Right and Wrong Expectancy
by Gemma Gardner
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Whatever I ask in prayer, if I believe, I will get it. Whatever I want! But we soon find out that it isn’t always the case. For one thing, Jesus said that, whenever we stand praying, and realise we have something against someone, we must forgive them. Otherwise, our prayers will be hindered. And in James 4:3 it says, ‘You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions’.
After breakfast each morning, Dean and I read the Bible and pray together. Our dog, Henry, is usually lying on the floor beside us. He seems to know our weekly routine, and when we have finished praying, much to our amusement, on a Saturday or Sunday, he jumps up and goes into the kitchen and sits at the pet gate, looking expectant. He knows that on Saturdays and Sundays he gets a treat before we go out.
But, frequently, he goes into the kitchen too early, before we are ready to go out. I think that we can be like that with the Lord sometimes. We pray for something, and we believe we should get it sooner rather than later. I was very much like that in the past, and I got disappointed, and sometimes angry with the Lord for apparently not answering my prayers.
Perhaps we are praying for the right things. Perhaps we are praying and longing for family members to come to the Lord, and nothing seems to be happening. Or maybe we have a secret longing, or we are waiting for a promise God has given us to be fulfilled. In 1 John 5:14 it says, ‘And this is the confidence that we have toward him (God), that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us’.
Dean and I have a number of things we are praying about, which we haven’t received answers to yet. But we know in our hearts that the Lord has heard us, and so we are content to wait for His timing and perfect fulfilment of His purposes in our lives.
When we truly know in our heart that God is good, and that He will not withhold anything that is good from us, then we can rest in His hands, knowing that He holds our future, and we are secure in Him.
Gemma Gardner lives in Norfolk with her husband, Dean, who until recently worked at Ellel Grange. They are both part of the Associate Ministry team which Gemma joined after completing the Modular school. Gemma has experienced the Lord`s healing and restoration over many years and longs to see Him healing other broken people. Gemma loves listening to music, cooking, knitting and crochet as well as outdoor exercise. She enjoys playing guitar and singing worship songs.
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