An Expectant Heart

“In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3).

“It’s a girl!” my sister shouted. I couldn’t believe my sister would be having a baby girl. My excitement was through the roof! This would be my first time being an aunt, and so of course, I was planning to spoil this little one.

With each passing day, my anticipation grew. I just couldn’t wait to hold my niece and call her by name.

As the days grew closer to her due date, all that was left to do was watch, wait, and pray with great anticipation.

I’ll never forget the first few moments when I met my newborn niece. She was absolutely precious —all seven pounds of her—with a massive bow adorning her tiny head, like an oversized tiara. My expectations were far exceeded.

Friend, can you relate? Can you think about a time when your own expectations were exceeded? Maybe you couldn’t wait to meet a baby, get a new pet, or move to a different neighborhood, and when you finally did, you were overjoyed.

Maybe right now, though, what comes to mind more quickly is an example of when your expectations were not met. Maybe your ‘dream job’ wasn’t what you thought it would be, your child seems to have gone astray, or a dear friend received difficult news.

I want you to know that you are not alone. God understands. David did, too.

In Psalm chapter five, David cried out to God amidst less-than-ideal circumstances. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, David had nowhere to turn to. . . but God.

Desperate for God’s intervention, David penned these words, “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3).

Clearly, David trusted that God heard his prayers and wasn’t ignoring his cries. David resolved to wait on the Lord expectantly.

I love that word. Don’t you?!

Expectantly.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the term “expectant” means, “feeling or thinking that something will happen.”¹

David was expectant. He fully believed that God heard his prayer and would answer it according to His will.

Friend, when we pray, do we believe God actually hears us, as David did? Do we trust that the God of the Universe bends His ear to hear our heartfelt prayers, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in? The truth is, He does.

How would this belief change our prayer lives, trusting that God actually hears our prayers on both the mountaintop and in the valley?

The truth is, God answers every single prayer, just as He hears each one. God answers our prayers with either a “yes,” “no,” or a “not yet” according to His will—not ours.

But what if God chooses to answer our prayers differently than expected? What if His deliverance looks different than how we asked for or wanted? Will we choose to trust that God’s plan is better than ours, even when our expectations aren’t met?

So when we pray, are we looking to God with great expectation, trusting that He will hear and respond according to His perfect plan? Will we choose to surrender, to give up our own ideas and wishes, trusting God knows better? Will we choose to believe that God is with us even in the midst of the battles we may face, as David did? Will we look to Him, putting all our hope in Him rather than our circumstances?

May we be people who pray boldly and expectantly, trusting God hears and is at work, and believing His every response will always be for our good for His glory.

So, friend, I urge you: pray boldly. . . pray expectantly. . . God hears you. . . He fights for you.

Let’s pray:

Dear God,
Thank You for hearing our every prayer. Thank You that we can come to You on the mountain and in the valley—no matter which circumstances we find ourselves in. We can trust Your plan is for our good and for Your glory, even when we do not always understand. Make us prayerful and keep our eyes on You, Jesus.
In Your name, amen.

¹Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/expectant