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The Bible says, 'Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is God, and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him' (Hebrews 11:6).

Therefore, expectation is the key to receiving from God when you pray. Jesus said in Mark 11:24, 'Whatsoever things you desire when you pray, believe you receive them and you shall have them.'

Believe you receive when you pray! What good does it do to pray without expecting to receive? You might as well not pray at all, for faith is required to receiving what you desire.

Surely, God will do His part when we pray, but we must also do our part. Our part is simply to believe. So many people are busy asking God, but never really believing what they are praying for will come to pass. You can tell by the way they talk, or act.

Most people have been raised to not believe in a positive outcome concerning anything, and actually, taught to believe in a negative outcome. It's a safety mechanism that says, "Don't get your hopes up, so if it doesn't work out, you won't be disappointed."

There's no logic in that because you will be disappointed anyway. Now, it's normal to feel disappointment. It's what you do with the feelings of disappointment that's important, but that's another subject.

Believing in a positive outcome is vital to our success. If we could only believe that God has our best interest in mind and simply trust that everything will work out, we would see great results. Life would change in ways we'd never thought possible. But, most people just can't believe things will workout for them. They look at past results and judge their future based on their past.

It's a fact that the best predictor of future behavior, is past behavior. The good news is, that your behavior is a choice. Your past does not have to equal your future! Just change your expectations and have faith.

James 2:20 tells us that 'Faith without works is dead,' which means "faith" is an action word. The word "faith" in Webster's Dictionary is also translated as "belief." So, believing is an action. And, it really doesn't take any more effort to believe, than to not believe. It's just an attitude.

It's been said that if you truly believe in something (having faith that it will happen), then it really will happen. A lot of people don't completely accept that, but the Bible is clear; what you believe is what you get. Jesus said in Matthew 9:29, 'According to your faith, let it be done unto you.'

He didn't say we would see the manifestation of our prayers immediately. We must keep believing and not waver, 'For a man who wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord' (James 1:6-7).

Expectation is the key to receiving from God when you pray! If you are not going to expect God to act, then don't pray at all. It's ineffective and displeases Him when you don't believe. Remember, Hebrews 11:6 says, 'Without faith, it is impossible to please God."

God will do His part when you pray, but only if, you do your part, and that is simply to believe.

Copyright 2005 Daniel N Brown