“Elijah was a human being, even as we are.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”  

James 5:17-18

There is so much power in prayer.  I know we’ve all heard this before, but I’m not sure we believe it every time we hear it.  One of my favorite worship songs is “Same God” by Elevation Worship because it affirms this point that God didn’t just do miracles in the Bible, but he still does miracles today.  He is the same God that healed people thousands of years ago and can still heal people today.  “You answered prayers back then and you will answer now.  You are the same God”.  In trusting that God still answers prayers, still does miracles, still hears our pleas, we must pray expectantly.  Expectantly means “with an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something good” (Oxford Dictionary)… so if we pray expectantly, we pray with excitement, with anticipation that God is hearing us, God remembers us, and trusting that something is about to happen.  Again, there is great power in prayer and especially prayer coming from a faithful believer lifted up to a faithful God.  

Sometimes when I pray, I pray trusting that God is hearing me, but at the same time thinking that God has too many other things to worry about, instead of my silly request about whatever it might be.  Is that faith though?  As much as I don’t want to admit, I think my faith through prayer wavers at times.  I lift up my prayers, but do I really believe God is going to answer them?  That child is sick again, after weeks of a previous virus, do I really think God is going to hear my prayer for quick healing or does he have more important things to worry about?  These are the small moments in life, in which I think God is trying to refine me, refine us in our faith through how we respond to life’s circumstances and trials. I love how Paul reminds us of Abraham’s faithfulness to God, even when his situation didn’t make sense. “Without weakening in his faith, he (Abraham) faced the fact that his body was as good as dead- since he was about a hundred years old- and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:19-21 The fact is that yes, your child was sick for weeks and now another virus has seeped into the home.  That is a fact, but remember first- that our faith cannot weaken because of these facts.  Abraham faced the fact that he and Sarah were far past the age of child-bearing, but he didn’t waver through unbelief… why?  Because the God that had promised to give him a child is a promise keeper, a faithful and powerful promise keeper.  So instead of weakening in his faith, Abraham’s faith was strengthened because he knew that God had the power to do what he said he was going to do.  That’s faith.  What I’m trying to get at is that, even when our circumstances or trials of life feel heavy or trying, we need to continue to be strengthened in our faith and we need to strengthen our faith through continual prayer to God.  We need to pray expectantly. 

Another story that sticks out to me regarding prayer is when King Hezekiah got extremely sick, to the point of death approaching.  The prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah that the Lord said he was going to die and to get his house in order since he will not recover.  Let’s be honest, if you heard this, coming from a prophet, most of us would start to sulk and rest in the fact that we were going to die.  But that was not Hezekiah’s response… instead  “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.” (2 Kings 20:2) Hezekiah could have spiraled at that moment, he could have just taken the word from the Lord and stayed in that place of sorrow and disappointment, but instead he prayed.  That should always be our first response in all situations.  “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.  Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: Go back and tell Hezekiah the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.” 2 Kings 20:3-5  What sticks out to me the most in this story is that even in Hezekiah’s disappointment and sorrow, he prayed.  He prayed with the expectation that God would hear his prayer.  He didn’t necessarily ask God for anything specifically, but he prayed reminding God of his faithfulness to him throughout his reign… and then he cried.  With all your heart and all your soul.  I think Hezekiah prayed to God with all his heart and all his soul, in vulnerability, with the expectation that God heard his prayer.  The thing we need to remember is that not only did God hear his prayer, God remembered his servant and God didn’t just hear, but he responded back.  God delivered Hezekiah… not because he had to, but because he heard his prayer, saw his tears and had compassion on Hezekiah.  It’s so beautiful.  

Psalm 103 says “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion… As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:2-4, 13-14  God redeemed and healed Hezekiah, God promised Abraham children and God delivered that promise by making him the father of all nations.  In remembering to pray expectantly, with faith, it’s good to always remind ourselves that God answered prayers back then and still answers prayers now.  James reminds us that “the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”  James 5:15-16  Don’t miss that last part… “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”.  Do you believe that?  Do you believe your prayers are being heard from God or do you think they are being sent to a full voicemail? 

When we pray, we pray expectantly, earnestly in knowing that the Lord hears us.  That is what Elijah did.  “Elijah was a human being, even as we are.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”  James 5:17-18  We have a God who not only listens to our prayers, but he answers our prayers and delivers us from our afflictions.  This is why we pray with expectation… patiently waiting and prayerfully expecting that he is listening and hearing every word we lift up to him.