THE POWER OF DIVINE EXPECTATION
"25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction." Mark 5:25-29.
The woman with the issue of blood was haemorrhaging for twelve years; hence she was unclean and anything she touched became defiled. Leviticus 15:25-27. Because of this condition, she was cut off from family, friends, and the society. She was a rich woman but had spent all she had to search for solution. Yet her situation grew worse. She visited many top doctors and specialists of her times, without a solution. In the midst of it all, Mark 5:27 says she heard that Jesus was passing by. She then made up her mind to seek after Him. As she heard all the testimonies of what Jesus Christ had done, her faith increased. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17. The information she received and acted upon provoked her healing. She had faith that if she went to meet Jesus, He would heal her of her infirmity. The woman saw her healing settled in her mind before she got to Jesus. She developed a picture of healing in her mind even before she saw Jesus. The woman anticipated a turnaround and this motivated her to push and break through the crowd. Her physical eyes saw impossibility but with the eyes of faith she saw testimony.
It doesn't matter what you're going through or how long it has been, you, begin to visualize testimonies instead of impossibility. Look beyond the facts. Every problem has an expiry date! As you begin to visualize and expect your testimonies, remember the Bible says in Proverbs 23:18 “for surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” There is an end to your tears. Your situation is not hopeless. For every difficulty that you might be facing in your marriage, health, ministry, career and business, there's an end.
"2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them." Acts 3:2-5.
The lame man at the beautiful gate looked up to Peter and John, as he was expecting to receive something from them. But he received something more than what he thought of in his heart. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Ephesians 3:20. God cannot be limited; He exceeds our expectation. The lame man asked for money but He received healing. What are your expectations? Be rest assured that God's more than able to meet and surpass them.
POWER OF EXPECTATION:
The word expectation means to gaze into a distance with your head raised just like a watchman standing on a tower. It is focusing one's attention at an object with concentration, intensity and eagerness. Expectation is a strong desire, belief, and anticipation that something will happen regardless of the surrounding situations. It is hope, and confidence in something. Expectation is looking forward to a better thing to come. Its a strong assurance and conviction that something is about to happen. Expectation is turning the eyes away from everything else in other to focus on an object alone. It is the catalyst of every miracle. Expectation is a strong hope that a particular event will happen. When a woman is pregnant, people say she is expectant, meaning she is looking forward to when her baby will be born. In the realm of the Spirit, every child of God is pregnant with dreams, breakthroughs, possibilities and miracles.
Everyone has expectations; we all hopes and dreams. We expect things from different sources. God has expectations of man; man has expectations from God and fellow men. Have you placed your hope on others and they’ve let you down? We all tend to expect a lot from people, often more than their capabilities. Disappointment results from unmet expectations; and unmet expectations break hearts, fuels anger, and breeds bitterness. Man may fail us but not God. We must never expect much from people. We must put our expectations only on Him; He is the only One who can meet all our expectation and go beyond it. Psalm 62:1-12; Ephesians 3:20. It is only in God that we don’t suffer embarrassment and disappointment.
We have a God who is completely unlimited. Psalm 24:1. If He has made you a promise then you have a right to expect that the promise will come to pass. Every expectation depends on the track record of the one who made the promise. Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Once He has spoken the matter is settled. Psalm 33:8-9. Once God makes a promise you can go to bed knowing it will surely manifest. Your expectation depends on the resources of God who has promised.
PRAYERFULLY EXPECTS:
It is not enough to engage in fasting and prayer. If God must intervene in our situations, then, our expectation must be in line with the Word. So, what are you expecting from the Lord? You need to have a mental picture of what you desire. Do you see your situation turning around for the better? So, rearrange your focus first. Without an expectation, prayer is futile.
Lack of expectation is the reason for frustration in the place of prayer. Only the hopeful have access to God's assistance. When you are praying without expectation, even when God brings the answer, you will not know. Acts 12:12-15. The church prayed earnestly for Peter to be released from prison but were not expectant. When the answer to their prayers came, they were reluctant to open the door for him. What you don’t expect, you are not likely to experience. If you want to see results, have an expectation. Psalm 62:5.
WHAT DO WE DO?
1. Pray in the name of Jesus.
Doing something in someone else's name has two meanings. First, you come by the authority of the other person. You are not coming in your own power but someone else authorizing you to take these actions. Second, when you come in someone’s name, you come in his position or office. The person to whom you've been sent is expected to react to you, not on the basis of who you are, but as if the person who sent you was there himself. The person you are sent to is expected to treat you as they would act towards the one who authorized you. Also when we come before God the Father, we come because Jesus sent us. When we ask in His name, it is as though Jesus Himself were making the requests. When we approach God the Father, He is committed to treat us as He would His own Son because we come in His Name.
