Expectant Prayer
Remember back when you were younger and your mom would ask you for a Christmas list to help give her (or I mean Santa) some ideas for what to put under the tree? I was never prompt at putting these lists together. Santa knows me well and has been quite apt at navigating my lack of info in the past. There has been a Christmas or two where “Santa” has said, “You didn’t give me much to work with!”
Our prayer life isn’t so dissimilar to this. Now, I want to make it abundantly clear upfront that talking with God covers far more ground than a life “wish list” and God knows what we want and need even before we ask. Having that been said, James in his short letter says this, “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it” (James 4:2b).
God is after our hearts. His desire is for us to be nakedly honest with Him. This includes about things we desire, it includes our dreams, and it includes our needs. Moses, in the Old Testament, is described as speaking to God as if speaking to a friend (Exodus 33:11).
When you’re talking to a friend, you don’t just give them a list of things you want. You talk about your life, the things that are good, the things that are hard, and all the little things in between. There may come times around a birthday or special occasion where you would tell your friend what you might want for a gift as well.
This is the kind of relationship God is desiring to have with you. James continues his earlier point with this, “And even when you ask (God), you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:3).
See, God isn’t manipulated by a conjuring of words. He’s after the real thing. Think of this prayer in Psalm 139 for a moment, “Search me, O God, and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24).
What if we practiced prayer this way? Truly asking God to get rid of the stuff in us that’s keeping us from walking in His ways. And then coming to God in conversation with purity. The Apostle John mentions, “And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for” (1 John 5:14-15).
What have you been asking God for? Have you been? There are many in the church who say with conviction that God isn’t moving like He did in the early church, with power and specificity towards the individual. My charge to you, simply – is to ask. Talk to the Lord when you’re making requests, that those requests would be in line with His will. If there’s any part of your heart that needs to change, ask Him to show you.
Friend, how would your life change if you started talking to God like a friend and expect Him to respond? Here’s the beauty of friendly conversation – we talk with confidence. We know our friends are listening. And maybe my role for you today is to simply serve as a reminder that God is listening to you too. Do you believe that? Whether it’s a yes or a no, talk to Him. You just might be surprised at how He shows up.
