EVERY TIME YOU PRAY WITHOUT ASSURANCE, YOU PARALYZE YOUR PRAYER, YOU MAKE IT IMPOTENT, IT IS UNABLE TO DELIVER.
IT IS ONLY WHAT GOD CAN ACKNOWLEDGE AS RECEIVED THAT GOD CAN ANSWER. THAT IS WHY EXPECTATION REMAINS A VITAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE POTENCY OF OUR PRAYERS.
IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT WE EXPERIENCE THE REALITY OF OUR EXPECTATION, WE MUST KEEP THINKING IT.
YOU CANNOT HAVE EXPECTATION AND ACCOMMODATE CONTRARY IMAGINATIONS BECAUSE A CONTRARY IMAGINATION WILL DEFLATE YOUR EXPECTATION.
WHEN A PERSON IS EXPECTATION-LOADED, IT IS LIKE A PERSON THAT IS PREGNANT. THAT INDIVIDUAL IS THINKING THE REALITY OF WHAT THEY ARE CARRYING AND THE TRUTH IS A MATTER OF TIME. IF IT IS A BABY YOU ARE CARRYING, THE BABY WILL SURELY COME TO SHOW.
- Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr. at Covenant Hour of Prayer || 25th October 2022.
Hallelujah!
Shall we lift our hands to heaven this morning and give glory to God. Do it from the depth of your heart today for these testimonies. They are clearly God’s doings and they are marvellous in our eyes. Make sure you are not muttering your words today but you are giving God the glory, the honour, the adoration. You are celebrating Him from the depth of your heart, giving Him praise, giving Him glory, giving Him the honour that is due unto His name.
Our Father we thank you, we bless your name, you are worthy of praise, you are worthy of glory, you are worthy of honour and you are worthy of adoration. Father thank you.
Thank Him also, for the answers He has given to all of your prayers that you have not prayed in vain, neither has your prayers just be locked up in storage but that He has heard you, granted your requests and turned every desire into a delivery.
Appreciate Him, give Him the praise.
Now ask Him to speak to you this morning. I have come here to hear your voice because day unto day utters speech, night unto night shows knowledge, grant unto me the speech of the day. Give unto me the light of the day, show to me the word of the day.
Thank you mighty God, in Jesus’ precious name we have prayed.
Prayer – Lord Jesus we thank you this morning for the blessing and privilege of being in your presence, thank you Lord for the answers you have given unto our prayers and for the testimonies of your mighty hand at work in our midst. We give all the praise and glory to you.
Now Lord our eyes are upon you, we ask of you today that you will speak to each one of us. Let your word transform our lives. We give all the praise and glory to you. In Jesus’ precious name we have prayed.
Somebody believe it say a loud’ Amen’.
Give Jesus a big hand and please be seated.
Praise the Lord; I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR.
Congratulations! Amen and amen.
Yesterday, we began looking at this line of exhortations which we are going through in the course of this week that is captioned – PRAYING ANSWER-EXPECTANT PRAYERS.
We began with the fundamental understanding that the prayer of faith is a requirement to secure the hand of God in our affairs. Church Gist. We were told about ten different things that the hand of God would do (Isaiah 53:1, 1 Kings 8:15). We have also have come to discover that faith that is heart-born is usually preceded by expectation. Hebrews 11:1, Mark 11:23-24. So faith is put into action when he says it but it is preceded by the state of hope within his heart.
So according to these two scriptures, we are made to see that when hope is heart-born that is when faith genuinely can become potent. So you cannot have faith without hope.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and faith is the instigator of the hand of God. Church Gist. So it means that without hope which is expectation, you cannot have the hand of God at work on your behalf.
Quickly this morning – WHAT IS EXPECTATION?
1: Expectation is the anticipation of a specific outcome (Proverbs 23:18).
2: Expectation is, waiting for something (Psalm 62:5).
3: Expectation is an inner conviction that something will happen (Mark 11:24).
And we will look at the example of Elijah in the book of James 5:16-18. So according to scriptures, Elijah is a pattern of the potency of prayer and the Bible says Elijah is a man just like you, just like me. Church Gist. He is a human being like you and like me.
So what is it that we see in the example of Elijah? We see that Elijah prayed answer-expectant prayers at every point in time.
We gave three definitions of expectation.