Set aside a time and place for prayer. Gather relevant Scriptures. Pray fervently. Pray specifically. Pray with persistence. Pray with passion. Pray with thankfulness. Don’t give up and don’t stop praying. James 5: 16; John 14:13; John 15:16; and John 16:23-26.
2. Read, meditate and confess the Word.
The Word of God is the building block for your expectations. Read it every day, asking God to give you passages which will strengthens you in the times of trouble. Receive and hang on to a specific word from God that will give you His promise in your situation.
3. Be obedient.
Obedience is a choice; nobody forces us to do anything, But with every choice we make come the consequences. When we choose to obey God, we will never be disappointed. When we choose to obey God, He will bless you. Obedience always leads to blessings.
4. Soak yourself in prayers.
Set aside time in your day to day activities to bring your needs before God. James 5:16-18. And if what you're praying for does not happen immediately, keep praying. Even if it does not happen tomorrow, next week, or even some months to come, do not give up on praying.
5. Maintain your integrity.
Integrity is moral and spiritual uprightness. It is a personal choice that one makes; a decision to hold oneself to an ethical standard, regardless of the consequences. Pursue humility. Have some boundary. Guard your mind. Be honest. Don’t make rash promises. Proverbs 11:3.
6. Be a blessing.
By meeting a need: whether it is physical, emotional, financial, or practical advice. God’s blessings to us are not meant to end with us; His desire is that they filter down to others.
7. Walk in faith.
Faith moves mountains. It look beyond the circumstances. Do not be moved by what you see, hear or feel. Focus on God's promises. Say what God says about your circumstances. Speak life to your dead situations. Keep an attitude of faith. Eliminate fear. Don’t despair. Refuse to doubt. To doubt is to consider unlikely, to have uncertainties, hesitant, to distrust, or to speak words of unbelief. Doubt destroys our faith. It limits potentials and causes procrastination. When you doubt, you let your circumstances control you. Stay in faith. Keep believing.
8. Wait for your time.
Each of us has his or her time. There is a time for tests and a time for testimonies. There is a time our expectations appear delayed; a time of waiting. You may be facing situations that seem hopeless and problems that do not seem to have an end. But Job reminds us that God has an appointed time for our change to come. Job 14:14. Waiting is not easy, but failure to wait has always led to trouble. Genesis 16:1-12. An impatient person is like a vehicle without brakes. Wait with expectations. Your time of change will come. Your redemption is near.
9. Stop complaining.
Complaining and murmuring doesn’t make our situations better. It amplifies our frustration, spreads unhappiness, which invites the devil to steal our joy. Complaining and murmuring cloud our mind and prevent us from thinking positively. Rejoice always. Philippians 4:4. The season of your trial shall end! God's working things out behind the scenes. The night may be the darkest you've ever seen, but it will soon be over. Joy comes in the morning! Get ready for joy in your career, ministry, marriage, business and health. Psalm 30:5. Keep praising and thanking God. Lazarus was still in the grave when Jesus gave thanks. John 11:41.
10. Be spiritually sensitive.
Spiritual sensitivity is being able to perceive and respond to divine information. It is to be in tune with God’s heart. Spiritual sensitivity is to tuned in to the radio frequency of Heaven. It is to decode spiritual information. Spiritual sensitivity is to access divine plan. It is to discern. Spiritual sensitivity is to understand, grasp and respond to the move of God. Habakkuk 2:1.
11. Seize the moment.
Every turning point in life is a product of opportunity seized. Opportunity is an appropriate time to act. To seize opportunity is to take possession of suddenly. Refuse to procrastinate.
"Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so, our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that He have mercy upon us." Psalm 123:1-2. This means that we should concentrate, be on the lookout, be expectant, lift up our eyes, and be focused on God our Father who will meet us at the point of our needs.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Father, I thank You for supplying all my needs according to Your riches, in Jesus name.
2. O Lord, I thank You for You will not allow me to be put to shame, in Jesus’ name.
3. By the Grace of God, I line up all areas of my life with the Word of God, in Jesus name.
4. I receive the anointing of favour and unimaginable breakthroughs, in Jesus name.
5. My expectation will not be cut off; I will experience the manifestation of what I am expecting from God, in Jesus name.
6. This will be my year of supernatural turnaround, in Jesus name.
7. By faith, I will encounter and experience God like never before. in Jesus name.
8. Spirit of God, open my eyes to see beyond the visible to the invisible, in Jesus name.
9. In this Year, I will be fruitful and multiply in all areas of my life, in Jesus name.
10. O Lord, help me to hear Your voice in order to make the right decisions, in Jesus name.
11. Father, bless me with fresh creative ideas, in Jesus name.
12. In this Year, my joy shall be full and I will enjoy the peace of God, in Jesus name.
13. Father in any way that I may have missed it, give me a come back miracle, in Jesus name.
14. Thank God for answering your prayers.
