Prayer is expecting an answer and being patient while waiting.

Living in the kingdom is to learn all about God’s upside down world. The first will be last. Give so you will receive. Lay down your life so you will live.  It’s all counter intuitive. 

Prayer is the same way. We need to put our requests before God with full faith that He will answer. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (Jam 1:6) God is not a vending machine, but we need to believe that He loves us so much that He delights to answer prayer. So when we pray, we need to watch for the answer, any day.

But patience is an aspect of the Spirit in us. He loves our excitement, but He is always developing our character to wait on Him. His timing comes from a heavenly perspective. He knows what we don’t about how that prayer will affect our lives. Will we continue to believe and expect if the answer takes longer than we want?

Waiting with expectancy and patience is a learned skill. It’s putting a demand on heaven and watching quietly to see it answered. It’s learning to move in multiple directions at the same time. You can only do that in the Spirit.