend

    3 Important Things You Should Know About Discipleship

    Discipleship Lessons from Star Wars

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    Episode 26: Election, Free Will, and Flowers

    God Is Calling YOU to Rest (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Before Christ Rose

    Our Misconception of the Body

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can Christians go to multiple churches?

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

  • LIVING
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    • Identity
    • Mental Health
    • Purpose
    • Work

    Home Is Where Your Heart Is

    Interview: Transformation from Pole Dancing

    The Power of Names

    In a Difficult Season in My Life, I Joined the Production Team

    Wisdom from a Baby

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 5)

    There’s Nothing Wrong With You

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 4)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 3)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    LET THERE BE LOVE — on Christian Veganism (Part 1)

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Our Misconception of the Body

    The Relationship Between Frugalism and Stewardship

    Home

    Episode 23: Why I changed my career

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

  • RELATIONSHIPS
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    • Dating
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    Home Is Where Your Heart Is

    In a Difficult Season in My Life, I Joined the Production Team

    Wisdom from a Baby

    Dating for Jesus**

    A Short Letter to the Tired Single

    3 Important Things You Should Know About Discipleship

    Home

    Episode 27: How do you find the right person? Questions on singleness, boundaries and friend zones

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 2)

    The Addiction You Didn’t Know You Had (Part 1)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Can a Christian date a non-Christian, then convert him/her?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should we still listen to Hillsong?

    Home

    Episode 25: What’s up with the education system?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is cohabitation a sin?

    Before Saying “I Will”

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Need for Companionship

    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Talking with Family Members About Mental Health (Part 3)

  • CULTURE
    • All
    • Evangelism
    • Justice
    • Social issues
    Our Christmas Collection

    Our Christmas Collection

    You’ve Got a Friend

    Discipleship Lessons from Star Wars

    Ethical Consumerism

    Easter Origin: Bunnies & Eggs?

    Get Used to Different (Part 2)

    Home

    Episode 24: All about Crypto, NFTs, and the Church

    What Consumes Us (Part 2)

    Is metaverse or VR church a real church?

    Should Christians go to war?

    Home

    Episode 22: Enneagram Part Two

    What Consumes Us (Part 1)

    Jesus and Minimalism

    Home

    Episode 21: Enneagram Part One

    Get Used to Different (Part 1)

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Christian Cancel Culture: A Gospel for the Oppressors

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

    Your Calling to Bring Shalom into a Deprived World

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    Episode 16: Cage homes and subdivided apartments, is this the reality of HK? // Ask Martin: Why does God elect some not to believe?

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    Local Man Discovers Gift of Singleness, Calls Off Marriage*

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    In The Whisper, pt2

    How Do I Get Inspired?

    Rejoice (Part 3)

    Rejoice (Part 2)

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    Baptism Numbers Skyrocket After Installation of Waterslide in Local Church*

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Manage Your Expectations?

Why you should pray with a heart of expectancy

Carrie L. by Carrie L.
2021/10/05
in Prayer, Spiritual Practice
0

After making a prayer, do you really expect it to be answered? 

We are good at managing or even lowering our expectations so that when things do not turn out as planned, we will not get too disappointed.

We often think this mechanism can keep us happy and protect us from getting hurt, but as time goes by, one comes to realize this does not bring joy. We may grieve the loss of things to look forward to. We may even stop asking.

A lot of times we apply the same mechanism to our prayer life. We may lower our expectations (“maybe God won’t answer my prayer… but hey, it’s God’s will, not mine right?”), or filter our requests (“this request is too trivial / too wild… I shouldn’t pray for it”). 

Yet if we are used to this mechanism, our prayer life becomes stagnant. The less we expect our prayer to be answered, the less we pray, and the farther our heart drifts from God, and the less we expect our prayer to be answered. It is a downward spiral.

 

God asks us to pray with faith, and God wants us to pray with expectancy. 

 

Jesus taught us that “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11.24) Note that it says “have received” and not just “to be received”. This is such a high level of expectancy – not only to expect that God has heard our prayer and will answer it but to expect that God has already answered it. 

But what is the answer we should expect? It is not so much the results or the “what” that we asked for; rather it is the reassurance that God is involved and is sovereign in all circumstances we are praying in/for. In other words:

 

We can expect that our prayer is “answered” by God already because we believe that God is involved already.

 

A lack of that expectancy may be an indicator of our doubts as to whether God will respond or whether God cares. This is how James describes a person who asks with doubts: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1.6) 

It is normal to have doubts – if you find yourself not completely believing in what you pray for, try to identify specifically what your doubts are and where they come from, and submit them to God. If you are able to be honest with God and allow God to minister to you, this posture of humility and submission will draw you closer to God.

 

The closer our heart is to God, the stronger our relationship is with God, and the more natural it is to pray with expectancy. The more expectantly we pray, the more God shows his sovereignty.

 

How should we start? “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” (Psalm 5.3) Start every day with a prayer, dedicate the entire day to God, then “wait expectantly” – expect God to be actively involved in every part of the day and pray with a heart of expectancy.

 

(Modified from “Prayer Thoughts – Manage Your Expectations?”. “Prayer Thoughts” is a weekly devotion by the Prayer Ministry of Island ECC.)

Carrie L.

Carrie L.

Formerly a lawyer, now a small potato working in the care group and young adult ministries. Enjoys journaling, cafe hunting and drumming. // Favorite book: Disappointment with God, by Philip Yancey

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