Expecting

No, I am not pregnant. But I got your attention, no?

I have been mulling over the concept of Hope. It is a word we use all the time. We say things like, "I hope dinner tastes good" or "I hope we can make it on time" but with many words in the English language, I think we cheapen this profound word.

Hope: To believe in, to desire, to trust. The dictionary definition for hope says it is to have the feeling that what is wanted can be had.

But let me be very earnest and frank for a minute. I struggle with Hope. Hope for me is admitting both in my heart and aloud that something means more to me than I even realize. For me, it is coming clean that my emotions and expectations are involved to the point that I could very well be setting myself up for disappointment. Hope for me is frightening. It makes me feel out of control and option-less. I feel vulnerable, like if I admit to myself my true hearts desire and it does not come about, I am left to pick up the pieces and I have never been very good at that.

Am I alone? I doubt it. We pray as though we have very little hope. We approach The Throne of the Almighty cautiously, afraid that if we ask for what we truly want, and if we let ourselves believe in the possibility, we might be left devastated, afraid that our faith will be shaken.

But what if, for a minute, we were able to pray expecting results. What if we were able to come before God and reveal our struggles? What if, instead of praying with a timid spirit, we came before God ready and willing to come clean, make our hearts desire known and then with great expectancy, we waited for Him to move on our behalf.

I have been walking with the Lord since I was five years old. My relationship with God has matured and deepened. I have never wavered, but I have struggled with doubt and fear. Yet, in my twenty-one years of walking with God, I think this might be the first time that I am having a break through about my prayer life. I am starting to see that I equate answered prayers with what God does for us in the physical realm.

Don't let that statement go misunderstood. I believe with my whole heart that God answers our prayers in a physical and tangible way. But, I think I am finally getting to the root of what it means to place our Hope in God.

What if, instead of praying about a specific situation and expecting or hoping for a specific answer, we instead began to place our requests in God's hands and hope in a Never Changing God. What if our Hope lies more in God's character than in what He can do for us? What if we began to pray for specific events with the Hope or expectancy that God is faithful, or kind, or gentle? What if we pray expecting God's character to never change, and we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and honest with a God who promises to, "Preserve those who are true to Him" (Psalm 31:23)

I think my prayer life and my relationship with God has just changed, dramatically. I still have a list of requests for God. I still have very specific desires that I bring before The Throne, but my Hope lies more in what I know about God than in the way He answers my requests. Hope has more to do with remembering WHO God is than in what He can do for you.

Romans 5:1-5
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into his grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so but we also glory in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."