Pray Expectantly

When Rhoda recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that she ran back without opening the door and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. -Acts 12:14-16 (NIV)

 Three weeks ago, I preached on the subject of prayer and I described how I've recently begun ending my prayer time with God by saying, "These things I pray confidently and expectantly in the name in Jesus." I'm trying to emphasize my belief (or my desire to believe) that through my prayer life, God will change me. That is my expectation when I pray: that God will bend my will to God's will.

I'm ashamed of the number of times in my life that I've prayed about something without really believing or expecting God to act. On so many occasions, I've prayed out of a sense of duty or obligation...because it's just what I'm supposed to do in such situations.

I wonder if that's what is happening in today's suggested scripture reading. Peter is in jail and many people have gathered in a home nearby to pray for Peter. When an angel of the Lord frees Peter from jail, he goes to the house where his friends are praying and knocks on the door. A servant named Rhoda recognizes his voice before she opens the door and (without opening the door) runs back to tell the others that their prayers have been answered... that Peter is at the door! Apparently, the people praying are not praying very confidently or expectantly because they don't believe Rhoda; they think that she's lost her mind. Eventually, they realize that indeed their prayers have been answered and Peter is safe and free.

God has convicted me that, when I pray, I should pray confidently and expectantly that God will hear and act. God won't give me everything that I want because sometimes God knows that I really don't know what I want or that I really don't need that for which I pray. I seek to trust that God sees the bigger picture and that God can work for good in all things for those who love God and seek to live according to God's purposes.

May God grant you the grace to pray confidently and expectantly today.



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If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Job 9-10 and Acts 13-14. Sunday's suggested readings are Job 11-12 and Acts 15-16. I'll be back on Monday with a devotional from Job 13-14 and/or Acts 17-18.