Pray with expectation

1 Kings 18:43 And said to his servant, “Go up now, look towards the sea.”
Expectation is one of prayer’s vital connections. The person who said that expectation is the breeding ground for miracles was right. Miracles favour the expectant because somehow expectation quickens the manifestation of answers to prayers. A person who prays with expectation can more readily recognise miracles or prayer answers when they manifest than one who prays without the prospect of something to come out of their prayers.
It is unfair to talk about the subject of prayer without making reference to Moses, Elijah and Jesus Christ. These three prayed with results. Moses was a great intercessor and all his prayers were answered. He even prayed for God to change His mind and God did. Jesus prayed earnestly that one day His disciples had to ask Him to teach them how to pray. In the gospel of John, Jesus revealed that God always heard His prayers. He said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me…” (John 11: 41, 42). His confidence and boldness in prayer were rooted in the fact that He expected His Father to answer the prayers. Because He expected answers and miracles in response to His prayers, miracles and answers followed His prayer life. Elijah was also very bold, confident and expectant in prayer. And miracles were a common occurrence in his prayer life.
There is one account in the prayer life of Elijah that most exquisitely brings out the importance of expectation in prayer. It is recorded in 1 Kings 18. After his massacre of Baal prophets, Elijah told King Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” How could Elijah dare promise rain when drought had prevailed for three and half years? What gave him such confidence and boldness? One of the reasons was that Elijah doubted not God’s word. Every time God promised him something, he expected it to come to pass. God had promised to send rain in Samaria after Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. It is written, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” (1 Kings 18:1). It was this promise from God that gave Elijah to declare the coming of rain despite the fact that drought was still prevailing. Elijah was expectant and therefore was never disappointed.
However, it was not just expectation that caused the miracle of rain. It was expectant prayer. After telling Ahab that abundant rain was coming, Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel to pray. His posture in that prayer meant business with God: ‘he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.”  He prayed earnestly for the promised rain to come. But it is his expectation of the rain to come that is our current point of meditation and emphasis. He said to his servant in striking expectancy, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”  Elijah is down on his knees praying for rain but he asks his servant to be up on his toes looking towards the sea for the formation of rain clouds. What level of expectation! And rain did not disappoint, it poured in abundance.
Elijah’s expectation was in sharp contrast with the doubt of the church members who were gathered in a house praying for the release of Peter from prison (Acts 12). They were not expectant as they could not believe he was released and was actually the one knocking on the door of the prayer house. When you pray, expect an answer. And if you are expecting something from God you need to listen. The art of listening is very important in prayer. If you are a bad listener you may fail to receive answers to prayer because God normally gives us instructions that will lead us to answers to our prayers. When you pray for rain, remember to carry an umbrella. Praying with expectation is a topic fully covered in my book, “Learning the Art of prayer.”

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