Expectation

"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."
Psalm 5:3

How often does the Lord hear our voices? I believe that God wants to hear us. He longs for those times when we lay our requests before him. There is a joy that comes to us and to our Father when we are consistent in our time with him. Perhaps if we thought of it as a daily appointment, we would be more likely to fulfill our time with God. It must not be a time we set aside because of obligation, it must be done because we want to spend time with God. It is important to our Father to spend time with his children..
    I love what David said here: "I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." It is not enough to simply present our requests to God. We must also expect answers. With all my heart, I believe God answers our prayers. He is always at work fulfilling the requests of his saints. Yes, sometimes the answer is 'no.' But when we align ourselves with his will, ask for the need, and wait in expectation, he answers us.
    I am afraid that we have become numb to the answers God brings. We often overlook them. We make excuses such as: "a person decided to helped me," or "I am okay, but it didn't turn out the way I prayed." Not long ago, my wife and I had a great need. It was pressing and the potential for great loss was always in front of us. We prayed constantly for God to help us. In the darkest hour, some people decided to do whatever they could to help. In just a few days, they had served us so completely, that the need was fully met. We could have said, :"thank you for helping us," and we did. But we recognized that this was not just good hearted people who helped, it was God answering our prayers, using people. So we thanked God for the people, and there lies the difference. We gave glory to God, because he answered our cries, and thanked him first. Then we thanked people.
    The New King James Version translates the scripture this way: "My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and will look up." We need to get in the habit of looking up to heaven when good things happen to us. All good things come from the hand of God. It is not luck or good fortune. It is the blessing of our Father being poured into our lives. So when we pray, let's be consistent. Let's spend time with our Father. Then let's wait in expectation, looking up, to see the answers come. This gives glory to God and teaches us to be thankful. Our source is God alone, and we can expect him to answer!