We said first, it is an anticipation of a specific outcome and we see that particularly in the life of Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1. When Elijah stood before Ahab he said to Ahab that until I say so, rain will not fall. He was anticipating an outcome that look; with what I have done in prayer today, there is no way that not only rain alone but even dew will not come down. Church Gist.
That was anticipating a specific outcome.
We see also concerning Elijah (1 Kings 18:42-44); when you talk about expectation, it is like going to either the bus park or to the airport to pick somebody. When you go there, you are looking for somebody specific. There are many people coming out but there is somebody you are looking for.
That is what happens when a person is praying an answer-expectant prayers. He is looking for something specific, he is not just out there praying without any kind of anticipation, he is looking for something specific to come forth.
I pray that from this day onward, your prayers will begin to yield results (1 Kings 18:44-45). Church Gist.
For somebody hearing me this morning, according to your expectation, the rain of that specific blessing will begin to fall. If you believe it say a loud ‘Amen’.
We say expectation is also an inner conviction that something will happen and we see it again in the life of Elijah. He was convinced inside that something will happen. Infact he was so convinced that the Bible tells us in 1 Kings 18:23-24, 36-38. He prayed a simple prayer and the fire of the Lord came down in response. He was too sure, he was convinced.
Infact Elijah was so convinced that the Bible says; he told them to pour water on the sacrifice and keep pouring water on the sacrifice until the trenches around the sacrifice will fill with water.
Now you are calling fire, the enemy of fire is water and yet you are loading the sacrifice with water. He was too sure of what the outcome of his prayer will be.
What does that mean to you and to me?
Do not pray without assurance. Church Gist. Every prayer must be backed up by assurance. Every time you pray without assurance, you paralyze your prayer, you make it impotent, it is unable to deliver.
That is why we are made to understand very clearly from the scriptures that when our expectation is out of place, our answers to prayers is never in view. Church Gist. James 1:6-8, so it is true that the Bible says; ask and you shall receive but it says when you lack expectation, you paralyze your faith.
Think about it this way; if you send a whatsapp message to somebody and you look at that message and you think ‘No’, I need to correct it. You can delete it and they would not know what you sent, they would only see that a message was deleted.
When you pray, you are sending a message. When you lack expectation, you are deleting the message. All God will see is deleted. He will not see what you sent.
There are many people who sent many prayers and delete all their prayers. Church Gist. I have seen many times people will send me messages and you will just see – delete, delete, delete… I don’t know what they sent. Only they, know what they sent. If the deletion was an error, they would think they have conveyed to me a message for which I am not aware.
There are many people who have sent many prayers but deleted it by lack of expectation and because it is deleted, God is not aware.
Please hear this and hear it very well: It is only what God can acknowledge as received that God can answer. Church Gist.
That is why expectation remains a vital requirement for the potency of our prayers.
As we begin to conclude this morning, in order to ensure that we experience the reality of our expectation, we must keep thinking it. Keep thinking the reality of your expectation.
Proverbs 4:23, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Church Gist. You cannot have expectation and accommodate contrary imaginations because a contrary imagination will deflate your expectation.
So guard your heart. Keep thinking the reality of what you are expecting.
When you see a woman that is pregnant, all you see is her stomach growing, becoming bigger but she is thinking the reality of the pregnancy – the baby inside of her.
That is why even though you cannot see it, when the baby is not kicking she is aware, she becomes concerned because she is not thinking of a swollen stomach, she is thinking of a baby she is carrying. Church Gist.
When a person is expectation-loaded, it is like a person that is pregnant. That individual is thinking the reality of what they are carrying and the truth is a matter of time. If it is a baby you are carrying, the baby will surely come to show.
For somebody hearing me this morning; whatever your personal expectations are, as long as you do not accommodate any contrary imagination, it will surely come to pass. Church Gist.
Rise on your feet to me this morning. Lord I receive your grace to maintain my expectation. Pray that prayer from the depth of your heart. I don’t want to pray barren prayers anymore, I don’t want to pray impotent prayers anymore. I receive grace, I receive grace, I receive grace to maintain my expectation. Make sure you are praying from the depth of your heart.
Thank you mighty God. In Jesus’ precious name we have prayed.
- PRAYER -From this day, your prayers will not lack answers. As your expectation is maintained, there will be swift manifestation on your behalf in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Somebody believe it, say a loud ‘Amen’.
It is done!
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